Coming Soon to a Laptop Near You: French Sample Sale Site Vente-Privee

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Gilt Groupe might be the best-known name in American online sample sale shopping, but it didn't come up with the idea. The distinction goes to French site Vente-Privee, which is less the Carine Roitfeld to Gilt's Anna Wintour than the Queen Elizabeth to their Lady Gaga: Big, established, and very well-connected. Now, Amazon is trying to buy Vente-Privee, bringing it into Gilt's US market space. The Fashion Informer considers what this means for Gilt and concludes that it's not going to be good. Maybe Amazon would buy Gilt, too; maybe Gilt would just have to work much harder to court designers for exclusive deals. Or maybe Gilt would continue to spin off other sites like Jetsetter and Gilt Fuse—which is probably the most ideal solution from a consumer perspective.
· If Amazon Buys Vente-Privee, What Happens To Gilt Groupe? [The Fashion Beat]