American Express Co. announced Thursday that it is launching a joint venture with the French clothing retailer vente-privee.com. The New York card brand said the partnership is a move into online "commerce solutions," planting Amex firmly between affluent shoppers and fashion merchants. The agreement gives each company an equal stake in the venture.
Ventee-privee.com pitches limited-time product offers to subscribers. Though the offers are at a discounted price, they are of designer products.
"This joint venture brings together two brands that are committed to creating e-commerce opportunities in ways that benefit both consumers and businesses, have a heritage in the luxury market and place a high premium on delivering quality customer service," Dan Schulman, American Express' group president for enterprise growth, said in a press release.
Vente-privee.com has roughly 13 million members and more than $1 billion in European sales, the release said.
