Amazon's competition pushes Vente-Privee.com to grown acquisitions pipeline

French flash sales site Vente-Privee.com SA is determined to speed up its acquisitions plan to remain ahead of close competitors such as Amazon.com Inc.

“We have arrived at a phase of market growth where consolidation is logical and valuation multiples are rational,” founder Jacques-Antoine Granjon said in an interview with Bloomberg at Vente-Privee’s offices in Paris. “Some acquisitions have become more attractive.”

Reportedly, Granjon is focusing on Europe after withdrawing from the US last year as the company failed to turn a profit from a venture with American Express Co.

Meanwhile, and despite the company´s popularity in its domestic market, Granjon is aware of the ever tough competition he is facing back home.

To cope with the pressure to keep the reigns of European online fashion sales, Vente-Privee bought a majority stake in Belgium’s Vente-Exclusive.com in September. The fashion retailer is profitable and the domestic market leader with revenue of 90 million euros in 2014, according to data published by Bloomberg.

“We’re looking in Europe for targets with a similar profile,” Granjon said. While the focus remains on organic growth, acquisitions are a way to expand even faster, he further explained. According to Grajon, Vente-Privee has enough financing for deals, so an initial public offering does not seem to be in the near horizon for the company.

With revenue rising 8 percent to 1.7 billion euros in 2014, the company now expects a return to double-digit growth in 2015.