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Not your average-looking warehouse

There has always been a lot of hype in our office about the vente-privee.com headquarters in Paris; non-stop fashion shoots, designers creating stunning motion pictures, not to mention the amazing collection of original art. Recently I was the lucky one given the opportunity to visit the offices as part of a press trip.

If you’re not already in the know, vente-privee.com runs exclusive online flash sales of amazing brands (from apartments and cars, to fashion and food) with savings of 50-70% off RRP. It’s the original flash sale site and was created in Paris in 2001 by Jacques-Antoine Granjon and co-founders. Less than ten years later, vente-privee.com has 11.5million members across Europe and is on track to turn over £628 million this year alone.

Back to the trip! On Thursday morning we set off on the Eurostar with a selection of hand-picked fashion and lifestyle media.  After our leisurely voyage, we were greeted and taken out for lunch Parisian-style (three-courses!) before undertaking the not-so-arduous task of touring the vente-privee.com offices.  The tour was fantastic and gave us a real insight into how such a mammoth operation like vente-privee.com works.  First we were shown around the brand new ‘digital factory’ where all the photoshoots take place and from there we moved on to see the motion designers who create the trailers and the sound team who produce the music.  We were guided through the process of how a flash sale is coordinated, from barcoding every single item to what happens after a customer has clicked ‘buy now’ and the shipping process begins.  The whole trip allowed me and the journalists to get a better understanding of what goes on behind the scenes at vente-privee.com and realise just how much work is put into creating each sale. 

It’s great to know next time I order something from the site,  I will know exactly where it is and that it is in very safe hands.