Privalia CEO Expects Consolidation Soon Among Private Online Sales Sites
Lucas Carné seems like an unlikely person to launch a private, online sales site. And I’m not trying to disparage his fashion sense. After all, I don’t know the difference between a Manola Blahnik and any other high-heeled shoe. But Carné, an engineer by training, and a onetime Bain & Co. consultant, is CEO of VC-backed Privalia, a Barcelona-based operator of a private online sales club that now operates in four countries, Spain, Italy, Brazil and Mexico, although Carné says that Spain accounts for about 70% of the company’s revenue. Privalia, which boasts at having 4 million active members, offers discounts on fashion apparel, sports wear, electronics, home furnishings and personal care items. Carné visited me in San Francisco this week, on his way to participate in the RBC Capital Markets Conference in New York today. We met over lunch while we talked at length about his company and the growth of the online sales market and VCs’ interest in the sector.
