Founder and Chief Executive Jacques-Antoine Granjon told Reuters the joint venture with the credit card group would give Vente-Privee access to an affluent client base of 40 million card holders, giving it instant credibility and brand recognition despite not being a household name outside Europe.But success in the U.S. is far from certain. Vente-Privee is arriving years after imitators of its flash-sales model such as Gilt Groupe and Rue La La, and also faces e-commerce giants such as Amazon, which recently launched a daily deal service hawking local merchants and restaurants.Unlike in France where sales are limited legally to twice-yearly set periods, U.S. consumers are used to getting deep price cuts on merchandise in factory outlet stores and discount chains such as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.”The U.S. market is a difficult one where discounting is already very common, so we will have our work cut out for us,” said Granjon, whose wavy long hair and habitual uniform of jeans and chunky silver skull-shaped rings belie his status as one of France’s most respected entrepreneurs.”But we have big ambitions, and if we have the right offering and excellent brands, things will take off quickly.”To conquer the U.S., Granjon said Vente-Privee would stick closely to its formula of selling luxury goods to price-conscious fashionistas in two- to six-day sales, while helping major brands like Armani and Diesel liquidate unsold stock.The approach has put the decade-old company on track to hit more than 1 billion euros in sales this year and turned it into one of Europe’s biggest homegrown on-line retailers with a presence in six countries, including France, Germany, Spain, the UK and, from next week, the Netherlands.Vente-Privee, which has been profitable since 2004, has also been the subject of frequent speculation about an initial public offering or a takeover by a U.S. giant like Amazon.Granjon dismissed both scenarios, saying the company could afford to expand abroad without outside funds given its 150 million euros in cash and healthy 7 percent profit margins.”I’ve never raised money and I don’t need to now,” he said.BUCKING TRENDGranjon and the other founders own 80 percent of the group, which was valued at about 1 billion euros ($1.38) when U.S. private equity fund Summit Partners took a 20 percent stake in 2007 and could be worth three times that, according to analysts.But the e-retailer has so far struggled to replicate its success beyond France, where it earns more than three-quarters of sales, and has seen its model cloned by rivals like Spain’s Privalia, Germany’s Brands4Friends and the UK’s Brand Alley.Vente-Privee hopes to buck that trend in the United States by teaming up with American Express.After more than a year of negotiations, the two agreed in March to invest $15-20 million each in the joint venture. Soon after, they hired former Google executive Mike Steib to run the business and are on track to hire some 200 staffers for the New York headquarters by Christmas.The company has a batch of 30 flash sales ready for the upcoming launch of the U.S. site, Granjon said.Especially in the first few months, Granjon said Vente-Privee would showcase fashion from top brands to win the loyalty of new consumers. The company must also convince U.S. companies to sell unsold inventory on the site at a time when competition for such stock is intensifying.Granjon said the company planned to draw on the strong ties it already has with European brands such as Spanish shoemaker Camper and Italian designer clothes company Diesel, as well as signing up major U.S. retailers like the Gap.Asked what brands he was targeting, he referred to downtown Manhattan’s Soho district: “Think of the square of streets down there between Houston and Canal and West Broadway and Lafayette. I want all the brands that are there.”In a separate interview, Vente-Privee’s Steib said the site would offer 60-65 percent discounts on average and estimated such private sales in the U.S. would be a $1.5 billion market this year and grow to $5-6 billion in the next five years.

The governor credits her with pushing him into the race for president, and now Anita Perry’s campaign stops in crucial primary states are starting to make headlines. Just recently she described to a South Carolina audience how God spoke to her about persuading her husband to run. Both Perrys are evangelical Christians who have made their faith a centerpiece of the governor’s bid for the White House.During two decades in Austin, the Texas capital, Anita Perry has taken advantage of the opportunities presented by her husband’s political rise, traveling worldwide to promote the state and enjoying access to Texas’ movers and shakers. The first Texas First Lady in memory to take a paying job, Mrs. Perry left nursing and in Austin took a series of positions intertwined with the policy and politics of state government.(CAMPAIGN/ANITAPERRY (SPECIAL REPORT, PIX), moving shortly, by Corrie MacLaggan, Peter Henderson and Himanshu Ojha, about 2,600 words)

* Softbank erases gains after iPhone order glitchBy Lisa TwaroniteTOKYO, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The Nikkei stock average dropped on Friday, pressured by a shake-up among Olympus Corp’s top management and by weak results from JPMorgan Chase & Co .Olympus shares plunged as much as 17.3 percent and were the main board’s most heavily traded by turnover after the camera and endoscope maker said on Friday that its president Michael Woodford would step down due to major differences over the direction of management.The Nikkei shed 0.7 percent to 8,759.57 by the midday break, but remains well above its 25-day moving average of 8,645, which is considered a bullish sign. The broader Topix index declined 0.9 percent to 752.14.”Investors appear to have sold futures after the Olympus news, although it’s clearly specific to one company and should not have a big long-term impact on the overall market,” said Koichi Ogawa, a chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments.Instead, he said, investors were taking their cues from U.S. earnings, and had been awaiting Chinese inflation data for any hints on whether that country might widen its scope for policy easing to support growth. The September CPI was in line with forecasts.Europe’s debt problems remain a concern, strategists said, although many investors now expect a worst-case scenario will be avoided.Ratings agency Standard and Poor’s reminded investors that the region’s problems are far from over, downgrading the long-term credit rating of Spain late on Thursday by one notch to AA-minus from AA with a negative outlook, due to weak growth, tightening fiscal conditions and high private sector debt.U.S earnings so far have offered mixed signals.Google said on Thursday that its revenue exceeded Wall Street’s expectations.But before the bell, JPMorgan Chase & Co was the biggest drag on the Dow Jones industrial average after the second-largest U.S. lender reported a drop in its third-quarter net profit.Olympus shares were down 12.8 percent at 2,164 yen percent, and had already traded at more than 10 times their 30-day average full-day volume.Fast Retailing added 0.8 percent to 13,180 yen and was the fifth-heaviest traded issue by turnover, as it prepared to kick off a high-profile U.S. expansion by opening a new flagship store in Manhattan on Friday to anchor its push to rely less on its home market.Softbank Corp erased early gains and dropped 2.4 percent to 2,484 yen, after the mobile phone operator temporarily stopped accepting contract applications when heavier-than-expected applications for the new iPhone caused system troubles.Apple Inc’s iPhone 4S went on sale in Japan and other countries on Friday.Rival KDDI Corp , which also started distributing the iPhone, rose 2.1 percent to 591,000 yen.Volume topped the previous day’s morning total, with 817 million shares changing hands on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s main board, above Thursday’s 736 million and Wednesday’s 698 million shares. But it still looked set to fall short of last week’s full-day average of 1.86 billion shares.

Borrower Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB)(SEBa.ST)Issue Amount 750 million euroMaturity Date October 21, 2013Coupon 3-month Euribor + 115bpIssue price 99.961Reoffer price 99.961Discount Margin 3-month Euribor + 117bpPayment Date October 21, 2011Lead Manager(s) Deutsche Bank ,Goldman Sachs ,Natixis &SEBRatings A1 (Moody’s)Listing LondonFull fees UndisclosedDenoms (K) 100-1Notes Launched under issuer’s EMTN programmeISIN XS0693220005Security details and RIC, when available, will beonCustomers can right-click on the code forperformance analysis of this new issueFor ratings information, double click onFor all bonds data, double click onFor Top international bonds newsFor news about this issuer, double click on the issuer RIC,where assigned, and hit the newskey (F9 on Reuters terminals)Data supplied by International Insider.