With his friend Julien Sorbac from EBS, he founded the company Cofotex which specialized in the wholesale of overstocked goods. In 1996 he bought the old printing houses of major French newspaper Le Monde in Plaine-Saint-Denis to house the headquarters of the company, which later became part of vente-privee.com. He invented the principal of the flash sale: a sale that lasts only a few days or a few hours. It was in 2000, inspired by new technologies and his experience in clearance, that Jacques-Antoine created a visual concept to transform the method of selling end of season pieces. In January 2001, with his seven associates, he launched vente-privee.com in France. Since then, the company has grown to more than 2,100 employees with revenues amounting to 1.6 billion euros in 2013. In 2011, he launched the École européenne des métiers de l'Internet with Xavier Niel, Marc Simoncini and Alain Malvoisin. At the end of May 2013, with Xavier Niel, Jean-David Blanc, Jérémie Berrebi et Clément Benoît, he provided support to the at a fundraiser.
Fortune
In 2013, his fortune is estimated at 1.07 billion dollars.
Prizes and awards
In 2007 he won the “Favor’i d’Honneur” from the “Nuit des Favor’I” organized by Fevad for its 50th anniversary. This prize, determined by those invited to the ceremony by a vote through SMS, recognized the most outstanding personality of the world of distance selling. In 2008 Jacques-Antoin was elected the “Entrepreneur of the Year” by the judges of the BFM awards before winning the European prize of “CMO of the Year” in 2009, which was organized by Booz & Company. In the month of January 2011 he was elected businessman of the year 2010 by GQ. Jacques-Antoine was chosen as “Personality of the Year” at the 2011 LSA Innovation Awards. During 2011, he received the title of “Personality of Communication of the Year 2011” from the Grand Prize agencies of the year.
Personal life
Jacques-Antoine is characterized by his laid back style and outspoken nature. “Better to have hair that is long and clean than short and dirty.” He has three children from his first marriage and is currently remarried.
