Online shopping club launches in NZ

brandsExclusive, a 2 million member online shopping club in Australia, is launching in New Zealand today. Photo / Rotorua Daily Post

Online shopping club brandsExclusive - which has more than 2 million members across the Tasman - is launching in New Zealand today.

BrandsExclusive markets itself as a "leading online shopping destination for fashion, footwear and accessories" and offers members up to 70 per cent off on products from popular retailers.

BrandsExclusive strikes deals with retailers and sells products directly to customers on its website, taking a commission on each sale.

"We approach brands and analyse their objectives," said co-founder Daniel Jarosch.

"We discuss 'do you want to reach new customers, do you want to do brand building, do you want to clear excess inventory, do you want to enter a new market ...' then we engineer a campaign," he said.

"We take about 60,000 photos every month of 15,000 products which we upload [to our website]."

The company managed stock levels and the supply chain, Jarosch said.

"When you order something from brandsExclusive you get the product from us, not the merchant. We do the whole e-commerce value chain."

Jarosch said the club would be looking to strike deals with New Zealand retailers to offer their products.

The business had also taken on New Zealand-based staff, he said.

The company was founded by Jarosch and Rolf Weber in 2009, and APN News & Media - publishers of the Herald - bought an 82 per cent stake this year for A$36 million.

Under the deal, APN will pay a further A$30 million if brandsExclusive reaches 2013 earnings targets.