Dive Brief:

• Just a couple weeks after touting its success and “vast market opportunity” for growth in the U.S., French flash-sales site Vente-Privée said it was shutting down its U.S. site.

• The flash-sales site partnered with American Express two years ago to come to the U.S., but the companies said they will wind down those operations by the end of the year.

• Investment firm Summit Partners, which acquired 20% of the company seven years ago, has been urging cost-cutting because it is interested in selling its shares, Fortune reports.

Dive Insight:

This news comes so very soon after Vente-Privée founder Jacques-Antoine Granjon boasted of his company’s prospects in the U.S., criticizing American retailers and rival flash-sales sites for their approach to promotions. C’est la vie.