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.

Since last year, according to Thomson Reuters, venture capitalists have invested more than $100 million in at least nine developers of members-only shopping sites and private online clubs, such as Gilt Groupe, HauteLook, Ideeli, KupiVIP.ru and BuyWithMe, which leverage social connections to promote group buying.

Carné and his business partner J.M. Villanueva, another former Bain consultant, launched Privalia in 2006 thanks to the backing of angel investors and a local Spanish VC. In 2009, just before the company expanded to Mexico, Privalia raised $8 million from Insight Venture Partners and Highland Capital Partners, at a time when it seemed few startups were getting VC funding.

Carné says that one thing that distinguishes his company from others is that he holds no inventory, unlike Gilt, but buys directly from a brand once an order is completed.

Carné says that he expects to expand his company in Latin America and Europe and he doubts that he will come to the U.S. market, although he seemed open to the idea if the right partner came along.

But, overall, Carné expects the heavily competitive market for private online sales, to continue to grow as major players begin consolidating. He expects that consolidation to take place soon.

“This is a market that continues to grow, in part, because budget-conscious consumers are looking for bargains and brand retailers, also impacted by the economy, have excess inventory that they need to unload,” he says.

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