[1]

Founding

OnTheList was established in Hong Kong in 2016 by Delphine Lefay and Diego Dultzin Lacoste, a French couple who had previously worked for international luxury and fashion companies in the city.[2] Their professional experience exposed them to a structural issue within the luxury fashion industry: brands frequently accumulated large quantities of merchandise from previous seasons that could no longer be sold through standard retail channels.

The founders identified an opportunity to convert this challenge into a viable business model. Instead of allowing excess merchandise to be destroyed or written off, OnTheList created a controlled sales environment where products could be offered to consumers at discounted prices. The founders’ backgrounds in luxury retail were essential to this concept, as the company needed to offer discounts without making a brand appear permanently discounted or damaging its prestige. This requirement led to the adoption of a short-duration, members-only flash-sale model.[2]

Early business model

The original OnTheList concept centred on independent physical flash sales. Members received access to specific sales events held at designated venues for only a few days. This limited duration was strategically significant; rather than creating a permanent outlet environment, OnTheList positioned each sale as an exclusive event. Industry profiles from 2018 noted that sales lasted as little as three or four days, enabling brands to clear inventory without continuously advertising deep discounts.[2] The company subsequently expanded its model to include online flash sales, providing members with access to inventory without requiring attendance at a physical event.

OnTheList functions as an intermediary between brands holding excess inventory and consumers seeking premium products at reduced prices. Participating brands supply the inventory, while OnTheList manages the sales environment, marketing, membership access, and customer experience. This structure provides brands with an alternative route for monetising merchandise that might otherwise remain unsold.[2]

For consumers, the value proposition involves joining the platform, discovering limited sales, obtaining access, and purchasing discounted premium products. The scarcity and limited duration of each sale are integral components of the user experience.

Advantages for brands

The platform offers several potential benefits to participating brands:

• Inventory liquidation: Monetising past-season or excess merchandise.
• Brand protection: Utilising controlled, private sales rather than broadly advertising clearance prices.
• Customer acquisition: Introducing brands to new consumer segments.
• Geographic reach: Accessing consumers in markets where the brand may lack a significant physical retail presence.
• Sustainability: Extending the commercial life of existing products rather than allowing inventory to become waste.

OnTheList states that its approach has prevented more than 10.6 million items from ending up in landfill since 2016.[1]

A defining characteristic of OnTheList is that it does not operate as an open discount store. Membership creates a degree of exclusivity around sales. Historically, some physical events were accessed through invitations or member-specific communications, while the current platform provides account-based access to both online and offline flash sales.[3]

The company offers different membership tiers, including a free standard membership and premium membership options in select markets. Premium members may receive benefits such as early access to flash sales.[4] This model serves two primary purposes: it creates a sense of exclusivity for shoppers and provides brands with greater control over how and where discounted inventory is presented.

OnTheList primarily focuses on premium and luxury fashion, beauty, and lifestyle products. Inventory categories have included:

• Fashion
• Shoes
• Bags and accessories
• Beauty and cosmetics
• Lifestyle products
• Sportswear
• Home and other premium consumer goods

Historical brand partnerships have included names such as Marc by Marc Jacobs, Ted Baker, Dr. Martens, Kenzo, and Clarins.[3] The precise assortment varies considerably by market and by individual flash sale. OnTheList is not itself a luxury fashion label but rather a retail platform and sales intermediary working with established brands.

OnTheList began operations in Hong Kong before expanding internationally. Markets have included:

• Hong Kong
• Singapore
• Taiwan
• Malaysia
• Australia
• South Korea
• Mainland China (including Shanghai and Beijing)
• Thailand
• United Arab Emirates (including Dubai)
• Saudi Arabia

The company announced its entry into Thailand in 2023, describing itself as a pioneer of the members-only flash-sale concept in Asia and noting that it had reached one million memberships across the Asia-Pacific region at that time.[5] More recent corporate information indicates OnTheList operates across 10 markets with more than 1.5 million members, although exact figures fluctuate as the business expands.[1]

Sustainability is a central theme in OnTheList’s corporate positioning. The company posits that unsold inventory represents both an economic and environmental problem. Fashion brands often possess products that are fully usable but no longer appropriate for their normal retail cycle; OnTheList provides an alternative commercial channel for these goods.

The business is framed around the concept of circular retail, aiming to keep products in circulation and extract additional economic value from existing inventory. According to its corporate profile, OnTheList has:

• Diverted over 10.6 million items from landfill.
• Established OnTheLove, its corporate social responsibility initiative.
• Collaborated with local organisations on charitable activities.
• Achieved certification as a B Corporation in Hong Kong.[1]

The sustainability proposition focuses on providing an additional route for existing inventory to reach consumers rather than becoming waste, rather than eliminating fashion waste entirely.

OnTheLove is OnTheList’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. It extends the company’s sustainability positioning beyond inventory management into community and charitable activities. OnTheLove works with local organisations and supports charity sales and other initiatives designed to increase social and environmental impact.[1]

While originally reliant on physical flash-sale events, OnTheList has increasingly incorporated e-commerce and digital membership into its operations. The current platform supports online flash sales alongside offline events, allowing the company to operate as a hybrid retail model. Its membership system enables customers to maintain accounts and receive access to sales, with premium membership offering earlier access in certain instances.[4]

This evolution is significant because the company’s core proposition—limited inventory, limited time, and exclusive access—translates naturally to online commerce.

OnTheList occupies a distinct position between several established retail models. It differs from traditional outlet malls because sales are temporary and membership-oriented. Unlike conventional department stores, it does not generally maintain a permanent broad inventory. It is distinct from standard e-commerce marketplaces because its core proposition revolves around curated, limited-time sales. Furthermore, it differs from brand-owned clearance stores by acting as an intermediary serving multiple brands.

The company can be characterised as a combination of a members’ club, flash-sale platform, off-price retailer, and inventory-management service. This hybrid model is considered its central innovation.

The OnTheList philosophy comprises three interconnected concepts:

Exclusivity

The company deliberately uses membership and limited-time events to make discounted shopping feel more exclusive.

Accessibility

Premium and luxury products that might normally be expensive become accessible to a wider consumer audience through substantial discounts.

Sustainability

Instead of treating past-season inventory as worthless, OnTheList treats it as an opportunity to create additional value.

This creates a three-sided value proposition: brands recover value from excess inventory, consumers obtain premium products for less, and the environment potentially benefits from reduced unnecessary inventory waste.

OnTheList has grown substantially from its original Hong Kong operation. Its LinkedIn company profile reports approximately 201–500 employees, while the company describes a community exceeding 1.6 million members and more than 6,670 flash sales since 2016.[1] The company has also stated that it has worked with over 500 luxury-brand partners.[1] These metrics position OnTheList as a significant specialist in the Asian and Middle Eastern off-price retail ecosystem.

Delphine Lefay

Delphine Lefay is a French entrepreneur and co-founder of OnTheList. Before founding the company, she worked in the luxury-fashion industry in Hong Kong. Her experience with excess inventory and the environmental implications of unsold products helped motivate the creation of the business.[2]

Diego Dultzin Lacoste

Diego Dultzin Lacoste is a French entrepreneur and OnTheList co-founder. Like Lefay, he had experience working with international luxury brands before launching the company. His understanding of luxury-brand positioning helped shape OnTheList’s controlled flash-sale approach.[2]

The combination of luxury-industry experience and interest in sustainability possessed by both founders was central to the company’s original concept.

1. OnTheList | LinkedIn
2. [OnTheList: Flash sales of discounted products from premium brands | [site:name] – Her World Singapore | Her World Singapore](https://www.herworld.com/shopping/on-the-list-flash-sales-premium-luxury-discount-singapore-delphine-lefay-diego-dultzin-lacoste-fashion-beauty/)
3. Company Info: On The List | HKSlash Employment Site
4. OnTheList – Favorite brands at the best prices in town!
5. Asia’s Pioneering Members-Only ‘Flash Sale’ Concept “On The List” Making its Debut in Thailand this November | Franco-thaï Chamber of commerce