TMCnet News
Groupon SA alive and kicking [ITWeb](ITWeb Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Recently-appointed Groupon SA CEO Emilian Popa says Groupon international considers Groupon SA to be an entrepreneurial organisation, and so promotes local growth. While the group buying hype that hit SA in 2011 had largely petered out by last year, by which time hopefuls like Dealify (../index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49843), Zappon (../index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49427), Dealio (http://www.groupbuying.co.za/dealio) and 247deals (http://www.groupbuying.co.za/247deals-closed) had long closed their doors, Groupon SA may quietly be keeping the e-business genre alive. Although its marketing has been described as considerably less boisterous of late than when it launched in 2010 – initially as Twangoo ("group buy" in Chinese) – recently appointed CEO Emilian Popa says Groupon SA is still alive and kicking. A self-described serial entrepreneur, e-commerce whizz Popa took the reins from his two Twangoo co-founding fellows Daniel Guasco and Wayne Gosling in July, after their contracts with the company ended. Popa started Rocket Internet SA and ran it as MD, while founding the first two Rocket ventures in the country, local online fashion store Zando and online home and furniture store 5rooms. He has an MBA from Columbia Business School and London Business School. Without being able to cite figures, due to what he says are restrictions around being a publicly-listed company, Popa says Groupon SA's consumer database has grown substantially. Since Groupon bought Twangoo in 2010, he says, "[Groupon SA] has become one of the top e-commerce players in SA." At the time of the local group buying buzz, marked by Twangoo's foray into the e-business market, the company was seen as a fierce competitor to Kalahari, which was at the time about 12 years old. Since then, however, industry watchers have questioned (../index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62661) the effectiveness of the group buying/daily deal site business model. disgruntled online deal-grabbers' complaints (http://hellopeter.com/groupon-sa/complaints/worst-service-ever-1530074), over failure to meet delivery commitments, slow refund processes and poor after-sales service. But Popa says more than 75% of Groupon SA's partners are "highly satisfied", while over 80% of its customers say they are likely to return to the merchant they took an offer from. He says Groupon SA works with thousands of partners across four categories – local, travel, goods and ticketing. Asked about his thoughts on the string of failed ventures in the space, Popa said group buying sites would have to establish themselves as major go-to destinations. "Groupon has made significant progress towards this goal." As for his vision for Groupon SA, Popa says: "My focus is on improving customer satisfaction and I strive for our customers to love us the way they used to in the beginning stages of Groupon SA. This means I continue to grow the business profitably and sustainably, while turning the company into a customer-centric organisation." (c) 2014 ITWeb Limited. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |