The American Groupon invests US$ 150 million in emerging countries
O Estado de S. Paulo 09/10/10
The American site of collective purchases Groupon Urban Club is investing US$ 150 million in order to inaugurate its site in Brazil, Russia and China. World leader in offering a service that is gaining more and more supporters in the world, the company operates in 26 countries and should close the year with global revenues of US$ 500 million, an increase of more than 600% over 2009. The site offers daily rates with discounts of up to 90% in the areas of food, welfare and entertainment establishments. "The idea is that everyone gain with the business", says Daniel Hoppers, director of the Brazilian operation of Groupon, which began its activities in the country last July. "With the site's offerings, our customers saved US$ 500 million so far".The operation works like this: Groupon accredits the companies which present their services on the site for 24 hours and inform the consumers registered about the promotion. Groupon divides the amount charged for the purchase with the partner company (cinemas, gyms and restaurants, among others), and the customer gets the discount. Last Wednesday, August 8th, for example, Groupon sold in just one day 2 thousand packages for a weekend at an inn in Ilha Bela, on the northern coast of São Paulo, whose daily rate includes accommodation and dinner for a couple of R$ 110. "We want to strengthen our performance in the entertainment and tourism areas", says Funis.
According to Funis, the headquarters, in Chicago, Illinois, is betting on the Brazilian market, where in just over two months of operation has 500 thousand registered customers, spread across 12 cities - the fore cast is to reach 30 until the end of the year. "Brazil is already our fifth market, behind only of the United States, England, France and Spain", said Funis. He said other data also draws the attention in the comparison with the rest of the group: the Brazilian operation is only behind the one at the U.S. in number of spontaneous daily recommendations of the site, one of the most effective tools for disseminating this kind of business.
The business model of Groupon was created in 2008 by a young entrepreneur from Chicago, Andrew Mason, 29, and was soon replicated to various parts of the world. Thus, Mason, currently CEO of Groupon, named as one of the 100 most creative people in the world by the American magazine Fast Company, decided to put into action a plan to expand outside the U.S.A. The company began its internationalization in April this year with the acquisition of rival MyCityDeal, the largest of its kind in Europe. Two months later it left for Latin America, opening operations in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Brazil.
The result of Groupon, which spread to 200 cities on the planet, has been amazing so far. Even without having done an IPO, its market value is estimated at US$ 1.3 billion. The calculation takes into account the value of the acquisition made recently by an investor of the Silicon Valley, California, who paid US$ 135 million for a share of 10% of Groupon.