Groupon Is Closing Operations In 7 Countries, Laying Off 1,100

New submitter joesreviewss writes: Groupon is laying off about 10% of its workforce and is shutting down operations in seven countries. 1,100 people worldwide will be let go and the company will take a pre-tax charge of $35 million in the process. A Groupon statement reads in part: "Let’s be clear: these are tough actions to take, especially when we believe we’re stronger than ever. We’re doing all we can to make these transitions as easy as possible, but it’s not easy to lose some great members of the Groupon family. Yet just as our business has evolved from a largely hand-managed daily deal site to a true ecommerce technology platform, our operational model has to evolve. Evolution is hard, but it’s a necessary part of our journey. It’s also part of our DNA as a company and is one of the things that will help us realize our vision of creating the daily habit in local commerce."

Comments

Re:Should've taken Google's $6B offer

[Travis Mansbridge]

It's not so much that Groupon isn't useful, what they've always failed to do is convert the coupon users into repeat customers which frequently causes their clients to operate at a loss (making only the heavily-discounted deal and never cashing in on full-price sales).

Groupon "family"

[anti-pop-frustration]

but it’s not easy to lose some great members of the Groupon family

Detestable corporate jargon. Your employer is not your family.

Re:"We're stronger than ever"

[LaurenCates]

Well, look at it like this: Groupon was at the forefront of a new business model, started because the internet enabled it. It wouldn't have worked as well by any other method of communication.

The part that nerds might be interested in is how the wind shifts as to the ways people connect and do business. Are people looking to get deals in real-time? What's the turnaround time on a web-only deal to get the best possible value? Can you get a group of random strangers (rather than a group of friends) to all hop on a deal at once? Can you look at the data to see where this strategy works best, and where it works worst? Can you develop an alternate business model for sparsely-populated areas to get good deals the way people can in cities?

There are always data to look at where money is involved. Always.