Bargain scheme closes doors of SA office
BARGAIN hunting with the Groupon SA scheme came to an abrupt end this week with the shock announcement that the online buying site has closed down its local operation.
A statement posted on its website informed customers that, as of yesterday, Groupon SA had “wound down its operations in South Africa, and we are unable to offer you any deals”.
It added: “This means we will stop offering deals on our website from tonight. All current vouchers bought will remain valid until the date stated on the voucher.”
Around noon it closed down its South African Twitter and Facebook feeds. Groupon SA, which reportedly had 200 staff, was the local leg of the US fir m Groupon, a company established in 2008 that offered special deals and bargains in cities around the world at “unbeatable prices”.
The local fir m, based in the Cape Town city centre, offered deals and dis- counts on everything from meals and food tastings to weekend getaways, massages, haircuts and extreme sports. Yesterday Independent Media sent an e-mail to the address of the group’s local media relations officer – it bounced back with an “address no longer in use” message.
Groupon SA wrote to its customers, saying its decision to stop operating was not taken lightly.
“We’ve evaluated our global footprint and closely examined the markets where the market potential and the required investment are equally matched. As a result of this evaluation, we have taken the difficult decision to wind down our operations in South Africa.”
The group offered a cash refund to all customers who bought vouchers if they contacted the company before month-end.
The group’s decision to exit South Africa is part of a larger move to focus on its most profitable countries, it said. In a statement to investors announcing its third-quarter results late last month, Groupon indicated that it would reduce its “country footprint” to 15 countries, down from 27. The 12 countries that were to be dropped weren’t named, however.
Around the time the report was published, Groupon SA’s Twitter feed stopped adding new posts and its blog went quiet.
Groupon entered the South African market in 2010, part of its then-push to grow its business beyond its core US businesses.
According to inter net statistics website Alexa, it was the 125th most-visited SA website this week.
Customers with queries can contact Groupon on 021 201 7100 or via e-mail at s u p p o r t @ g ro u p o n . c o. z a before November 30.