A week ago, Groupon Inc. offered what it called a Super Groupon. And it didn’t have anything to do with the Chicago company’s poorly received Super Bowl television ads.
p
The $10 Super Groupon coupon was redeemable for $20 in merchandise from bookseller Barnes Noble. Groupon sold about 700,000 vouchers worth roughly $7 million in a few days — the latest eye-catching statistic in a series of impressive financial milestones for the 2-year-old startup.
p
To maintain its lead in an increasingly crowded field of me-too rivals, Groupon is pursuing strategies such as offering more national deals, which can generate a higher level of volume than a small local restaurant or spa. But this gambit puts Groupon at risk of losing part of its core identity as a friend to local merchants and a way for consumers to discover experiences that are unique to their city.
p
Groupon, which spurned a $6 billion buyout offer from Google last year and is reportedly considering an initial public offering after raising $950 million in funding in January, is under immense pressure to keep growing.
p
To accomplish that goal, you have to sell brands that you can sell hundreds of thousands of units for, and you can’t do that with the little pizza shop, said Martin Tobias, founder and chief executive of Tippr, a competitor that provides daily deals and supplies software to publishers so they can run their own offers.
p
Groupon spokeswoman Julie Mossler said 95 percent of the company’s offers remain neighborhood deals.
p
We’re never going to stop working with local merchants, Mossler said. That’s the heart of our business.
p
Groupon, she added, is growing internationally and through the addition of subscribers. The company has amassed more than 50 million subscribers in 41 countries and is running 660 deals a day in more than 500 markets. A year ago, Groupon…