Frendi

Performance Indicators

Revenue of the Russian Groupon (Grupon Rus LLC) decreased since 2012: for that year the company received slightly more than 1 billion rubles, and at the end of 2015 revenue from sales made about 385 million rubles, follows from data in SPARK-Interfax. Net profit in 2012 of about 42 million rubles to the 2016th turned into net loss almost in 409 million rubles.

2016

Change of the name with Frendi

The Groupon Russia service completed in July, 2016 rebranding within which changed the corporate style, a communication framework and the brand name to Frendi.

As told in the company, change of a name and the corporate style — a part of general strategy of development. These changes reflect those high-quality shifts which happened in the company "Groupon Russia", in the field of coupon services, in consumer behavior, in economy and technologies in recent years. Service selected new communication strategy, and change of attributes of a brand, including the name, should bring them into accord with new marketing problems and positioning of a brand, consider in Groupon.

According to representatives of the company, the former name of service was developed more than 10 years ago and today does not express key features of service any more. The name "Groupon" was associated at audience, first of all, with coupons, discounts. This rectilinear rational communication gave way to the friendly Frendi realizing new positioning of a brand "Your supplier of impressions. "In general the image of a brand becomes more modern, more emotionally and more corresponding to positioning. So, in visual style the mitigated outline of a logo and use in it emotional graphic images are in harmony with semantics of a phoneme of Frendi" — specified in "Groupon Russia".

Development of the new corporate style and communication framework was conducted with involvement of the strategic partner of the company — the Russian agency in the field of branding of Direct Design Visual Branding. Within implementation of this large-scale project, according to the results of the complex analysis of a situation in the market and studying of needs of audience, were offered by the working group several different directions of rebranding. As a result the management of service accepted the option which is eliminating defects of a former brand and most precisely expressing the new communication strategy of the company.

Control over Grupon Rus passes to Leonid Boguslavsky

Since April, 2016 Grupon Rus LLC for 100% Cyprian Primerus Holdings Ltd possesses, by data SPARK-Interfax. Who purchased the Russian business, in the reporting of the American company it was not told. The Vedomosti newspaper wrote that the ru-Net venture fund of Leonid Boguslavsky became the buyer of 100% of business of Groupon Russia in May, 2016. The investment director of fund Alexander Pavlov confirmed this information.

Head company Groupon Inc. did not receive any sales proceeds of the Russian division, Interfax with reference to materials of the company tells.

The transaction on sale of Groupon Russia was closed on April 12, 2016. Groupon Inc. reflected in the reporting for the second quarter a "paper" loss from sale of business in the amount of $9.3 million from which $8.9 million — from the transaction with the Russian asset. In particular, the book value of Groupon Russia at the time of sale was negative — $1.6 million, said in the reporting^[1].

Groupon closes office in Ukraine

"With regret we tell you that since January 25, 2016 the Groupon company stopped the activity in Ukraine and therefore we cannot offer you any actions", says which appears in attempt to pass to the website groupon.com.ua.

2010: Groupon buys Darberry.ru

In August, 2010 it became known that the American Groupon acquired a controlling stake of the Russian clone – the website Darberry.ru. Transaction amount was not disclosed. The founder of Darberry Alexey Chernyak remained to direct the Russian office Groupon. Along with this transaction Groupon announced acquisition of the Japanese website Qpod providing similar services.

The website Darberry was started in March, 2010 and by the time of the transaction worked in seven Russian cities. As well as Groupon, this project works on model of collective purchases and conceptually is close to the American analog: services with an essential discount are regularly offered community, but in order that the transaction took place, the minimum number of participants therefore it is necessary to invite friends actively should be gained.

Already three months later after start, in June, 2010 turnover of the company exceeded $150 thousand and it reached payback, Alexey Chernyak told CNews. In July, according to him, turnover of Darberry increased to $250 thousand, and by December the company calculates that it will make $1 million.

The Russian project "Cheap & Daily" started by the same command in December, 2009 and offering one goods a day at greatly reduced prices became the forerunner of Darberry. Then founders of the project based on the test period came to a conclusion that the similar business model has a potential for significant growth. Entrepreneurs then estimated a possible annual turnover at $8-12 million.

Notes