We’re experimenting with new categories

Ananya Bubna, managing director, Groupon India, said in an interview that the company is now taking country- specific steps to attract customers. Groupon, which raised $950 million (`4,237 crore) earlier this year after it turned down a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google Inc., plans to expand beyond the 11 Indian cities it is present in. Edited excerpts: You entered India by acquiring Friday Media Pvt. Ltd, promoter of SoSasta.com. Will acquisitions be a part of your expansion strategy here?

There are two parts to it. I don't see value in acquiring small players in a given region. We are learning things here and it makes a lot more sense for big players to establish offices and scale fast than acquire a small player. I see value in acquisitions for new verticals because we work in so many verticals and am open to having more deals in new lines. There is value in such partnerships. We can't be spending years in starting and scaling up a new vertical. We are not soliciting any partnerships right now but we are also not ruling them out.

Has the Indian market panned out the way you expected it to?

It's a different market

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Some categories have received better response than anticipated while there have been disappointments in some. For example, a beverage deal that we thought would have huge takers didn't sell. Price point is very important for a special sub- category. A salon deal with a high price point may work well in Mumbai but the price point will have to be slightly lower for it to appeal in Kolkata. Location is also very crucial. We have realized that if the value is great even for a limited subscriber’s base, it will work here.

We are experimenting with new categories. We have realized that something like bal- loon rides, which got massive response in the UK, may not get the same reaction here. Product deals, mobile phones, wellness products, work best in India. India has a large number of travel lovers; this is what we are aggressively looking at pursuing.

What efforts are you taking to lure Indian customers?

We are doing cash-on-de- livery in India, which we don't do anywhere else. We have realized that reaching out to Indian customers on- line is a big challenge. We have started a personal concierge help, especially for Indian customers. A few customers have given us feed- back that while they liked our site, they could not make a purchase. Through this ser- vice, one of our experts will handhold a buyer, helping them in registration and purchase on the site. We also have our people calling customers informing them about various deals in their area of interest.

Four months since starting in India, how is business?

We will look at contributing a good chunk to Groupon's overall revenues. We will ensure that our revenue targets are met. We have deals from `29 to `35,000 and while we were targeting an average ticket size of `500, we think it could be higher. The Indian market is large enough to absorb a couple of fast-growing companies. Execution is crucial in this business.

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                                                            (Source -: livemint)