Did international expansion kill Groupon? | Econsultancy.
There has been plenty of speculation about the missteps Groupon could have prevented along the way to ensure their stability and continued success. Everything from a poor business model from the get-go, ethical problems with upper-management, poor accounting when going public, and most recently – the strategy to use it’s revenue to expand internationally and grab foreign markets before foreign knockoffs do, have all been cited as various nails in Groupon’s proverbial coffin.
Groupon itself has indicated that the less than stellar returns they’ve seen from expanding into foreign markets have been a large factor in explaining it’s current financial woes.
However, others have said that Groupon’s problems shouldn’t be pinned on this entirely – and more specifically, perhaps they should have worried more about their business itinerary than beating the competition to the punch.
The Art Of War
The great tactician and philosopher Sun Tzu said: “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Groupon’s quickness to act without proper planning is a perfect modern example of being overzealous on a massive scale. Even though Groupon grew extremely rapidly due to the freshness of the concept – their business model, and more importantly product itself, didn’t prove to be sustainable on a very basic level.
More food for thought at this link – Did international expansion kill Groupon? | Econsultancy.