Groupon CEO, Andrew D. Mason sent out a letter to the stockholders today addressing what the company accomplished in 2011 and what they have planned for 2012 and beyond. To put it lightly, they plan on taking over commerce in your area.
To begin with, Mason layer out some pretty impressive statistics on how they did during 2011. They sold 170 million Groupons in 48 countries featuring over 250,000 merchants. They used 33 million active customers to drive $2 billion worth of business to companies around the world. That is really impressive, and that’s not even mentioning the 11 acquisitions they undertook in 2011.
Mason also layed-out his plan to become the recognized operating system for local commerce. He believes Groupon has the right combination of expertise, recognizability, influence, and leadership to become the trusted authority for driving more interest to local businesses on a global scale. Essentially, he wants to reinvent the local commerce ecosystem and become an instrumental component for businesses trying to build their brand recognition.
The infrastructure is already in place and many of the tools are have taken root. It began with site and email personalization and is currently spreading to the mobile deals community. By combining these aspects with Groupon Rewards and their booking management system he is hooping for continued growth throughout 2012.
Mason comments about the downfalls of fast growth for the investors:
“In my letter to potential stockholders that accompanied Groupon’s S-1, I warned investors of a bumpy road—an unfortunate side effect of our unprecedented growth.”
He says he plans to overcome this challenge with consumer’s loyalty to the Groupon brand, a continued expansion into untapped markets, and a commitment to growth and longevity.
