Company profile Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Company profile - Coursework Example This individual would be old enough to own a credit card that is mandatory for making the purchases and is adventurous to try out new products/services because these make up most of the discounted offers. Groupons’ success so far Groupon.com has carved out a unique market space, considering that it offers diverse products and services, which differentiates it from traditional retailers: both brick-and-mortar and pure-play. Its major strengths are its brand as the trailblazer, its huge market presence, and its large financial backing of about US$ 1.2 billion. Groupon’s greatest opportunity is in the ease with which it can extend its service to more cities throughout the world. In fact, the company is currently leveraging its brand by extending its offering to willing collaborators through its Groupon Affiliate Program. The macro-environmental climate appears favorable for Groupon.com. The possible difficulties that it may have encountered due to political, legal, social, cultural and technological issues have for a greater part been addressed by other major online retailers such as Amazon.com and E-bay. Secondly, the fact that the world is emerging from an economic recession, consumers are more keen to watch on their expenses and as such it would not be foolhardy to anticipate an increased market for coupon / discount / bargain shoppers who would appreciate Groupon’s value proposition. However, as Gans (2) points out, Groupon’s prospects for long-term success are not guaranteed. Groupon’s unsecure future Groupon.com’s success has spawned numerous clones across the globe which Gans (2) estimates to be 400 competitors so far. The organization’s greatest weakness is that its business model is easy to replicate and even perfect. This makes Groupon’s first-mover competitive advantage difficult to sustain. Moreover, the low barriers to entry may make it tempting for some of the company’s suppliers to c ontemplate integrating forwards. We cannot also neglect the threat posed by the big Internet companies such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon that have the resources necessary to acquire rival coupon companies and enter the industry. One of Groupon’s major strategic blunders was not to have taken the purported $6 billion bid from Google when it had the chance (Gans 2). Other than its leadership in having a big solid base of accounts, every other aspect of Groupon’s business is easily replicable. Furthermore, the company’s US$ 1.2 billion current financial base is meager in comparison to, say, Facebook or Amazon, if they decided to acquire one of Groupon’s rivals and enter this new industry. The coupon industry is at a point where the early Internet companies where before the shakeout in the early 1990s. Groupon’s rejection of the Google offer could be viewed as a strategic blunder because Groupon.com could have utilized not only the cash injection but other resources available to Google to explore, discover and build a sustainable competitive advantage. Groupon.com’s current strategy may not be able to ensure that the organization retains its current industry leadership status. For starters, with 400 competitors, most of who are beginning to focus on niches such as city or through their offerings, consumer power continues to increase. Moreover, the information-rich Internet gives customers an edge when it boils down to selecting a coupon