name | Groupon |
---|---|
logo | |
url | groupon.com |
alexa | 240 () |
commercial | Yes |
type | Electronic commerce |
owner | ThePoint, Inc. |
author | Andrew Mason |
headquarters | Chicago, IL |
launch date | November 2008 |
current status | Active |
revenue | US $760 million |
content license | }} |
Groupon (a portmanteau derived from "group coupon") is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies. Groupon was launched on November 2008, the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City, and Toronto. , Groupon serves more than 150 markets in North America and 100 markets in Europe, Asia and South America and has amassed 35 million registered users.
The idea for Groupon was created by now-CEO and Pittsburgh native Andrew Mason. The idea subsequently gained the attention of his former employer, Eric Lefkofsky, who provided $1 million in "seed money" to develop the idea. In April 2010, the company was valued at $1.35 billion. According to a report conducted by Groupon's marketing association and reported in ''Forbes Magazine'', which was reported by the ''Wall Street Journal'', Groupon is "projecting that the company is on pace to make $1 billion in sales faster than any other business, ever".
Groupon owns numerous international operations, all of which were originally deal-of-the-day services similar to it, but most of which were subsequently re-branded under the Groupon name after acquisition; these have included the European-based MyCityDeal (17 May 2010), the South American ClanDescuento (22 June 2010), the Singaporean Beeconomic.com, the Japanese service Qpod.jp, Russian Darberry.ru (both on 17 August 2010). Groupon has recently bought the Indian deal-of-the-day website SoSasta.com and will be re-branding it soon as well. The Groupon acquisitions of uBuyiBuy launched services under the Groupon name in Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines and Taiwan. Groupon also acquired GroupsMore.com in Malaysia to expand its business there. Prior to these acquisitions, Groupon had bought out the mobile technology company Mob.ly. Groupon is preparing for a $25 billion IPO in 2011. The Point, Inc., the predecessor to Groupon, bought the trademark "GROUP-ONS" from its originator in February 2009 under terms which allows the originator and first registrant of the trademark to continue the use of this trademark. In June 2011, Groupon filed with the SEC to raise up to $750 million in an initial public offering.
Owing to Groupon's market being primarily composed of female customers, the deals are often focused on the health, fitness and beauty markets.
There are potential problems with the business model. For example, a successful deal could temporarily swamp a small business with too many customers, risking a possibility that customers will be unsatisfied, or that there won't be enough product to meet the demand. Gap, a large clothing retailer, was able to handle 445,000 coupons in a national deal (although it experienced server problems at one point), but a smaller business could become suddenly flooded with customers. One coffee shop in Portland struggled with an increase in customers for three months, when it sold close to 1,000 Groupons on the one day it was offered, according to one report. In response to similar problems, Groupon officials state that 'deal' subscriptions should be capped in advance to a reasonable number.
, it is difficult for local merchants to get Groupon interested in agreeing to a particular deal. According to the ''Wall Street Journal'', seven of every eight possible deals suggested by merchants were dismissed by Groupon.
The site has recently launched a mobile application available on Wap, Android, Blackberry, iPhone and Windows Phone 7. It allows users to buy deals on their phones and retrieve them using the screen as a coupon.
In February 2011, Groupon Russia announced it would join the Russian Company Mail.ru in order to start offering deals on its social network Odnoklassniki. This way, users would be able to buy and share deals from Groupon on their profiles.
In Australia, development of Groupon has been slow owing to legal disputes between Groupon and an Australian company, Scoopon. Groupon now operates in Australia as "Stardeals" while the legal problems are worked out.
On February 19, 2011 The Wall Street Journal reported that Groupon was preparing to launch in China.
Groupon is also expanding into the MENA region with its launch of Groupon UAE on June 16, 2011.
Groupon New Zealand launched on 10 May 2011 in conjunction with local Facebook tourism hub Gotta Love NZ. The New Zealand market is already crowded with over 50 deal sites active.
In January 2011, reports surfaced that Google was planning to launch a competing product, called Google Offers, following its failure to purchase Groupon for $6 billion.
In April 2011, Facebook begins testing social-buying program. This move by Facebook was speculated to be a competitive threat to Groupon.
From January 2010 through January 2011, Groupon’s U.S. monthly revenues grew from $11 million to $89 million. Total 2011 U.S. revenues were an estimated $460 million. In February 2011 monthly revenue dropped to $62 million. Groupon’s 2011 estimated revenues are in the $3 billion to $4 billion range.
In October 2010, Yahoo! was rumored to have offered over $3 billion to acquire Groupon. On November 30, 2010, it was reported that Google offered $5.3 billion with a $700 million earnout to acquire Groupon and was rejected on December 3, 2010. After the rejection of the Google/Groupon buy-out, Groupon was identified as a possible candidate for an initial public offering by 2013.
In March 2011, Eli R. Johnson filed a lawsuit in federal court against Groupon, based on a claim that the company issues "gift certificates" that are not allowed under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act which prohibits retailers from setting expiration dates less than 5 years after a card is purchased.
Responding to concerns about Donald Trump's possible run for the U.S. presidency, in April 2011 Groupon said "Enough consumers have contacted us to warrant ensuring that we don't place ads on the 'Apprentice' home page in the future." The company said the action was to distance itself from "political criticism", and that "it's avoiding intentionally upsetting a segment of our customers."
Some analysts claim that Groupon operates "like" a Ponzi scheme, according to interpretation of IPO documentation, because it has publicly disclosed that it is losing approximately US$100 million per quarter, has a net negative balance of $230 million, and is using later investors' money to pay off earlier investors—which makes their operations illegal.
Category:Sales promotion Category:Online retail companies of the United States Category:Marketing companies of the United States Category:Internet properties established in 2008 Category:Deal of the day services
ar:جروبون de:Groupon fr:Groupon ko:그루폰 id:Groupon lt:Groupon nl:Groupon ja:グルーポン pt:Groupon ro:Groupon ru:Groupon ta:குரூப்போன் bat-smg:Groupon zh:GrouponThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Ellen DeGeneres |
---|---|
birth name | Ellen Lee DeGeneres |
birth date | January 26, 1958 |
birth place | Metairie, Louisiana, United States |
active | 1981 – present |
medium | Stand-up, television, film, books |
nationality | American |
subjects | Observational comedy, celebrity comedy, political comedy, family comedy, everyday life |
influences | Steve Martin, Woody Allen, Bob Newhart, Johnny Carson |
spouse | Portia de Rossi (2008–present) |
domesticpartner | Anne Heche (1997–2000)Alexandra Hedison (2001–2004) |
Ellen Lee DeGeneres (; born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show''.
DeGeneres has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. As a film actress, she starred in ''Mr. Wrong'', appeared in ''EDtv'' and ''The Love Letter'', and provided the voice of Dory in the Disney-Pixar animated film ''Finding Nemo'', for which she was awarded a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first and only time a voice performance won a Saturn Award. She was a judge on ''American Idol'' for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season. She also starred in two television sitcoms, ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998 and ''The Ellen Show'' from 2001 to 2002. During the fourth season of ''Ellen'' in 1997, DeGeneres came out publicly as a lesbian in an appearance on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''. Shortly afterwards, her character Ellen Morgan also came out to a therapist played by Winfrey, and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues including the coming out process. She has won thirteen Emmys and numerous other awards for her work and charitable efforts.
In November 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named her a Special Envoy for Global AIDS Awareness.
DeGeneres graduated from Atlanta High School in May 1976, after completing her first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana. She moved back to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, where she majored in communication studies. After one semester, she left school to do clerical work in a law firm with her cousin Laura Gillen. She also held a job selling clothes at the chain store the Merry-Go-Round at the Lakeside Shopping Center. Other working experiences included being a waitress at TGI Friday's and another restaurant, a house painter, a hostess, and a bartender. She relates much of her childhood and career experiences in her comedic work.
''Ellen'' reached its height of popularity in February 1997, when DeGeneres made her homosexuality public on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''. Subsequently her character on the sitcom came out of the closet in April to her therapist, played by Oprah Winfrey, revealing that she is gay. The coming-out episode, titled "The Puppy Episode", was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show. Later episodes of the series did not match its popularity, and after declining ratings, the show was canceled. DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit, and later re-established herself as a successful talk show host.
DeGeneres celebrated her thirty-year class reunion by flying her graduating class to California to be guests on her show in February 2006. She presented Atlanta High School with a surprise gift of a new electronic LED marquee sign.
In May 2006, DeGeneres made a surprise appearance at the Tulane University commencement in New Orleans. Following George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton to the podium, she came out in a bathrobe and furry slippers. "They told me everyone would be wearing robes," she said. Ellen then went on to make another commencement speech at Tulane in 2009.
The show broadcast for a week from Universal Studios Orlando in March 2007. Skits included DeGeneres going on the Hulk Roller Coaster Ride and the Jaws Boat Ride.
In May 2007, DeGeneres was placed on bed rest due to a torn ligament in her back. She continued hosting her show from a hospital bed, tended to by a nurse, explaining "the show must go on, as they say." Guests sat in hospital beds as well.
On May 1, 2009, DeGeneres celebrated her 1000th episode, featuring celebrity guests such as Oprah, Justin Timberlake, and Paris Hilton, among others.
On July 29, 2010, DeGeneres and Fox executives announced that the comedienne would be departing from the series after one season. In a statement, DeGeneres said that the series "didn't feel like the right fit for me".
In August 2005, DeGeneres hosted the 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony held on September 18, 2005. This was three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, making it the second time she hosted the Emmys following a national tragedy. She also hosted the Grammy Awards in 1996 and in 1997.
DeGeneres was nominated for an Emmy Award as host of the Academy Awards broadcast.
DeGeneres began working with Cover Girl Cosmetics in September 2008, for which she has been criticized, as her animal-friendly values clash with Procter and Gamble's (the maker of Cover Girl Cosmetics) animal testing. Her face is the focus of new Cover Girl advertisements starting in January 2009. The beauty campaign will be DeGeneres's first.
Since 2004, DeGeneres has had a relationship with Portia de Rossi. After the overturn of the same-sex marriage ban in California, DeGeneres announced on a May 2008 show that she and de Rossi were engaged, and gave de Rossi a three-carat pink diamond ring. They were married on August 16, 2008 at their home, with nineteen guests including their mothers. The passage of Proposition 8 cast doubt on the legal status of their marriage but a subsequent California Supreme Court judgment validated it because it occurred before November 4, 2008.
DeGeneres and de Rossi live in Beverly Hills, with three dogs and four cats, and both are vegan. DeGeneres served as campaign ambassador to Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-A-Turkey Project in 2010, asking people to start "a new tradition by adopting a turkey instead of eating one" at Thanksgiving.
On August 6, 2010, de Rossi filed a petition to legally change her name to Portia Lee James DeGeneres The petition was granted on September 23, 2010.
In her book ''Love, Ellen'', DeGeneres's mother Betty DeGeneres describes being initially shocked when her daughter came out as a lesbian, but has become one of her strongest supporters, an active member of Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's Coming Out Project.
In 2007, ''Forbes'' estimated DeGeneres's net worth at US$65 million.
She is a fan of the National Football League, and has shown particular support for the New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers. In 2011, she attended a Saints practice dressed as Packers Hall of Famer Don Hutson.
Year | Film | Role | Notes | |||||||||||||||||
1990 | ''Arduous Moon'' | Herself | Short film | |||||||||||||||||
1991 | ''Wisecracks'' | Herself | Documentary | |||||||||||||||||
1993 | Coach | |||||||||||||||||||
1994 | Herself | Short film | ||||||||||||||||||
Herself | Short film | |||||||||||||||||||
Martha Alston | ||||||||||||||||||||
''Goodbye Lover'' | Sgt. Rita Pompano | |||||||||||||||||||
Prologue Dog | ||||||||||||||||||||
''EDtv'' | Cynthia | |||||||||||||||||||
Janet Hall | ||||||||||||||||||||
''Pauly Shore Is Dead'' | Herself | |||||||||||||||||||
''Finding Nemo'' | Dory | Voice
Year
|
Film
|
Role
|
Notes
|
1988
|
''Women of the Night''
|
Herself
|
| 1989
|
| Margo Van Mete
|
Episode: "The Bad Seed" Episode: "Let's Get Physicals"
|
1992
|
''[[Laurie Hill">Annie Award |
2004
|
''My Short Film''
|
Herself
|
Short film
|
|
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
1988 | ''Women of the Night'' | Herself | |
1989 | Margo Van Mete | Episode: "The Bad Seed" Episode: "Let's Get Physicals" | |
1992 | ''[[Laurie Hill'' | Nancy MacIntyre | Episode: "Pilot" Episode: "The Heart Thing" Episode: "Walter and Beverly" |
1994–1998 | |||
1995 | Dr. Whitman | ||
1998 | ''Mad About You'' | Nancy Bloom | |
''Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning'' | Herself | Comedy special | |
''If These Walls Could Talk 2'' | Kal | Segment: "2000" | |
2001 | Operator | Segment: "Reaching Normal" | |
2001 | ''Will & Grace'' | Sister Louise | |
2001–2002 | ''The Ellen Show'' | Ellen Richmond | |
''Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now'' | Herself | Comedy special | |
''MADtv'' | Herself | ||
2003–present | ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' | Herself | TV show |
''E! True Hollywood Story'' | Herself | ||
Herself | |||
2005 | Herself | ||
''Ellen's Really Big Show'' | Herself | ||
''Sesame Street'' | Herself | Episode: "The Tutu Spell" ''(uncredited)'' | |
''Forbes 20 Richest Women in Entertainment'' | Herself | ||
''The Bachelorette'' | Herself | ||
2007–2008 | ''American Idol'' | Herself | Episode: "Idol Gives Back |
2008 | ''Ellen's Even Bigger Really Big Show'' | Herself | Comedy special |
''Ellen's Bigger, Longer & Wider Show'' | Herself | Comedy special | |
Guest Judge | |||
2010 | ''[[American Idol'' | Judge | |
2010 | ''The Simpsons'' | Herself | Episode: "Judge Me Tender" |
Year | Album | Notes |
1996 | ''Ellen Degeneres: Taste This'' | Stand-up comedy Live CD |
; Tulane University President's Medal 2009
; Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards 2000 Lucy Award, actor, If These Walls Could Talk 2, in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.
Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Louisiana Category:American film actors Category:American Christian Scientists Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American philanthropists Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American vegans Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:GLAAD Media Awards winners Category:Lesbian actors Category:LGBT comedians from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:LGBT television personalities from the United States Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Reality television judges Category:Saturn Award winners Category:University of New Orleans alumni Category:Women comedians
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This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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