With Groupon reportedly set to begin its IPO road show early next week, it’s a good time to revisit the deal site. Is Groupon a great, lucrative deal for its merchants, a swindle or something even worse?
Rather than talk to analysts or observers, we decided to go directly to three Groupon merchants to find out if selling Groupons is a good deal.
We picked 3 business in the San Francisco Bay Area that ran Groupons. A restaurant, a dive shop, and a bakery. We asked each of them to tell us how it went and whether or not they would sign-up again. It’s an important question for Groupon, as their amended S-1 filing says “If we fail to retain existing merchants or add new merchants, our revenue and business will be harmed.” (See risks on page 12).
While Groupon appears ready to get its IPO back on track, its had some recent troubles. Last month, Groupon lost its second COO in 6 months and amended its S-1 to report lower revenue based on a more accurate way of counting Groupons. It had also cancelled an earlier investor road show but now it may be on again. The company is expected go public after pricing by bankers, following the road show according to AllThingsD.
For more information about these businesses, here are links to Brennan’s Restaurant, Mission Minnis, and All About Scuba.
Thanks to TCTV shooter and editor John Murillo who produced this video.