Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) appointed Kal Raman, a veteran in the technology and retail business, as chief operating officer. He is currently serving the company as senior vice president for global sales and operations. He joined the company in April 2012.
As COO, Raman will continue to supervise the company’s global sales and operations, and report directly to Andrew Mason, chief executive officer of Groupon.
According to Mason, Raman will lead the deployment of tools and technologies that will help Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) grow its business operations. Mason noted its progress in Europe. Mason said, “In a very short time, Kal has had a significant impact on increasing the number and quality of local businesses using the Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) platform to the benefit of Groupon customers around the world.”
Raman has 20 years experience in the technology and retail business. Before joining Groupon, he served as vice president of global fulfillment at eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY). He was the CEO of Global Scholar, a company engaged in providing enterprise software for K-12 public schools, before moving to e-BAY.
He also served as a senior vice president at Amazon.com.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and was responsible for supervising the global non-media business for retailers and sellers, and the retail technology and marketing units of the company. He became the CEO of drugstore.com. He also held numerous management positions at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT).
Meanwhile, Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) launched its redesigned website and a new deal structure that would enable consumers to find the offers on products they want to buy, instead of waiting for coupons to arrive in their in-box.
Jeff Holden, senior vice president of products at Groupon said, “Groupon was the ultimate place where people would buy things that they didn’t know they were going to buy when they woke in the morning. Our model was about talking to merchants, agreeing on a deal, then running the deal. Then it would disappear and be gone.”
Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) gathered 27,000 deals for customers in North America. The redesigned website started to rollout in Chicago and New York today, and consumers will now be able to see a catalog of offers in different categories, such as food, health, fitness, and many other categories. According to the company, the offers will remain in the site.
According to Holden, the new format of the website is delivering positive results. He said, “We are seeing a significant lift from people who experience the “pull” experience. It will take time for people to discover it and for it to ramp up, but the immediate embracing of this shows that people were hungry for capability.”
Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) is a global leader in offering daily deals to consumers from local and national businesses.
