Groupon Inc (GRPN)’s New Head Honcho, Top-Line Thoughts, Fiksu & More

Editor’s Note: Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN)

Groupon Pins Turnaround on Billionaire Investor Lefkofsky (Bloomberg)
Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN)’s choice of Eric Lefkofsky as permanent chief executive officer entrusts the daily deals site’s turnaround plans to a controversial Chicago billionaire with a history of failed endeavors. Lefkofsky — one constant at a company that has cycled through executives and dabbled in new business models to make up for waning demand in its main coupon business — has shored up control after jostling with his co-founder Andrew Mason, whom he helped oust from the CEO role in February. While the move puts Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) in the hands of a known quantity, who as interim co-CEO helped oversee a 79 percent stock rally this year, it also dashed optimism that the board would tap an outsider with experience leading corporate overhauls. In May, the company said the search for a new chief was under way and it was talking with recruiting firms.

Groupon’s top-line fundamentals still lacking – RBC (Financial post)
The market seemed to like Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) ’s second-quarter results, driving the stock up some 25% after the online daily deal provider reported on Wednesday afternoon. But some on the Street don’t think the stock warrants a much higher valuation just yet

Groupon, Fiksu Extend Partnership – Analyst Blog (Nasdaq)
Daily deals provider Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) and Boston-based marketing services provider Fiksu recently expanded their 3-year old relationship. The companies signed an extended partnership deal, which will allow Fiksu to exclusively market Groupon’s mobile applications worldwide. Per the latest agreement, Fiksu will use its Mobile App Marketing platform to market Groupon mobile app in the under penetrated regions of Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”) and Asia-Pacific (“APAC). Currently, Fiksu provides services to Groupon in North America only. Fiksu’s marketing platform uses technology that analyzes user data collected from different sources, including mobile ad networks, real-time bidding exchanges and social networks such as Facebook ( FB ) . This thorough analysis helps advertisers to target the right audience at significantly lower costs (one-third of traditional providers), which improves their return on investment (“ROI”).

Is Groupon Goods a Daily-Deal Savior or a Low-Margin Distraction? (All Things D)
When Groupon recognized in 2011 that daily deals alone wouldn’t lead it to long-term success, the company started selling discounted products under the Groupon Goods banner.That business has continued to grow strongly since then, accounting for $151 million in revenue in North America in the first quarter, and $229 million globally. As the Chicago-based daily-deal company prepares to report second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, it’s clear that analysts will be paying close attention to this business segment.

Discussing Groupon’s Future With Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster (Benzinga)
Piper Jaffray’s managing director and senior research analyst Gene Munster talked to the folks at CNBC’s Squawk Box about Groupon’s recent success, evolving business and future competitors. Munster noted that the company can keep up with its current trajectory path, saying that the company is very different from a year ago. Over the past year, Groupon has shifted from pushing their product via email to pulling in people by keeping up better deals for longer periods of time, which ultimately makes it easier for those searching the site to find good deals, he said.