Groupon CFO: "Plenty" of Room For Growth

UPDATE: Groupon has started trading. It started trading at $28 per share, up from the $20 per share it was offered to the public at. This is a gain of 40%. Groupon's GRPN CFO Jason Child was on CNBC as the company is getting ready to trade, and had some interesting things to say about the Chicago-based merchant company. The company is set to trade on the NASDAQ around 10:40, and indications are for a huge opening. The company raised $700 million last night, pricing its IPO at $20 per share, selling 35 million shares on strong demand. Child said that revenues per customer are increasing. The company does have a significant amount of unpaid customers, which is caused by viral marketing. Child believes that viral growth is becoming significant. This will help drive new initiatives as well. He was asked about new ways to grow, and Child said that the company, which sells coupons to local merchants purchased en mass, has plenty of room to grow. It is expanding across the globe, and has new initiatives, such as selling electronics. The company is also working on increased personalization. Child mentioned that men get mani/pedi deals, and women get NASCAR deals now, and the company is working to reverse that. It is trying to cater more specifically to each demographic, so that "Groupons" purchased will go up. Child was also asked about the accounting problems, which have been at the forefront of the company's problems. He said that the company's accounts receivable is generally about ten days, and he does not have huge concerns about this. He was also pressed about the small float, just 5% of the company, and said that existing shareholders do not want dilution. CNBC's Jim Cramer asked Child what separates Groupon from companies like Living Social, Google GOOG, or Amazon AMZN. Child said that the company has over 250,000 merchants across the globe, and it provides customers walking through the door. Groupon has been the most reliable source to drive traffic. He also said that the company is trying to increase the number of dollars each customer spends. Disclaimer: Benzinga is funded by LightBank, which is a venture capital firm started by Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, two of Groupon's founders.
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