Rue La La Sees Staff Cut Backs – Plans to Outsource Sales Force

Here we are less than two weeks into the New Year and the daily deals industry continues to show signs that 2012 may be the year that we see many deal providers throwing in the towel or at least making some significant cutbacks. The Boston Globe reports that Rue La La, a members-only flash sales site that launched in 2008, laid off 65 of its 550 employees on Thursday and will be outsourcing its sales force with an as yet unnamed company.

Rue La La’s parent company, Retail Convergence Inc will also be closing down another site, SmartBargains and merging it into Rue La La.

The Globe goes on to say, “Rue La La had been a drag on the earnings of its previous parent company, GSI Commerce, a division of eBay Inc. GSI bought Rue La La in 2009 in a deal valued at $350 million but in 2011 spun off Rue La La as a private company, with eBay retaining 30 percent ownership.”

Rue La La remains optimistic and in a statement said it has seen ‘‘dramatic growth with nearly $300 million in sales in 2011 and similar growth planned for 2012 and beyond.’’

Daily Deal Media reported on Rue La La last May when it was preparing to launch its daily deal site, Rue Local. At that time Mark McWeeny, Rue Local president said, “Our customers are very different from the coupon-clipping customer that frequents Groupon. They spend more than the average ticket, tell all their friends and they come back.”

It seems like something in that statement didn’t work out quite right.

 Source: The Boston Globe

BiteDownDeals, the Exclusive Daily Dealer of Dentistry Expands Offerings

Sink your teeth into multiple deals per day

BiteDownDeals is at it again. On January 9^th, the first daily dealer dedicated exclusively to dental professionals began offering multiple daily deals at unbelievable prices. BiteDownDeals wants to be the ‘go to’ site when dental offices need to purchase their dental supplies. The original platform of deals lasting 24 hours (or until sold out) remains intact. An added feature allows customers several deals per day to choose from.

“This is a huge opportunity that we are offering our customers!” exclaims Michelle Schwartz, Vice President of BiteDownDeals, Inc. “Having proven ourselves over the past nine months with our daily deal, we are confident that our customers want more products at our low prices. Since our launch, we have been able to hone in on the deals that our customers are looking for and save them time and money.”

Daily Deal Media featured BiteDownDeals in mid April. BiteDownDeals Launches Deals for Dental Professionals We believed then that this niche marketer might be on to something and had hoped to hear back from them as they traveled down the daily dealing highway. Well, since that time, the company has seen tremendous growth registering members from across the United States. BiteDownDeals continues to remain only site catering exclusively to dental professionals. The company has been featured in Dentistry Today, Dr. BiCuspid and PC World.

 No overbite; oops, I mean overhead

BiteDownDeals is able to beat the competition’s prices on dental products by 30% to 60%. They achieve this without inventory and have no overhead. On top of that, the shipping is only $5. That’s right, flat rate shipping on any purchase, nationwide. Members to the site can also sign up to receive an email each time new deals are offered.

If you are in the dental arena and have a colleague or two that might be interested, get them on board. For every colleague that places an order of $100 or more, you will receive a 10% off coupon in your BiteDownDeals account. Please note that both you and your referrals must have a BiteDownDeals account in order for you to receive your referral credit.

About BiteDownDeals.com, Incorporated:

BiteDownDeals.com is the first daily deal website dedicated exclusively to dentists. With over 30 years expertise in dental sales, we know dentists’ needs, and we know a deal when we see it. Our goal is simple, to save you money on essential dental products you use regularly. We’ve tapped our deep-rooted, dependable relationships to negotiate the lowest price possible on products you use everyday. In an economy where saving money is essential, we bring you a daily solution. BiteDownDeals offers you dental deals you can sink your teeth into!

Learn more at http://www.BiteDownDeals.com

Source: PRWeb

 

 

Ingo Beauty Salons Finds Beauty Deals Nationwide

Aggregators make finding relevant daily deals easier. Some even let you personalize the content that shows up in your inbox; But what happens when you KNOW what kind of deal you want, but don’t want to wait for it to show up in the X number of deal sites you subscribe to?

That’s the problem that Ingo Beauty Salons is out to fix, or to at least make it easier those who need salon services. The daily deal industry has revolutionized the way we choose our stylists and procedures, and Ingo is putting all those deals in one place.

Through their unique salon deal search, users can sift through deals on haircuts, chemical processes, spa treatments, all the way to manicures and pedicures from almost every major deal site, without risking those deals not showing up in their inbox.

We have lots of aggregators for location, but finding a categorical aggregator is rarer.

Mario Romis is the co-founder of Ingo beauty Salons and waited quite a while before launching the salon deal search to the public.
“Our goal was to offer people what they want, when they want it, and at the price they are willing to pay for it” he said. “We wanted to test, and re-test its every aspect. It was initially offered to the members of the site who played a vital role in the development by sharing their feedback”, he states on the site’s blog.

Ingo Beauty Salons started out as a simple salon directory in mid-2011, and morphed into a full-fledged social platform with features comparable to, well, Facebook. 

The site is beautifully laid out with soft colors, that get the user into a “getting pampered’ state of mind. I visited it, and it’s very easy to use. Customer testimonials and an option to “search by deal” are features that are readily accessible.  Technically the site is still in a beta period, so there’s plenty of room for expansion.

Every business listed on the site can take control of their page to personalize it for potential customers.

“Our goal is to become the online one-stop resource for anything beauty – I cannot wait until we actually launch the Ingo Exclusive Salon Deals”- Sarah Pucci, senior editor of Ingo Beauty Salons.

According to Romis, by mid-2012 the site will begin to offer exclusive deals for Los Angeles hair salons and before the next year, they plan on expanding to nail salons and spas in several major US cities.

Souce: Email Wire

To Deal-Travel or Not? That is the Question

As the popularity of group buying grows, so do the number of industries participating.

A significant player in the industry is travel.  Following in the footsteps of sites like Expedia, Travelocity, major daily deals players have teamed up with such sites, or stated travel deals of their own.

A few that come to mind: LivingSocial Escapes, Group Getaways (Groupon + Expedia = love), Travelzoo, TripAlertz, the list goes on.

Some of these sites put their own little spin on travel deals.

TripAlertz sets its prices to the number of bookings, and SniqueAway caters to those who are looking for luxury travel, and is available by invitation only.

Most deals are available for the same time as other daily deals, but you can book up to a year.

Aggregators are getting in on the deals too. Travel packages can be found on Yipit and Dealery (who consolidate them from other sites), but I personally, am a little wary.

Now, this is what puzzles me. In order to purchase a travel daily deal, would one already have to be looking for a trip? Or is it one of those spontaneous things? How many details are included in the deal description? Is there are a specific hotel that you have to stay in? Are there restrictions on airlines and flight times?  As a travel snob (and crazy-planner-girl), I need to know these things!

I’m the kind of person who researches hotels, looks at reviews, location, whether I’ll need a rental car; there are so many things that go into travelling. Would daily travel deals work for me? Maybe?

Another factor that goes into the travel deals, is the essences of the group buy in general. There’s always a “tipping” point. A required number of people must buy the deal. So, if you decide you want this deal, you get all hyped up for it, make sure you have enough money on the credit card, and no one else buys your deal, you’re stuck at home, potentially never going on a discounted vacation.

Travel deals seem to work best for people who are spur of the moment and on a budget, but not stuck on a specific location. Before you buy a travel deal, check the hotel’s prices to make sure you’re really getting a deal. When it comes to travel, I find planning works best, but even I would be tempted by a trip to the Big Easy in the cold bitter days of February.

Jason Redman Joins Dealfind as CFO

Toronto-based Dealfind is the number three ranked group buying site in North America according to our Power Rankings here at Daily Deal Media, and the powers that be at Dealfind announced today that they’ve brought on a new executive team member.  Jason Redman, formerly of SiruisXM Canada, has joined the team as Chief Financial Officer.

Redman has extensive experience in financial management, mergers and acquisitions, administration, compliance, strategic operations and risk management. His experience will prove worthy as Dealfind pursues an ‘aggressive’ growth strategy.

“Jason brings a wide range of financial expertise to the table and we are thrilled to welcome him to our team. His experience in managing rapid expansion is especially important for Dealfind, as we continue to build momentum along a steep growth trajectory that began early last year.”  - Gary Liopvetsky, Dealfind Co-Founder and President.

Redman’s work history is rich with financial experience. He comes to Dealfind from SiriusXM Canada. He served on the Sirius Canada CFO during its $550 million merger with XM Canada. He played an important role to the President and CEO at the time, and worked to secure regulatory approval for the merger with key Canadian agencies and participated in the raising of new debt financing on significantly improved terms to enhance the company’s financial position.

Redman also negotiated agreements for the satellite radio company with major automotive manufacturing partners and implemented a number of policies, procedures and internal controls to enhance financial reporting, forecasting, IT and HR management and the strategic review of corporate initiatives to ensure fiscal objectives were being met.

He played a pivotal role in SiruisXM Canada’s distinction as one of Canada’s “50 best Managed Companies” two years in a row. 

Before SiruisXM, Redman was at Look Communications as the SVP of Finance and CFO. He was responsible for the entire financial, IT, HR and legal functions for the communications company after $80 million asset sale to Rogers Communications and Bell Canada through their joint venture, Inukshuk Wireless Partnership.

Redman earned an International MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a Master of Accounting from the University of Waterloo. He is a Chartered Accountant with the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and a licensed CPA in the State of Delaware.

Dealfind is a rapidly growing company, and their team is expanding just as quickly. Dealfind recently launched a mobile and an “Everyday Deals” feature which lets deal seekers narrow down deals by location, category and time constraint.

Originating in Canada, Dealfind deals are now available in the U.S. in 41 different markets.
Find out more by visiting Dealfind at http://www.dealfind.com

Source: Canadian Newswire