Stung By The Bee: Groupon Philippines Has Arrived

 The new buzz is out! There’s a new shopping hotspot, that’s only a click away. Get the Sweetest Deals everyday at a fraction of the price at Groupon Philippines!

Formally launched at the only place to be seen, Robot Restaurant and Lounge, invited guests got stung by the Queen Bee as Lori Villafuerte, President and Founder of Groupon Philippines, started the buzz that’s happening at the newest online hive.

Guests were greeted by giant plasma screens featuring the Lifestyle League heroes as they help mere mortals like us search for the best deals in the city. They also introduced guests into the most revolutionary innovation in online shopping, going around the room with iPads and at laptop terminals. Guests were treated to servings of Japanese with a twist, compliments of celebrity Chef Niño Laus, as they explored the deals of the day on the website. Hosted by G-man, Gio Salvador, the launch introduced the new website now with even Sweeter Deals for everyone. Guests got their Group-on as they played “If the Deal is Right” with winners receiveing an iPod Touch and other GCs from Groupon’s partner merchants. As an additional treat, two lucky guests received their own iPad to begin their ultimate online shopping experience anytime they want, anywhere they want. 

Groupon Philippines, formerly known as Beeconomic Philippines, sheds its bee skin to dawn the new green suit for the website.

Groupon is the pioneer deal-a-day website from Chicago that introduced the ingenious idea of “collective buying,” which offers users huge discounts when buyers band together to purchase an item. The fastest growing site in the world works as a lifestyle  city guide, offering a variety of deals to satisfy all markets with a mix of good quality brands and irresistible sweet deals to choose from.

Beeconomic, the Singapore-based site founded by siblings Karl and Christopher Chong, adopted the concept pioneered by Groupon and made them the pioneer in their own country. With her vision of creating a buzz with social commerce in the Philippines, Lori, then Bliss Spa’s Southeast Asia Head, partnered with Karl and co-founded Beeconomic Philippines. Beeconomic was recently acquired by Groupon for its Asian expansion, together with two other Asian group-buying websites, Hong Kong’s uBuyiBuy and Taiwan’s Atlastpost. With the acquisition, Beeconomic Philippines officially became Groupon Philippines on December 2010, a month after its launch in November 2010.

“This is really a very exciting time as we strive to educate our partners and subscribers about the newest form of shopping,” says Lori. In two months since acquisition, the site has grown to 200,000 subscribers. “The numbers just grow by the minute,” she shares. “We are committed in revolutionizing the way people shop and making our subscribers happy with our sweet deals and promising them excellent customer service. This commitment is what makes us stand out,” Lori enthuses.

Swarming in for the launch party were the couple Brent Javier and Karen Pamintuan, Princess of the Road Gaby dela Merced, designer Tippi Ocampo, real estate heiress Divine Lee, Victor Basa, and the Amazing Race Riches Richard Herrera and Richard Hardin. Guests listened to music provided by Video DJ JT Ruiz while sipping their cocktails.

Karen, who was already signed-up in the website is excited to see more deals. “I’m waiting for more travel deals,” she shares. Divine would also love to see more of travel and retail such as clothing. “As of now, I’m availing the spa package! It’s such as steal!” she shares.

When asked for future plans, Lori says, “We aim to make Groupon Philippines a daily fix for today’s shoppers. We want them to wake up each morning and make sure they check Groupon’s site to see what they can do, where they can go, where they can eat, after a long day at work,” The company also plans to expand locally, and regionally. “We want to make our presence in the Asian region really strong. We’d like to acquire more merchants and create sweeter deals for our clients,” Lori adds.

Register now at the Groupon site, www.beeconomic.com.ph  and join the newest online buzz! Save your day, one deal at a time and get your shopping on with Groupon Philippines.

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