Groupon has hired former eBay executive Faisal Masud to lead its discount retailing unit. Masud was in charge of eBay’s global delivery experience and replaces Rajen Ruparell who moves into a global sales leadership position. Earlier Groupon named Kal Raman as the head of its Americas division. Masud’s role will most likely focus primarily on the Americas as he will be reporting directly to Raman.
The changes were announced in an email last week by Andrew Mason the CEO of Groupon.
Groupon Goods is the online coupon company’s foray into discount retailing. Though the margins are expected to be thinner, the competition will certainly be stiff as Amazon is an established player in this market.
Masud will have to work hard to ensure that Groupon Goods builds on its initial success and manages to improve margins and profitability. This brief will not be easy given Amazon’s dominance in the online retail discount business. So far Groupon has succeeded by selling services such as restaurant meals and classes at a better margin. Tweaking the business model to accommodate products sold at a discount will take some time and innovative thinking. Masud’s experience at eBay is expected to help him deliver in this role.
