Tricia Duryee in Commerce on May 2, 2011 at 3:30 am PT
Groupon and LivingSocial have ballooned into major corporations over the past year, hiring thousands of local salespeople who try to convince local merchants into participating in the latest fad: group buying. While other sales positions have been hit hard by the recession, it turns out not every one is losing out. The daily deal phenomenon is creating thousands of new sales opportunities–and the hunt is on for trained workers with the contacts and experience.
Tricia Duryee in Commerce on April 29, 2011 at 4:35 pm PT
A day after Square announced it had received an investment from Visa, it said it would be adding an additional level of encryption into its card reader that plugs into smartphones. But, it insisted, the decision had nothing to do with the accusations of security flaws that VeriFone raised last month.
Tricia Duryee in Commerce on April 29, 2011 at 9:27 am PT
Looking to expand beyond casual game titles such as Bejeweled, PopCap Games has acquired ZipZapPlay, a social games company based in San Francisco.
Tricia Duryee in Commerce on April 28, 2011 at 10:42 pm PT
EBay-owned PayPal said in February it will conduct several pilot programs over the next year to enable consumers to use their PayPal accounts–at the register. Today, it announced an acquisition that may help them get there.
News Byte
Tricia Duryee in Commerce on April 28, 2011 at 1:59 pm PT
Expedia
reported mixed first-quarter earnings today, following the announcement earlier this month that
the online travel agency was going to spin-off TripAdvisor, its fastest growing division. In the first quarter, profits sank 12 percent to $52 million, or 19 cents a share, on revenues of $822 million, which increased 15 percent compared to the year-ago period. The Bellevue, Wash.-based company said higher revenues were attributable to a jump in hotel room bookings and strong growth from its advertising and media business, including TripAdvisor. The company’s stock is down 78 cents, or 3.2 percent in after-hours trading.
News Byte
Tricia Duryee in Commerce on April 28, 2011 at 1:30 pm PT
Angie’s List is considering filing for an IPO as early as this year, CEO Bill Oesterle
told Bloomberg. Indianapolis-based Angie’s List, which provides consumer reviews to 1.5 million members, has hired advisors to investigate its options, which could also include a sale. The site charges members between $40 and $70 a year to belong. In preparation for the company’s next stage, it has appointed Keith Krach as chairman and Robert Millard as CFO. Oesterle said revenues jumped 40 percent in 2010 and the company expects to end the year with 1.8 million members. Last month,
it reportedly raised more than $50 million.
Tricia Duryee in Commerce on April 28, 2011 at 10:44 am PT
I hope all those trendy runway outfits have deep pockets.
New York-based
Ideeli, which operates a members-only flash sales site aimed at the affluent, has raised a hefty $41 million in a third round of capital.
Tricia Duryee in Commerce on April 27, 2011 at 8:27 pm PT
Investors pushed Amazon’s stock price to a record high today, with shares trading near $200 a share before closing at $196.63.
The stock pushed higher despite yesterday’s mixed financial results, which included a huge plunge in profits. In fact, the rebound likely had a lot to do with a letter that the company’s visionary founder and CEO Jeff Bezos also sent to shareholders.
Tricia Duryee in Commerce on April 27, 2011 at 1:32 pm PT
Fueled by its PayPal division, eBay reported first-quarter results today that exceeded expectations. Revenues jumped 16 percent to $2.5 billion, compared to the same period a year ago, and profits soared by 20 percent to total $475.9 million, or 36 cents a share.
Tricia Duryee in Commerce on April 27, 2011 at 9:13 am PT
Square, the San Francisco-based mobile payments startup that was targeted over security concerns, just got a big boost from Visa.
