As Groupon's stock sinks ever-closer to $10 -- it's at $10.31, as of press time -- further troubles continue to mount elsewhere in the company.
Two high-profile board members, Howard Schultz and Kevin Efrusy, are stepping out. In their place will be Daniel Henry (CFO of American Express Company) and Robert Bass (a vice chairman of Deloitte LLP). This isn't a big surprise since there were rumors about Groupon's board getting shaken up somewhat, but now there also are rumors that top sales talent will be leaving. So, if one comes true, this other one can't be good for Groupon.
Venture Beat is reporting that "sales people are leaving for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest is that volumes on each deal are declining." Its source? A former Groupon salesperson, who also had this to say:
“The declining volumes really did hurt comp; especially since management’s revenue projections did not factor in declining volumes and sales people there were paid a percentage based on their monthly percent to quota, so if a deal runs and it doesn’t sell as many units as management projects beforehand, its the sales rep who loses beccause [sic] she doesn’t hit quota.”
Business Insider also noted that Andrew Mason is being quoted less and less in press releases from the company lately -- and Chairman Eric Lefkofksy is being heard from much more. "Perhaps Lefkofksy is reasserting control over the company?" the article asks.
Maybe. That's reaching quite a bit, if you ask me. But it seems Groupon is rededicating to righting this ship's course, and Mason is leading the charge by slashing his own paycheck. According to Tire Business, Mason "received no bonus last year… he received total compensation of $7,943. That compares with his 2010 total pay of $184,599."
Will these cuts be enough?
David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as an interviewer-writer for Adult Swim, he's also a columnist for EGM. He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. When not playing video games for work he's thinking of dashing out to Chicago Diner, Pizano's, or Yummy Yummy. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.
