The group-buying portal GaoPeng.com is officially live in China. GaoPeng, funded by Groupon, Tencent Collaboration Fund and Yunfeng Capital, is now accepting email registrations from local consumers, with daily deals promoting local merchants debuting in March.
Headquartered in Beijing, GaoPeng plans to offer consumers unbeatable prices on the best things to do, see, eat and buy in China and to deliver local merchants significant exposure and a steady stream of new customers.
GaoPeng subscribers will get free daily emails alerting them to the deals. Initially, the service will cover Beijing and Shanghai, with plans to extend to other major cities in China.
The collaboration combines Groupon’s global group-buying experience with Tencent’s in-depth knowledge of Chinese online communities. Tencent established Tencent Collaboration Fund in January 2011. “Groupon is a recognized brand name with excellent operational and sales execution capabilities,” said Yun Ouyang, head of GaoPeng.
He further said that “GaoPeng will learn from the international group-buying experience of Groupon while focusing on the local market in China. We are committed to catering to the local and diversified shopping needs of local customers and to the business needs of local merchants.”