Andrew Mason, the Founder & CEO of Groupon, has been relieved of his duties at the embattled daily deals giant.
Chairman Eric Lefkofsky and Vice Chairman Ted Leonsis will assume Mason’s duties until a permanent replacement is appointed.
“Groupon will continue to invest in growth, and we are confident that with our deep management team and market-leading position, the company is well positioned for the future,” Leonsis stated after news of Mason’s dismissal was confirmed.
The news follows what was an ugly day for Groupon on Wall Street yesterday. On Wednesday, Groupon lost nearly one-quarter of its total market value.
The sell-off was sparked by the company’s dramatic earnings miss. Groupon also forecast first-quarter revenue of $560 million to $610 million, which is well below the $650 million average estimate of analysts.
“This raises questions about how these guys are going to be able to scale the business,” said Tom White, an analyst at Macquarie. “The forecast is underwhelming.”
Although pressure has been mounting on Mason for some time to take more action or step down, the pervasive illness of the daily deals industry may have had more to do with Groupon’s stumble than any leadership decision made by the ousted CEO.
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