Groupalia acquired by Epipoli

Epipoli, a leading company in Italy in the gift card market with 50,000 affiliated points of sale, has acquired 100% of Groupalia Italia.

Groupalia enters the Italian market as a leading company in social shopping, specializing in selling leisure offers with discounts up to 90% through couponing and group purchasing. Today, Groupalia has physical locations in over 20 cities and boasts 2 million customers, 240,000 Facebook fans, and 20,000 Twitter followers. Since its inception, the company has published over 45,000 offers, sold approximately 5.5 million coupons, and collaborated with over 7,200 partners.Andrea Gualtieri will invest in Epipoli by subscribing to a capital increase and will join the Group’s Board of Directors.By acquiring Groupalia, Epipoli becomes the first integrated physical-digital group in next-generation marketing. The acquisition was finalized with the assistance of the law firm Orrick. The combined revenue of the two entities will exceed 60 million euros in 2017, with approximately 80 employees and a total customer base of over 2.5 million.Epipoli, founded in 2000 and controlled byGaetano Giannetto, who introduced Gift Cards to the Italian market in 2006, is an international reference company in innovative services for prepaid and consumer engagement. Last April, it won theGlobal Prepaid Award for theOmnichannel platform, developed in-house, which forms the basis of its IT architecture and manages financial flows and customer relationships, even on mobile devices.

“With this acquisition, Epipoli extends its business into a new, complementary, and strategic sector.” statesGaetano Giannetto,” andlays the groundwork for decisive international expansion, starting with Spain and France.“

“Epipoli is the strategic partner for the evolution of Groupalia and the coupon market in Italy, through the integration of the retail and digital worlds.” saysAndrea Gualtieri, who also remains President of Groupalia. 

ABOUT EPIPOLI

Founded in 2000, Epipoli supports companies in building and implementing relational marketing programs through advanced innovative tools and technologies. Epipoli introduced Gift Cards in Italy and is now one of theleading prepaid payment networksin Europe, managing approximately 250 partners in over 25,000 points of sale, including 5,000 in large-scale retail. Epipoli’somni-channel marketplaceis the most advanced solution for the retail, banking, and service company market, acting as the link between the digital world and physical points of sale. Vision, Innovation, and Execution Capability are the key elements of Epipoli’s success, and the numerous international awards received are clear evidence of the company’s leadership.

 ABOUT GROUPALIA ITALIA

Groupalia is one of the main players in social shopping – an online sales method based on the philosophy of group purchasing and couponing. It specializes in selling leisure offers with discounts of up to 90%. It is present in over 20 cities and has 4 million customers, 240,000 Facebook fans, and 20,000 Twitter followers. Since its inception, the company has published over 45,000 offers, sold approximately 5.5 million coupons, and collaborated with over 7,200 partners. The company, now 100% Italian, was founded in Spain in early 2010. In Italy, it developed under the guidance of Country Manager Andrea Gualtieri, who led the company to become one of the most important players in the sector, with a particular focus on the quality of processes and consumer protection services.

Pubblicato in Business