Epipoli Acquires Social Shopping Company
Epipoli, the Pay Award-winning Italian gift card distributor with a network of 50,000 stores, has acquired 100 percent of social shopping and offers company Groupalia from entrepreneur Andrea Gualtieri.
Groupalia specializes in the sale of leisure time offers with discounts of up to 90 percent through couponing and group purchasing. Groupalia has physical facilities in more than 20 cities and has 2 million customers, 240,000 Facebook fans and 20,000 Twitter followers, according to an announcement.
Since its launch in Italy, Groupalia has published more than 45,000 deals and sold about 5.5 million coupons, involving more than 7,200 partners.
Andrea Gualtieri has reinvested in Epipoli by underwriting a capital increase and joining the board of directors of Epipoli.
The aggregate turnover of the two companies, which will be led by Epipoli founder Gaetano Giannetto, will exceed €60 million (US$72.2 million) in 2017 with about 80 employees and a total of more than 2.5 million customers.
In April, Epipoli received a Pay Award for its omnichannel platform, the first European digital marketplace for banks and retailers, based on a proprietary IT architecture that manages consumer relationships through loyalty, gamification and social engagement.
“With this acquisition, Epipoli extends its business to a new complementary and strategic sector and sets the stage for a massive international expansion in continental Europe,” Giannetto says.
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