As dozens of daily deal sites do battle on one of the most competitive segments of the Russian Internet – including Groupon Russia, KupiKupon, Biglion, Vigoda.ru, WeClever.ru and KupiBonus.ru – discount aggregators are gaining momentum. Zina.ru, a particularly aggressive newcomer created this summer in just 30 days, is on the scene angling for its share, as CEO Leonid Gluzman told East-West Digital News.
Just 5 weeks after its launch in early August, Zina claims over 100,000 registered users and 30,000 daily users. It aggregates more than 60 local deal sites and receives commission from more than 55 of them – typically a 10% revenue share. Over 3,500 deals have been offered in 45 Russian, Ukrainian and Belorussian cities, claims Zina.
Gluzman doesn’t see his main competitors in Russian services such as KuponGid.ru and Kuponika.ru – both of which left EWDN’s request for an interview unanswered. Instead, he is targeting international giants like Yipit.com and Thedealmap.com as his benchmarks. The former raised $6 million in June and the latter was acquired by Google in August.
Gluzman is undaunted by these events, pointing out Zina’s main advantage in technology to send users geo-targeted notification about deals near their current location. “We’re ready for them in Russia,” he said.
