Website's lucky draw was rigged
By Ding Yining |
May 12, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A GROUP buying joint venture between US-based Groupon and China's largest online chatting tool provider Tencent is to sack a vice president after employees were involved in a lucky draw fraud.
Earlier this week, Gaopeng announced on its Tencent microblog account two lucky draw winners of iPhone 4s. However, some web users became suspicious after discovering that these accounts were owned by Tencent employees.
Yesterday Gaopeng admitted the draw had been rigged.
"Some employees made use of the loopholes in the lucky draw process due to the absence of strict management in the company," Gaopeng said in a statement.
"We will not tolerate this as integrity is a basic belief of our company."
Microblog updates by Gaopeng containing the winners' IDs on Sina Weibo and Tencent's microblog were found to be deleted yesterday.
The company said it will carry out a new lucky draw with 20 new models of the iPhone 4 up for grabs.
A communications official, surnamed Zhang, from an agency representing Gaopeng, declined to give the details of the employees or vice president involved, citing privacy concerns.
Gaopeng is run by Groupon, Tencent and Yunfeng Venture, a private equity backed by Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma and Target Media founder Yu Feng.
Since it was launched in March, market watchers have questioned whether the joint venture can meet the particular demands of the Chinese market.
Group buying websites organize consumers who want to buy a particular product into groups. By submitting a bulk order, they receive a discount. Smaller businesses also use the platform to reach large numbers of potential customers.
Industry leaders Lashou.com and Dianping.com have both secured more than US$100 million funding from investors.
Domestic group buying websites are keen to grab user attention with lucky draws but this has also created concerns among consumers.
"If these lucky draws are carried out successfully, then they can benefit both customers and the company, but if they are found to be connected with fraud, then the company will lose the trust of its customers," said one Sina microblog user.
Earlier this week, Gaopeng announced on its Tencent microblog account two lucky draw winners of iPhone 4s. However, some web users became suspicious after discovering that these accounts were owned by Tencent employees.
Yesterday Gaopeng admitted the draw had been rigged.
"Some employees made use of the loopholes in the lucky draw process due to the absence of strict management in the company," Gaopeng said in a statement.
"We will not tolerate this as integrity is a basic belief of our company."
Microblog updates by Gaopeng containing the winners' IDs on Sina Weibo and Tencent's microblog were found to be deleted yesterday.
The company said it will carry out a new lucky draw with 20 new models of the iPhone 4 up for grabs.
A communications official, surnamed Zhang, from an agency representing Gaopeng, declined to give the details of the employees or vice president involved, citing privacy concerns.
Gaopeng is run by Groupon, Tencent and Yunfeng Venture, a private equity backed by Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma and Target Media founder Yu Feng.
Since it was launched in March, market watchers have questioned whether the joint venture can meet the particular demands of the Chinese market.
Group buying websites organize consumers who want to buy a particular product into groups. By submitting a bulk order, they receive a discount. Smaller businesses also use the platform to reach large numbers of potential customers.
Industry leaders Lashou.com and Dianping.com have both secured more than US$100 million funding from investors.
Domestic group buying websites are keen to grab user attention with lucky draws but this has also created concerns among consumers.
"If these lucky draws are carried out successfully, then they can benefit both customers and the company, but if they are found to be connected with fraud, then the company will lose the trust of its customers," said one Sina microblog user.
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