In a bid to drive growth following a disappointing quarter, Groupon has set its sights on the GCC, planning to open six new offices there, including in Qatar, the CEO has said.

Calling the UAE “saturated,” the company’s Middle East office is targeting other Gulf countries and is most interested in Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, Alexander Kappes said, as reported by Arabian Business:

“Kuwait and Qatar have been showing very strong GDP growth over the past couple of years and due to the size of them – they have a large expat community – it’s an interesting market because you can go in there and start business very quickly,” he said, declining to give a timeframe. 

Groupon’s shares hit an all-time low of $4 earlier this month, calling into question the sustainability of its daily deals model.

But Kappes says consolidation of the market due to the departure of several competitors in the Middle East, including LivingSocial, is expected to help the industry.

Thoughts?

Credit: Image mockup by Shabina S. Khatri