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CatchOfTheDay throws down the gauntlet to competitors 

Asserts number one position in the daily deals market

21 February, 2011, Melbourne, Australia: Daily deals leaders CatchOfTheDay and sister site Scoopon have asserted their number one status in the face of a spin frenzy that saw rivals claim market dominance.

Founder Gabby Leibovich said in a blog post issued today that it was time to set the record straight. He said recent reports of other sites such as Spreets, Jump On It and Cudo topping the sector are false, in fact CatchOfTheDay is still Australia's most visited online shopping site with Scoopon not far behind.

The eCommerce group, which also includes wine discounter, Wine.CatchOfTheDay, is on track to post revenues of $120M this financial year and boasts a membership base of 900,000.

According to Mr. Leibovich, CatchOfTheDay is Australia's most visited online shopping site for a reason. The site is host to Australia's best database of online shoppers, and Scoopon was built on the back of CatchOfTheDay's amazing following.

The two sites do not advertise, nor do they offer prizes or other incentives beyond a great deal for the online shopper. "Our customers have joined and keep visiting us because they like what they see, and what they see is simply better deals than anywhere else. Our membership grows simply by word-of-mouth and nothing else," said Mr. Leibovich.

"Unlike other pretenders, our database was not bought, our customers are not joining in order to win an iPad, our Facebook followers are not based in Guatemala, and Google hasn't seen a cent from us in regard to Adwords."

Despite owning the top ranking, Mr. Leibovich said CatchOfTheDay and Scoopon are underdogs when it comes to competition because their rivals are owned by large media companies: Yahoo!7 recently acquired Spreets, while Channel 9 and Microsoft own Cudo; or are multinational players such as Groupon (StarDeals).

However it is this independence which gives the company a competitive edge by allowing them to build and maintain strong local supplier networks and maintain careful control over all aspects of their operations.

“At the end of the day it is about the little things and companies such as Groupon are losing touch with the local markets. This is why I feel they will fail in Australia; they are too late, too big, have too high expenses, and too many people on board that don’t care about the small things.”

Mr. Leibovich signals big plans ahead for 2011 with two massive sister sites in the pipeline.

"We like to shake up industries where margins are high and act as the champion for the consumer, offering massive discounts on popular brands. At the end of the day competition ensures a better outcome for consumers. Keeps the big players honest and provides consumers with more choice and flexibility in the way they shop.”

According to research conducted by ICT analyst firm Telsyte, the Australian group buying market is set to grow by 284 percent in 2011, and is expected to generate $242 million.