Trinity Mirror is expanding into the online daily deals sector, putting the publisher in competition with Groupon.
The site, called “happli”, lets registered users buy discounted goods. The web and mobile site will showcase a daily selection of deals.
Customers can check prices, read reviews and also share recommendations with friends via Facebook.
Trinity Mirror, which is investing £10m in happli over the next two years, is predicting revenues of around £20m by 2014.
The publisher believes it will strengthen its relationships with advertisers.
A press release issued said: “By leveraging the strengths of the group’s full portfolio, local infrastructure and existing national and local customer relationships, as well as building a dedicated expert team to develop the business, Trinity Mirror is well placed to succeed in this area.”
The company has piloted happli in Manchester and Newcastle. From today, it is being rolled out at a local level in Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh and also across the whole country for national deals.
By the end of the year, the publisher expects happli to be available in a further 20 cities and by early 2014 it will cover more than 50 cities.
The launch is being promoted across Trinity Mirro’s newspaper titles with ads in the Daily Mirror, Daily Record and relevant regional titles.
Dave Raywood, happli’s managing director, said: “We have developed a unique proposition, which we believe is clearly differentiated and with a customer experience that is second to none.”
Chris Ellis, Trinity Mirror’s digital managing director, said: “Launching new nationwide digital brands and diversifying revenue streams is an important part of our digital growth strategy.”
www.happli.co.uk
