KFit acquires Groupon Malaysia, looks to build O2O commerce in SEA

KFit Group, fitness service provider, has acquired Groupon Malaysia. With this acquisition, the company hopes to build the future of online-to-offline (O2O) commerce in Southeast Asia.A+M has reached out to KFit Group to find out more details of the acquisition.KFit Group is one of the fastest growing O2O company in Southeast Asia. It was started in April 2015 as a fitness sharing platform, KFit Group has expanded to include various other verticals such as Food & Restaurants, Beauty & Wellness, Lifestyle & Activities and more.The recent acquisition comes shortly after it acquired Groupon's Indonesia business in August. According to a press statement from the company, this led to substantial growth of its new platform called Fave. Fave is a lifestyle app which aims to be a marketplace where businesses can offer competitive pricing, flexible offer structures, loyalty solutions and more.The app is currently available on the App Store and Google Play Store, in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Singapore, with over 3,200 businesses across these cities.The company said that with this acquisition Groupon Malaysia will transition into Fave in early 2017, and will expand its offerings to cover restaurants, beauty, wellness, gyms, studios, hotels, holidays, leisure, entertainment and professional services."With our Indonesian business achieving nearly twice the growth since our acquisition, we are confident that the same growth principles will bring an exciting new local commerce offering to Malaysia," said Joel Neoh, founder of KFit Group. He added that millions of local businesses are booming in China thanks to the adoption of O2O services, with hundreds of millions of consumers embracing these platforms as part of their day to day lives."The convenience and value benefits of these platforms are key drivers of this new norm. This future is inevitable for Southeast Asia and we hope to be at the forefront of this exciting shift," added Neoh."We are excited to have KFit Group steer Groupon Malaysia to even greater heights. With Neoh's experience in leading Groupon Asia Pacific in the past, we are confident that KFit Group will be able to grow the business. As a strategic partner in KFit Group, we look forward to seeing the company take big strides in the coming months," said Michel Piestun, president of APAC for Groupon.Platforms under the KFit Group (Fave, Groupon Indonesia and KFit) have connected millions of customers to thousands of offline businesses in key Southeast Asian market centres. With a strong base in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, KFit Group aims to build the future of O2O commerce in Southeast Asia.