South China Morning Post is Jumping Into Group Buying, With Help From Lokaly

Yesterday we told you about how Hong Kong-based Lokaly Network Limited (which operates Lokaly) was acquired by group buying service platform Dealised. And today we’re hearing more news about the company, as the South China Morning Post (also Hong Kong-based) just unveiled plans for a new luxury discount site, developed by — you guessed it — the folks over at Lokaly.

The new SCMP service will be called RedeeME (redeeme.com.hk) and will specialize in discounts on services like higher-end hotels, spas, and restaurants — all under the initial slogan “Live the high life at a reduced price.” The site is online, but is currently in ‘coming soon’ mode, with ‘soon’ being January 4th according to today’s announcement. One the service is up and running, it will offer discounts deals for one week, and coupons will be emailed to customers which they can then redeem with the merchant.

Of course, the South China Morning Post is a subscription only newspaper/service, so and its director of advertising and marketing services, Sophia Yu, thinks that this bodes well for the company’s venture into the group buy space:

What our new service brings our advertisers is the unique target of known quality affluent shoppers. Our audiences are willing to spend for the finer things in life [and by] offering RedeeME to our advertisers, we enable them to get prominent exposure to a guaranteed and profiled audience, while showcasing their products in a brand-enhancing premium environment… We have the added advantage of being able to market RedeeME not only via social channels but also through the South China Morning Post, our magazines and publications, scmp.com and through our many partner channels, ensuring we reach quantity as well as quality audiences.

It remains to be seen whether this is a worthwhile endeavor for SCMP. The newspaper is joining the group buy party a little late, in a time when merchants’ trust in such services may be fading. If neighboring China is any indication, it’s a space best avoided.

But for companies like Lokaly/Dealised whose purpose is to help others crack that difficult group buy nut, well, that area just might be a little more promising.