Groupon has admitted it inadvertently sold pretend Tissot watches through its Chinese joint venture. Photograph: Justin Lane/EPA
Groupon's bid to expand into the Chinese market has hit a hitch after it discovering it had linked up with an organization selling counterfeit luxury watches.
The daily deals large has pledged to refund all customers who bought the Tissot watches after discovering they were pretend.
Hundreds of folks had bought the watches through the Groupon deal, which offered consumers a anticipate just 690 yuan (£67), 1 / 4 of their traditional retail value.
Groupon's joint-venture Chinese operation, Gaopeng.com, said that after an investigation it discovered the merchant "had given us pretend agent qualification documents", in keeping with Reuters.
"We are outraged and we have begun legal proceedings. we tend to hope to protect the interests of consumers and Gaopeng through legal strategies," the company said.
The incident highlights the legal challenges Groupon faces in China, which is notorious for counterfeit goods.
Groupon, which last week made a successful initial public providing valuing the company at more than $11.4bn (£7bn), is struggling to crack China where native daily deals operators dominate.
Lashou, the country's leading daily deals website, filed in October for an initial public providing on Nasdaq and is going to raise up to $100m to expand its marketing and delivery systems.
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