Category: Meetic

Location Based Dating: Concerns Over Privacy

Posted on May 4, 2011

Meetic philippe chainieux BLOOMBERG – May 4 – Meetic is joining start-ups including MeetMoi in offering location-based dating services. Meetic will introduce features this year that let handset users find out real-time who’s around them and interested in meeting, and match potential soulmates who, for example, frequent the same gym, Managing Director Philippe Chainieux said in an interview.The number of European Web users visiting a dating site “almost every day” through their mobile rose 49% between February 2010 and 2011 to 2.8M, according to comScore. The number doing so at least once a week climbed 44%. Convenient mobile services will give dating sites a chance to boost their “conversion rate". Location-based iPhone and Android app FlirtMaps topped 500K downloads last month, with that figure expected to double by the end of the year. Grindr, an app for gays boasts 62K users in London alone. Still, safety concerns may slow the adoption of location- based dating. To ease some of those concerns, FlirtMaps limits geo- localization to a one-kilometer radius. Meetic is considering making only men visible on its pending real-time “flirting” service, keeping women’s locations at a given moment mostly off the map.

by Matthew Campbell
The full article was originally published at Bloomberg, but is no longer available.

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IAC/Match.com Reports Q1 Results

Posted on April 27, 2011

Iac logo PR NEWSWIRE – Apr 27 – Match.com core revenue increased 18% to $93.3M driven by a 22% increase in subscribers. Developing revenue increased 82% to $18.3M driven by the full quarter contribution of Singlesnet, as well as from the venture with Meetic in Latin America and the acquisition of OkCupid, neither of which were reflected in the year ago results. Subscribers logging in through mobile grew 135% YOY to 30% of total on Match.com U.S.

For more details visit the link on the side bar under 'FINANCIALS'

See full article at IAC

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Founder Of Meetic Hooks Up With Glasses Startup

Posted on March 30, 2011

Marc simoncici meetic BUSINESS INSIDER – Mar 29 – Marc Simoncini, Founder and CEO of Meetic, the biggest dating site in Europe worth ~$500M on the Paris stock market, is investing $10+ million into Sensee.com and taking over as CEO. Sensee.com sells eyewear and has an ambitious goal to cut in half the average bill in the category. Simoncini has been looking for an exit from Meetic, a thriving success but by now a fairly mature business, which must be boring for the restless entrepreneur. He put the site up for sale last year but could not find a buyer at the price he sought. He also set up a venture capital firm, Jaina Capital, with 100M euros of his own money.

by Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry
See full article at Business Insider

Mark Brooks: I know the perfect buyer for Meetic.  M***h.com.  Can you guess?

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Meetic 2010 Annual Results

Posted on March 22, 2011

Meetic logo OPW – Mar 22 – Meetic's 2010 consolidated annual revenue came to €186M, up +17.8% compared to 2009. The Group had a total of 858,197 subscribers at 31st Dec '10. Meetic manages two services in Europe: online dating and matchmaking, mainly under the meetic and meetic affinity brands. By acquiring the European activities of Match.com in June 2009, Meetic Group has strengthened its first place on the continent. The Group is currently established in 16 European countries and is available in 13 languages.

Download Meetic 2010 Financial Results PDF

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Meetic To Launch iPhone App

Posted on February 14, 2011

Meetic logo WSJ – Feb 14 – Marc Simoncini, Meetic's founder, aims to extend his European online-dating empire to smartphones—and get more users to pay. Marc worries that only one in 10 people who sign up to his sites pays to meet someone. Dating sites don't lock customers in for long periods of time, so it's important to keep them coming back for more, says Patrick Jousseaume, an analyst at French bank Société Générale. Faced with competition from the likes of eHarmony and free dating sites such Badoo.com, Meetic wants to buck the trend. At present, subscribers spend two hours a day on the site. "With a smartphone this could go up to five hours a day," says Simoncini. In March, Meetic plans to launch its iPhone app, and it hopes to dominate the smartphone dating market within the next three years. FULL ARTICLE @ WSJ

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Meetic 2010 Annual Revenue

Posted on February 11, 2011

Meetic logo OPW – Feb 11 – Meetic's 2010 consolidated annual revenue came to €186M, an increase of +17.8% YOY. Annual subscription sales were €183.6M, up +19.8% on 2009. Revenue for the Q4 of 2010 came to €48.3M, an increase of +6.1% compared to Q4 2009. This quarter, like the previous one, saw dynamic sequential growth, notably doped by the increase in Matchmaking. Over 2010, the Group thus acquired 40K additional subscribers on the Matchmaking segment, giving a total of 140K clients at the end of 2010. Matchmaking contributed ~€34M to the Group’s total revenue in 2010, an increase of +34% compared to 2009. Download the full press release HERE.

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Interview With Marc Simoncini

Posted on December 14, 2010

Meetic logo LES ECHOS – Dec 14 – Marc Simoncini, the CEO/Founder of Meetic explains why he is going to retain his shares in Meetic and unveils his plans for the next three years. 
 
Q: What made you change your mind about the sale?
A: We talked with four potential buyers and no offer reflected the development potential of Meetic. It wasn't the right time. 

Q: What are the main axes of development?
A: First we will continue to develop Meetic Affinity, a site that has made 5M Eur in revenue in 2008 and 25M in 2009. Also at the end of the Q1 we will release a Meetic app on the iPhone, Android, Nokia, and Windows 7 phone. 
 
Q: What are your goals in terms of membership numbers?
A: Today, Meetic has ~1M users. To achieve the revenue goals we have to increase the number of users 40%.  
Q: What resources do you have for future acquisitions?
A: We had 28M Eur in cash as of Sept. 30, at the end of the year we should have ~40M, no debts. Potentially, we may redeem any of our European competitors.
 
Q: Even in Germany?
A: Germany is highly competitive market where we're still number two. We are waiting for opportunities. It is interesting to see that dating sites in Germany spent 100M Eur in TV advertising this year. Meetic spends ~100M across Europe.
 
Q: What is your position now in Meetic?
A: I remain the CEO.

The full article was originally published at Los Echos, but is no longer available.

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Face Value: Marc Simoncini

Posted on December 9, 2010

Marc simoncici meetic ECONOMIST – Dec 9 – Marc Simoncini is the founder of Meetic, Europe’s biggest dating site. Mr Simoncini comes from upwardly mobile stock. His grandfather was a poor farmer. His father worked his way up the ranks of France Telecom. In 1986 his father lent him $3,000 to start his own business. After a false start he founded Opsion, an IT-services firm. It took him 14 years to repay his debt to his father. In 1998 he created iFrance, an internet portal which was sold for €182M (then $165M). Mr Simoncini had the idea for Meetic during dinner with three friends who had all recently divorced or separated. When he lost his fortune, Meetic became his job. In 2008 he launched Meetic Affinity, a matchmaking site, which is more expensive. He says he has done what he can for Meetic and is looking to sell his 23% stake, which is valued at ~€100M, by the end of the year. Apart from Meetic, he has invested in Winamax, a poker website. FULL ARTICLE @ ECONOMIST

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Meetic’s Q3 2010 Results: Down 2.2%

Posted on November 9, 2010

Meetic logo OPW – Nov 9 – Meetic, the European online dating leader, released its results for the Q3 '10. The revenue was €46.3M down 2.2% compared to Q3 '09. Meetic had 869,000 subscribers at the end of Sep compared to 858,000 at the end of June, an increase of 11,000 subscribers over the prior quarter. Marketing investments totalled €23.3M in Q3 which represents 50.3% of revenues. Total marketing investments since the start of the year stand at €79.3M, or 58% of revenues over that period. Meetic has been penalised in its growth by competitive pressure from new competitors on the Matchmaking segment in Germany who have massively invested on their main market. Meetic will reassess its German market strategy. For more details, download Meetic Financials PDF or visit the link on the side bar under 'FINANCIALS'.

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Marc Simoncini To Leave Meetic Before The End Of The Year

Posted on November 9, 2010

Marc simoncici meetic LEXPANSION – Nov 8 – Meetic's founder and CEO, Marc Simoncini, has confirmed that he would leave Meetic before the end of the year whether the company is sold or not. Simoncini still holds 22.98% stake in Meetic. FULL ARTICLE @ LEXPANSION

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