Kelkoo
Encyclopedia
The website Kelkoo is a European price comparison service
founded in France
in 1999, allowing customers to find information on products they want to purchase, including price and seller information. It was bought by Yahoo!
in 2004. It operates in 10 countries, including UK, France
, Spain
, Italy
, Norway
, Sweden
, Germany
, Denmark
, Netherlands
, and Belgium
.
On 21 November 2008, Yahoo! sold Kelkoo to Jamplant, a private equity company.
, William Klippgen
, Philip Wilkinson
, and Jorge Garcia
In April 2000, within days of each other, Kelkoo merged with Spanish-based Dondecomprar.com and UK-based competitor ShopGenie. In September of the same year, Kelkoo merged with Norway-based Zoomit.com, paying the Zoomit-shareholders in shares amounting to a third of Kelkoo's total equity making Zoomit.com the largest entity within "new" Kelkoo.
In June 2003, it partnered with the European arm of the Microsoft
site MSN
to provide shopping listings. A similar deal was announced in June 2004 with Ask.com
(formerly Ask Jeeves).
In April 2004, Kelkoo was bought by Yahoo! Inc for €450 million. Yahoo! explained this move as providing advertisers with the ability to target individual products.
In October 2005 a book on Kelkoo appeared in French called Ils ont réussi leur start-up! La success-story de Kelkoo. written by Julien Codorniou and Cyrille de Lasteyrie.
In November 2008, Kelkoo was sold by Yahoo! Inc to the private equity firm Jamplant Ltd.
s in how it operates, Kelkoo has focused much of its marketing on capturing users through SEO
and launching partner sites including ITV
's PriceTerrier.com.
In addition to being a price comparison site, Kelkoo also offer an API webservice where other price comparison websites, such as PriceSpin.com shopping comparison website and SmartShopper.com price comparison browser add-on, use data and content from Kelkoo's database. This is a shared revenue
business model. Kelkoo offer an affiliate commission
to the partner sites who use their data for every qualified click
that they generate.
and PriceGrabber.com
.
Price comparison service
On the internet, a price comparison service allows individuals to see different lists of prices for specific products. Most price comparison services do not sell products themselves, but source prices from retailers from whom users can buy...
founded in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1999, allowing customers to find information on products they want to purchase, including price and seller information. It was bought by Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
in 2004. It operates in 10 countries, including UK, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
On 21 November 2008, Yahoo! sold Kelkoo to Jamplant, a private equity company.
History
Kelkoo was founded in 1999 by Pierre Chappaz and Mauricio Lopez. Initial funding of $3 million was provided by Banexis Ventures and Innovacom. Once Kelkoo merged with 3 other European businesses, it absorbed those founders into one single collective, consisting of Per SiljubergsåsenPer Siljubergsåsen
Per Siljubergsåsen, born 1965, is a Norwegian serial entrepreneur and technology visionary. He started Scandinavian high-profile internet consultancy Mogul AS . In 1998 he co-founded Zoomit/ which became Europe’s leading shopping comparison search engine and Europe's third largest e-commerce site...
, William Klippgen
William Klippgen
William Klippgen is a Singapore-based Norwegian investor and entrepreneur.Founded Zoomit.com in 1997 with Per Siljubergsåsen. In 2000, Zoomit.com merged with Kelkoo to become Europe’s leading shopping comparison search engine and its third largest e-commerce site. Kelkoo was acquired by in 2004....
, Philip Wilkinson
Philip Wilkinson
Philip Wilkinson is the author of non-fiction books for children and adults. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He worked as an editor prior to becoming an author....
, and Jorge Garcia
In April 2000, within days of each other, Kelkoo merged with Spanish-based Dondecomprar.com and UK-based competitor ShopGenie. In September of the same year, Kelkoo merged with Norway-based Zoomit.com, paying the Zoomit-shareholders in shares amounting to a third of Kelkoo's total equity making Zoomit.com the largest entity within "new" Kelkoo.
In June 2003, it partnered with the European arm of the Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
site MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
to provide shopping listings. A similar deal was announced in June 2004 with Ask.com
Ask.com
Ask is a Q&A focused search engine founded in 1996 by Garrett Gruener and David Warthen in Berkeley, California. The original software was implemented by Gary Chevsky from his own design. Warthen, Chevsky, Justin Grant, and others built the early AskJeeves.com website around that core engine...
(formerly Ask Jeeves).
In April 2004, Kelkoo was bought by Yahoo! Inc for €450 million. Yahoo! explained this move as providing advertisers with the ability to target individual products.
In October 2005 a book on Kelkoo appeared in French called Ils ont réussi leur start-up! La success-story de Kelkoo. written by Julien Codorniou and Cyrille de Lasteyrie.
In November 2008, Kelkoo was sold by Yahoo! Inc to the private equity firm Jamplant Ltd.
Origin of the name
The name "Kelkoo" is a phonetic spelling meaning primarily the French phrase "Quel coût?", meaning "At what price?". It can also be understood as "Quel coup", meaning "What a bargain".Business model
Kelkoo has been profitable since Q4 2002. Similar to other price comparison servicePrice comparison service
On the internet, a price comparison service allows individuals to see different lists of prices for specific products. Most price comparison services do not sell products themselves, but source prices from retailers from whom users can buy...
s in how it operates, Kelkoo has focused much of its marketing on capturing users through SEO
Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid search results...
and launching partner sites including ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's PriceTerrier.com.
In addition to being a price comparison site, Kelkoo also offer an API webservice where other price comparison websites, such as PriceSpin.com shopping comparison website and SmartShopper.com price comparison browser add-on, use data and content from Kelkoo's database. This is a shared revenue
Revenue sharing
Revenue sharing has multiple, related meanings depending on context.In business, revenue sharing refers to the sharing of profits and losses among different groups. One form shares between the general partner and limited partners in a limited partnership...
business model. Kelkoo offer an affiliate commission
Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's own marketing efforts...
to the partner sites who use their data for every qualified click
Pay per click
Pay per click is an Internet advertising model used to direct traffic to websites, where advertisers pay the publisher when the ad is clicked. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market...
that they generate.
USA Launch
Kelkoo historically was a Europe based price comparison service. In July 2010, Kelkoo launched their USA website. This is a slightly different arrangement, however, as Kelkoo themselves do not gather the pricing information as they do in Europe. Data for the USA website is supplied from other price comparison websites including Shopping.comShopping.com
Shopping.com is a price comparison service owned by eBay and operates websites in USA, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia. Shopping.com started out with the name DealTime.com which still operates as a related, but otherwise separate website....
and PriceGrabber.com
PriceGrabber
PriceGrabber.com is a price comparison service. They've partnered with more than 13,000 merchants, retailers, and sellers and provide free information on millions of products in 25 different categories...
.
External links
- UK Website: Kelkoo.co.uk
- USA Website: Kelkoo.com