Nhom Mua undergoes management upheaval again

Just a month after the website shutdown incident, groupon company Nhom Mua (www.nhommua.com) Tuesday experienced another upheaval in its board of directors, with the general manager proposing to step down.

Kyle Pham, who was appointed to manage the deal-of-the-day company on November 13, announced Tuesday that he submitted a letter of resignation “under personal reasons” to the group of shareholders that hold a 72.35 percent stake of the company on the same day.

The company’s employees were also asked to take a day-off on Tuesday, pending further announcement, while its headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City was temporarily closed.

Nhom Mua vouchers, however, still remain valid for use, the company asserted.

The company’s former managing director, Tran Duc Thang, aka Tom Tran, also held a media meeting on the same day to clarify information regarding the recent beleaguered state of Nhom Mua.

Tom Tran said the company has recently fallen into trouble due to conflicts between him and other investors.

He said he will transfer all of his Nhom Mua shares to investors within this week, and will only work as a technical advisor for the company.

However, when contacted in the evening, following the resignation news of Kyle Pham, Tom Tran said he is willing to return to take the management position.

Earlier in mid-November, Nhom Mua headquarters were blockaded by economic police, and its website became inaccessible for four days, triggering a wave of concern for customers who already bought its vouchers.

Some restaurants and services actually rejected payments using the company vouchers, until the website resumed operation.

Another groupon website, www.dealsoc.vn earlier this month stopped operation while its owner – All in One Co Ltd headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City – was shut down.

The company was accused by its partners for not clearing payments on their product supplies as promised and delaying debt settlement.