Ten years can be just a moment, but in the business world it is often an eternity. Pair this with a technological entrepreneurship, and anything can happen. In the end of 2005, the entrepreneur Claudio Simatovic, last seen at Clear Channel, investigated which areas of business that held the most potential. Together with a few colleagues they concluded that gift cards were a still unexplored trade with great potential. The market had gotten up to speed in the US, where electronic gift cards had been introduced, which had led to a far more safe and secure handling. The idea was to do something completely new and that there was only a matter of time before electronic gift cards would outgrow the manual ones.

 

This proved to be correct. When ten years have passed, Retain24 can look back on a comet like development. Holding several awards, such as Deloitte´s Technology Fast 50 and recently the Swedish business magazines, Veckans Affärer, Super Company 2015, not only is the company sound, stable and highly valued, but also always on top of development.

 

Gift cards were long looked upon as a low priority product, produced mainly upon the customer’s request, and with a manual handling that was an accountant’s nightmare. Electronic gift cards changed all that. Not only did the financial department receive simple and easily booked reports, but it changed the whole view on gift cards. Since they started, Retain24 has underlined this, and this is also the main point of electronic gift cards – they are sales on many different levels. Not only do the companies sell a product to the buyer of the gift card, but once the receiver redeems the card, they spend on average 40% more than the value of the gift card. In addition to this, the gift card is a carrier of the brand, and nowadays is also exposed at the checkouts.

 

The founders of Retain24 are all relatively disinterested in speaking about the past and far more enthusiastic when it comes to speaking of the ten years to come. So what will happen?

 

One can briefly sum up the development to – more development. Smart phones have already been consequential, and will in the future become even more significant. The target group of the future is constantly online, hard to get and searching for new impressions. This demands for smart marketing in the shape of fast, neat and targeted campaigns. Retain24 will always be prepared to help their clients forward, implement new apps and business areas, and assist in driving customers to their stores. Today you have mobile solutions that gather your gift cards in your cell phone. With the gift cards of today the companies can communicate with the owner, ie remind them of expiration dates and send targeted campaigns.

 

Retain24 is now much more than just gift cards, and prefer to talk about electronic valuable documents. This means targeted campaigns, bonus, reimbursements and rewards. A great number of businesses have chosen to also sell their gift cards via resellers such as convenience stores and grocery stores, and this means increased exposure of their brand, at market places with great availability and traffic. Gift cards are the perfect gift, one that presents the receiver with the choice of choosing whatever they need or want from a stores selection of goods or services. The possibilities are endless, and a smart marketing department can, together with the ten years of experience from Retain24, create amazing campaigns.

 

For more information:

Claudio Simatovic, CEO
Tel: +46 70 844 51 23
E-mail: claudio.simatovic@retain24.com

Kerstin Svensson, Head of Sales
Tel: +46 07 203 08 99
E-mail: kerstin.svensson@retain24.com

Nils Vinge, Chairman
Tel: + 46 8 505 688 75 (reception)