Payback confirms details of entry into Poland

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By: Wise Marketer Staff |

Posted on September 21, 2009

Payback confirms details of entry into Poland

The popular German coalition loyalty programme, Payback, has announced the details of its forthcoming expansion into Poland, representing the first foray into international territory for the programme's operator, Loyalty Partner.

Having already operated for nine years in Germany, the Payback rewards programme has been launched in Poland, with consumers now being able to collect points through ten of the country's major brands, including BP, Real, telecoms firm TP, mobile network operator Orange, and internet auction site Allegro.

"The launch into Poland, which is the largest and strongest market in Eastern Europe, is an ideal starting place for us to expand our business internationally", explained Payback's founder, Alexander Rittweger, who confirmed that Payback has plans to launch into an additional five to eight markets. Rittweger added that the expansion plan does not rule out the possibility of acquisitions.

Some of the new partners in Poland already had their own successful bonus schemes, and they will collectively bring more than 5 million consumers into contact with the Payback programme.

According to Kai Klippel, managing director of business development and internationalisation for Payback, Poland represents a borderline between an expanding and saturated market, and a loyalty programme such as Payback is expected to provide a valuable marketing tool for large companies that want to stand out from the crowd.

Polish customers are ambitious points collectors, with recent market research suggesting that 81% of the population would like to join a multipartner rewards programme. As a result, Payback's plan for Poland involves doubling the number of partner companies during the next twelve months.

In addition to being a standard Payback points card, customers in Poland will also be offered a free loyalty card with built-in payment facilities. Points will be awarded by BP, Real hypermarkets, Kolporter (a large kiosk chain with some 900 kiosks nationwide) and Allegro. Consumers will also be able to collect Payback points for telephone calls made with Orange and TP, as well as for using the services of Bank Zachodni WBK, Accor Hotels, online travel platform Fly.pl, and at Mix Electronics retail stores.

The programme will be operated in Poland by Payback Polska, based in Warsaw, which is operated by Loyalty Partner Polska, a wholly owned subsidiary of Munich-based Payback GmbH.

In Germany, more than 60% of households have a Payback card, and 83% of the population are familiar with the Payback brand. According to an Emnid study, the card is the third most commonly carried card in Germany (after EC payment cards and health insurance cards). There are 25 partner companies in Germany, and points are also available from more than 150 online shops. In 2008, the total value of points collected by German consumers reach Euro 150 million, 90% of which was redeemed. For 2008, some Euro 15 billion worth of sales were linked to Payback cards in Germany.

More Info: 

http://www.payback.net