Partner PROFILE
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Smart Option LAUNCHING ACROSS IRELAND FROM OCTOBER, SMARTBOX GROUP OFFERS HOSPITALITY PARTNERS A CHANCE TO PROMOTE THEIR BUSINESS AND ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS.
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hen I arrive at Joyce’s Court, just opposite Connolly Station, the street is a hive of activity. Programmers, content creators, software developers, customer service agents and more stream in and out of two modern buildings that face one another – the home of international gift experience company Smartbox Group and some 600 employees. Since 2009, Smartbox has been headquartered in Ireland – an English-speaking country that is welcoming to technology companies – in hindsight a wise move given the impending chaos that is likely to surround Brexit. We’re here to meet CEO John Perkins, formerly one of Apple’s main European executives and who has been at the helm of Smartbox since November 2013. Our immediate impression, walking through the building, watching the various teams at work, is that of an impressive, enthusiastic and growing operation. “Almost everything is done here from product design and conception to content creation for our retail gift boxes to all of our internet content,” Perkins explains. Nine brands across Europe are run from these offices, with all of the related product design, content creation, customer service and
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partner management teams on-site, developing new ideas, marketing them, and finding new hotels, restaurants, spas, activity providers and much more to partner with. “We have our finance team here who are managing the 40,000 partner payments we have across Europe, plus the over 150 retailers,” he adds. “With regards to our supply chain, we produce over eight million gift boxes a year for the nine different brands. Those have to be shipped out to 18,000 points-of-sale – we manage the inventory across Europe on a point-of-sale by point-of-sale basis. Theoretically, we know where every voucher is across the continent, when a voucher is sold and when it needs to be replaced.” PARTNERSHIP Perkins describes the company as an Irish success story, one of the biggest companies in the country and one of the largest Irish-headquartered companies with international business. On an annual basis the company sells €500 million worth of vouchers – 7 million vouchers – and one voucher every five seconds across the continent. The idea behind Smartbox is simple. The company creates themed experience gift boxes, ranging from dinner dates at an upscale restaurant or an escape to the countryside to
helicopter experiences and pampering sessions at a spa, stocked in bricks and mortar retail stores and online. How does it work for the consumer? Take a hotel stay. Recipients connect on Smartbox, choose their date and location, and are shown which hotels have availability. Partnering with the company is also an easy task. Smartbox works with businesses across the hospitality sector to choose from the activities they offer, selecting those that best suit their selection of gift experiences. Those activities are included – with no discount – alongside products from other Smartbox partners. Customers purchase the boxes as gifts for others, recipients
choose an experience from those on offer and then contact you, make a reservation and come to your venue to redeem their vouchers. Afterwards, Smartbox provides reimbursement. As the voucher is free, the recipient has additional funds to spend at your venue. And it’s not just about attracting Irish customers – Irish experiences will be included in European boxes. For businesses it’s a chance to boost revenue with low risk and a low cost – payment isn’t required until new customers have been acquired and Smartbox doesn’t charge upfront, subscription or annual fees. Essentially, it’s a cost-effective and proven marketing service.
John Perkins, CEO, Smartbox Group.
31/08/2018 15:44