Ackroo 2013 Corporate Update - Demand for Ackroo's gift card and loyalty rewards solution fuels a record year

OTTAWA, Jan. 3, 2014 /CNW/ - Ackroo Inc. (TSXV: AKR) ("the Company"), a loyalty and rewards technology and services provider, is pleased to provide this corporate update highlighting the company's accomplishments in 2013 and to outline its mandate for 2014.

Ackroo's web-based software platform combines the convenience of a gift card, the customer retention power of a loyalty program and the immediacy of promotional offers in a single, easy-to-use solution enabling businesses of all sizes to launch customer retention programs that drive revenue.

2013 was a very successful growth year for revenue, number of customer locations and penetration into new markets. The Company is now positioned as one of Canada's fastest growing providers of loyalty, gift cards and rewards programs.  "The record results for the past year show the strength of our core Canadian-focused operating plan and we will leverage this success as we expand into the U.S. in 2014," said Eamonn Garry, chief executive officer at Ackroo. "We remain committed to expanding our customer base with our market-leading, flexible software solution that serves key retail market verticals including automotive dealer groups, multi-location retail chains and sports and entertainment groups."

Key highlights from the year include:

• Record revenue growth of 76% compared to last year, with an average quarter over quarter growth rate of 25% (up to the end of Q3).
• Record revenue in Q3 of $355,861 (93% growth Year over Year).
• More than doubling of the number of customer locations to 650 (160% growth Year over Year)
• Integration with the most widely deployed payment terminals including the VeriFone Evolution and Ingenico Telium point-of-sale systems.
• Increased market share of existing verticals and successful penetration of additional retail verticals including:
• Automotive dealer groups
• Multi-location retail chains
• Sports and entertainment groups
• Business Improvement Areas
• Hospital and not-for-profit beneficiary groups
• Continued services expansion into mid-market opportunities with loyalty consulting, design and deployment for multi-location (20+) businesses.

The Company's business model is based on one-time and recurring revenue. As the Company continues to penetrate medium to large sized businesses, the recurring revenue profile becomes more robust with resulting potential average annualized revenue for a medium sized business of approximately $7,500. The company has proven its ability to scale its solution to meet the accelerating needs of extremely large transaction-intensive customers; for example, $1M of processed transactions executed for a single customer over a three-week period in December on top of the more than $50M of processed transactions to date.

Looking ahead to 2014, the Company will focus on acquiring additional multi-location retail chains, automotive dealer groups and larger businesses such as sports and entertainment groups. This coupled with the planned expansion into the U.S. market will fuel continued growth. With the close of its current funding round, the Company's mandate is to match 2013 percentage growth numbers with quarter over quarter increases between 10% and 25% with an average of greater than 20%.

"The company's mandate for 2014 reflects our experience from 2012 and 2013," said Eamonn Garry, chief executive officer at Ackroo.  "The market we are addressing is a multi-billion dollar market in North America and this fact, coupled with our recent successes with larger organizations, gives us the confidence to execute and potentially better our plan in 2014."

The company wishes to thank its investors, customers and employees for their support in 2013 and is looking forward to an exciting 2014.

About Ackroo

Ackroo provides gift card and loyalty solutions into the $145 billion North American gift card and loyalty market. Their solutions enable businesses, merchants and business networks to increase profitability and build long-term customer relationships through customized gift card and loyalty programs. Ackroo's web-based solutions provide the power of a massively scalable software platform in a lightweight online tool that works with existing point-of-sale equipment, making it easy and affordable for businesses to launch loyalty programs that deliver immediate return on investment. Ackroo is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. For more information, visit: www.ackroo.com.

The TSX Venture Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding business strategy, plans and other expectations, beliefs, goals, objectives, information and statements about possible future events. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and assumptions that involve a number of risks, which could cause actual results to vary and in some instances to differ materially from those anticipated by Ackroo Inc. and described in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur or, if any of them do so, what benefits Ackroo will derive there-from.

SOURCE: Ackroo Inc.

John Chapman
Chief Financial Officer | Ackroo
Tel: [phone] x714
Email: [email protected]

Andrew Mugridge
President | Network IR
Tel: [phone]
Email: [email protected]