Aimia, a global leader in loyalty, invests in Spain's Travel Club

Travel Club strengthens its expertise with the addition of Aimia as a program partner

MONTREAL and MADRID, April 22, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Aimia Inc. (TSX:AIM) ("Aimia"), a global leader in loyalty management, has acquired a 25 per cent stake in Travel Club, Spain's largest coalition loyalty program. Aimia, which operates loyalty programs in more than 20 countries, becomes a joint owner of Travel Club alongside Iberia, Repsol and Eroski.

Travel Club has 6 million members, 30 business partners and generated revenues of €40 million in 2013. Aimia will draw on its international experience to grow Travel Club's member base, deliver more value to members and attract partners from new sectors including finance, fashion, insurance and telecoms.

Aimia's expertise includes growing Nectar, the UK's leading coalition loyalty program, from a start-up company to a multi-national business in the space of ten years. Today, Nectar has a UK membership base of 19 million - more than 50 per cent of UK households. Aimia has also built a significant presence in the Italian customer loyalty market through Nectar Italia.

Aimia's wider coalition portfolio includes Aeroplan in Canada, as well as investments in Air Miles Middle East, Club Premier in Mexico, and China's first coalition loyalty program, China Rewards.

Jan-Pieter Lips, Regional President, EMEA, Aimia, said, "There is huge potential to take Travel Club into more households across Spain.  Consistent with our strategy in other markets, we'll be transporting the experience we have gained building Nectar into a major force in UK customer loyalty to help Travel Club's partners create deeper relationships with new and existing customers as Spain's economy continues to turn a corner."

Santiago Pérez, Director General of Travel Club, said, "Customer loyalty has become even more important to businesses, and the opportunity to work with the most innovative organization in the industry marks a significant moment for Travel Club. Aimia's expertise in delivering smart, data-driven loyalty analytics worldwide makes the company a natural partner for us."

Marc Allsop, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Business Development, Aimia said, "We are delighted to be investing alongside some of Spain's largest companies in Europe's fifth largest economy to grow and strengthen Travel Club's customer and partner relationships."

The investment coincides with the launch of Travel Club's new strategic business plan. Aimia will be working with Travel Club to put this plan into action, which includes expanding Travel Club's user base and introducing more ways for customers to earn points. Travel Club will remain focused on generating more value for shareholders and better returns for current sponsor companies.

About Aimia

Aimia Inc. ("Aimia") is a global leader in loyalty management. Employing more than 4,300 people in 20 countries worldwide, Aimia offers clients, partners and members proven expertise in launching and managing coalition loyalty programs, delivering proprietary loyalty services, creating value through loyalty analytics and driving innovation in the emerging digital, mobile and social communications spaces.

Aimia owns and operates Aeroplan, Canada's premier coalition loyalty program, Nectar, the United Kingdom's largest coalition loyalty program, Nectar Italia, and Smart Button, a leading provider of SaaS loyalty solutions. In addition, Aimia owns stakes in Air Miles Middle East, Mexico's leading coalition loyalty program Club Premier, Brazil's Prismah Fidelidade, China Rewards - the first coalition loyalty program in China that enables members to earn and redeem a common currency, and i2c, a joint venture with Sainsbury's offering insight and data analytics services in the UK to retailers and suppliers. Aimia also holds minority positions in Cardlytics, a US-based private company operating in card-linked marketing and Think Big, the owner and operator of BIG - AirAsia and Tune Group's loyalty program. Aimia is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: AIM). For more information, visit us at www.aimia.com.

About Travel Club

Travel Club is the leading coalition consumer loyalty program in Spain. It was launched in 1996 and provides its partner companies with consumer behavior insight, advanced analytics and highly personalized communications. Collectors receive Travel Club points for their regular purchases that can afterwards be redeemed for an extensive portfolio of both Travel and Leisure rewards or selected merchandise items from premium brands. Currently, 6 million Spanish households are enrolled in Travel Club, with over 12 million individual card users. Travel Club shareholders are Iberia Airline, Grupo Eroski, Repsol, and Aimia. Travel Club offers an unparalleled reach for Spanish consumers, with over 30 leading retail partner companies and 10,000 outlets throughout different verticals, plus over 180 online stores where they can obtain points.

The development of digital channels plays a key role in the current communication strategy of Travel Club. The website www.travelclub.es gets over 3 million visits per month and 70% of point redemptions are done on the web. 350,000 users have downloaded the Travel Club mobile app so far. Furthermore, Travel Club keeps an active presence in social networks, with over 250,000 followers on Facebook, and 1,000,000 regular players in regularly updated versions of Travel Club social games.

Travel Club is owned and operated by Air Miles España, S.A.

SOURCE: AIMIA

Investor contacts:  

Karen Keyes
Aimia
[phone]

Media contacts: 

Megan Ratcliffe
Aimia
[phone]

Elle Macgregor-Chatwin
Headland
[phone]
[email protected]