Coinstar Signs UK Retailer WHSmith For Gift Card Mall
Coinstar has announced that its subsidiary Coinstar Limited has signed U.K. retailer WHSmith to its Gift Card Mall program - the first major retailer in the United Kingdom to deliver a Gift Card Mall program.
"By teaming with WHSmith we have access to one of the biggest retail names in Britain," said Steve Verleye, senior vice president and general manager of Coinstar's E-pay services. "The U.K. Gift Card Mall program represents an important new development in Coinstar's U.K. product offering and allows us to share our gift card expertise with WHSmith."The Gift Card Mall consists of a display rack of popular retailers including department stores, clothing, and electronics, as well as experience cards such as holidays, sporting events, and movie going. The program gives the host retailer an innovative, turnkey product to drive incremental traffic, sales and profits into the store. In addition, it also creates a new way for consumers to buy gifts in the form of gift cards for their friends and family.
The program will launch this month in the U.K. with a nationwide roll-out in more than 540 WHSmith's stores. Additional U.K. retailers are expected to be added to the program over the coming months.
"As leaders in the gift card market it is a logical move for us to sign with Coinstar's Gift Card Mall service. Coinstar's U.S. experience will put WHSmith into an even stronger position to take advantage of this rapidly growing market," said Ian Sanders, Head of Commercial Development at WHSmith.
The U.K. gift card market is expected to grow from GBP 3 million in 2005 to approximately GBP 2.1 billion by 2007 (source: Giftex Research 2005).
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