Future Group joins multipartner loyalty program PAYBACK

The Future Group will introduce PAYBACK as new loyalty program, improving consequently the way millions of Indian customers shop, save and get rewarded. PAYBACK enables consumers to collect points with hundreds of relevant companies offline, online and on the move – with just a single card. All Future Group companies are set to join the sophisticated coalition loyalty program. This adds 1,600 new points of sale to the pan-Indian PAYBACK network, doubling its size. "Joining PAYBACK strengthens the key pillars of our businesses: scale, efficiency and customer orientation", says Vibha Rishi, Executive Director Customer Strategy, Future Group. "With PAYBACK, our customers enjoy an even more rewarding shopping experience while we further deepen our understanding of shopper’s wishes and buying behavior. Future Group will benefit from PAYBACK’s marketing platform with its proven track record in boosting customer loyalty and increasing sales substantially."

The largest Future Group retail formats will introduce PAYBACK in September 2011. Launch brands include fashion chain Pantaloon, Big Bazaar hypermarkets, Food Bazaar supermarkets, Central malls, consumer electronics chain eZone and home furnisher Home Town. With the new multi-partner platform, consumers will experience greatly enhanced possibilities to earn points quickly and to convert them into attractive rewards. PAYBACK offers members better deals on their purchases, easy in-store redemption opportunities at all partners and an online shopping platform representing key Indian e-commerce shops. Basic discounts on purchases from Future Group companies earned through PAYBACK range up to 2 percent. Additionally, customers will get a remarkable amount of promotional points and discount coupons.

"The Future Group’s partnership with PAYBACK underlines the outstanding value our program offers to companies and their customers", says Alexander Rittweger, founder and CEO of the Loyalty Partner Group, PAYBACK’s parent. "Adding India’s most popular retail formats vastly increases the relevance of the PAYBACK network to consumers. It also increases PAYBACK’s attraction for new partners. We are confident that more category leading companies will join soon."

"Our milestone partnership with the Future Group shows the huge potential for multi-partner loyalty programs to act as catalyst for India’s consumer economy", says PAYBACK India CEO Vijay Bobba, "India’s dynamic retail environment creates ideal conditions for PAYBACK’s further growth."

PAYBACK is the largest multipartner loyalty program in India. The additional Future Group companies will join a common platform with other pan-Indian category leaders from the banking, retail, travel and online sector such as ICICI Bank, HPCL, Air India, Megamart, Univercell, BookmyShow and MakeMyTrip. About Future Group
<link www.futuregroup.in - external-link-new-window>Future Group</link> operates some of India’s most popular retail formats that include Pantaloon, Big Bazaar, Central, Foodhall, Home Town, Ezone and Food Bazaar. The group also has developed significant presence in consumer finance, capital, insurance, brand development, retail media and logistics. The retail formats bring in around 220 million customer footfalls every year and provide a platform for over 30,000 small, medium and large entrepreneurs in India to sell their products and services to these customers. The group has a retail presence in 85 cities and 60 rural destinations and employs over 35,000 people directly. The group’s flagship enterprise, <link www.pantaloonretail.in - external-link-new-window>Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited</link>, was founded in 1987 and is listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange since 1991. The company along with its subsidiaries operates around 16 million square feet of retail space in the country. Future Group has developed successful partnerships with Indian and foreign companies like Tata Group, Godrej Group, Generali, Staples and Celio. Future Group believes in developing strong insights on Indian consumers and building businesses based on Indian ideas, as espoused in the group’s core value of “Indianness”. The group’s corporate credo is “Rewrite rules, Retain values”.