Global Loyalty Leader joins with Asia's Fastest Growing Low Cost Airline and
Think Big Digital Sdn Bhd to Grow World Class Loyalty Program in
Asia
MONTREAL, CANADA and
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA,
Jan. 29, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Aimia
Inc. (TSX: AIM) ("Aimia"), a global leader in loyalty management
headquartered in Canada, AirAsia
Berhad ("AirAsia"), Asia's fastest
growing and largest low-cost airline, and Think Big Digital ("Think
Big") Sdn Bhd, today announced the signing of an agreement for
Aimia's acquisition of a minority stake in Think Big, the owner and
operator of BIG - AirAsia and Tune Group's loyalty program.
Aimia will initially invest approximately C$17 million with up to an additional
C$7 million to be invested if certain
milestones are achieved by December 31,
2015.
The partnership combines AirAsia's unrivaled success in the
Asian market, which has seen it grow from just two aircraft to more
than 160 in 12 years, Tune Group's portfolio of successful
companies including hotels, pre-paid Visa cards, insurance and
music companies - and Aimia's unmatched expertise in the design and
management of travel-based loyalty programs, to provide BIG members
and partners with a loyalty proposition that is truly
rewarding.
"The partnership between AirAsia, Think Big Digital and Aimia is
yet another way that AirAsia and Tune Group are innovating and
driving change in the Asian airline market - all to the benefit of
our members, guests and investors," said Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia and
co-founder of Tune Group. "With its experience running the world's
largest standalone frequent flyer programs, the Aimia team has
unique and invaluable insight. We are thrilled to be working
together to leverage that knowledge as we continue to grow the
AirAsia BIG loyalty program."
"The AirAsia BIG loyalty program is a great opportunity to
export Aimia's coalition business model and to help our partners
create deep and lasting relationships with their customers," said
Rupert Duchesne, Aimia's Group Chief
Executive. "Through this partnership with AirAsia and Tune Group,
we look forward to sharing our experience with the BIG program,
while also growing our presence in the high-potential Asian loyalty
market."
AirAsia BIG loyalty program spans across Southeast Asia, a growing market with a
population of 634 million. The region is ranked fourth globally in
airline market size.
The AirAsia BIG loyalty program continues to benefit from the
growing customer base of both AirAsia and Tune Group. It has
already attracted a broad coalition of partners ranging from credit
card companies, retail stores, petrol stations, and insurance and
telecom firms, in addition to the AirAsia and Tune Group family
partners.
"With AirAsia's customer base of over 43 million guests a year,
the potential of BIG to deliver deeper, more meaningful
relationships to a broad membership base is significant," said
Alice Goh, CEO AirAsia BIG loyalty
program. "We believe that this potential extends beyond flight
revenues and we look forward to working with all BIG partners to
build a cutting-edge program."
"Asia represents a key region
for Aimia as we expand our presence globally, and we believe the
partnership between ourselves, AirAsia and Tune Group provides a
fantastic platform to further demonstrate our unique capabilities
in the loyalty industry," added Marc
Allsop, Aimia's Senior Vice President of Global Business
Development. "This partnership brings three innovative,
forward-thinking brands together for the long-term benefit of our
customers."
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Forward-looking statements are included in this news release.
These forward-looking statements are identified by the use of terms
and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate",
"expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "will",
"would", and "should" and similar terms and phrases, including
references to assumptions. Such statements may involve but are not
limited to comments with respect to strategies, expectations,
planned operations or future actions.
Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are based on
assumptions and are subject to important risks and uncertainties.
Any forecasts, predictions or forward-looking statements cannot be
relied upon due to, among other things, changing external events
and general uncertainties of the business and its corporate
structure. Results indicated in forward-looking statements may
differ materially from actual results for a number of reasons,
including without limitation, dependency on top accumulation
partners and clients, changes to the Aeroplan Program, conflicts of
interest, greater than expected redemptions for rewards, regulatory
matters, retail market/economic conditions, industry competition,
Air Canada liquidity issues, Air Canada or travel industry
disruptions, airline industry changes and increased airline costs,
supply and capacity costs, unfunded future redemption costs,
failure to safeguard databases and consumer privacy, changes to
coalition loyalty programs, seasonal nature of the business, other
factors and prior performance, foreign operations, legal
proceedings, reliance on key personnel, labour relations, pension
liability, technological disruptions and inability to use third
party software, failure to protect intellectual property rights,
interest rate and currency fluctuations, leverage and restrictive
covenants in current and future indebtedness, uncertainty of
dividend payments, managing growth, credit ratings, as well as the
other factors identified in this news release and throughout
Aimia's public disclosure record on file with the Canadian
securities regulatory authorities.
The forward-looking statements contained herein represent
Aimia's expectations as of January 29,
2014, and are subject to change after such date. However,
Aimia disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable
securities regulations.
About Aimia
Aimia Inc. ("Aimia" or the "Corporation") is a global leader
in loyalty management. Employing more than 4,000 people in over 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 a minority position in
Cardlytics, a US-based private company operating in card-linked
marketing for electronic banking. Aimia is listed on the
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: AIM). For more information, visit us
at www.aimia.com.
About The AirAsia Group
AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost
carrier in Asia, services the most
extensive network with 121 destinations. Within 12 years of
operations, AirAsia has carried over 220 million guests and grown
its fleet from just two aircraft to over 160. The airline today is
proud to be a truly Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)
airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the
Philippines servicing a network stretching across all Asean
countries as well as China,
India and Australia. AirAsia was named the World's Best
Low Cost Airline in the annual World Airline Survey by Skytrax for
five consecutive years from 2009 - 2013.
About Think Big Digital
Think Big Digital Sdn. Bhd., is a joint venture between AirAsia and
Tune Money and operates the Air Asia BIG Loyalty Programme. Air
Asia BIG is the global points currency serving AirAsia and the Tune
Group. Under the programme, members earn BIG points from AirAsia,
Tune Talk, Tune Hotels, and many other partners including Budget,
Avis, Starhub, DTAC, Petronas, and major banks such as DBS,
Citibank, CIMB, Standard Chartered Bank, Bank Mandiri, BRI, Siam
Commercial Bank and Bangkok
Bank.In conjunction with Tune Money, Think Big Digital provides the
loyalty program for the BIG Visa Prepaid Card, co-branded and
affinity payment products, giving cardholders the opportunity to
earn Points and redeem for AirAsia flights and many other specialty
merchandise and hotel rewards.
SOURCE AIMIA
Image with caption: "Rupert
Duchesne, Aimia's Group Chief Executive and Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia and
co-founder of Tune Group celebrate the announcement of a
partnership to Grow the AirAsia BIG Loyalty Program. (CNW
Group/AIMIA)". Image available at:
http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140129_C6089_PHOTO_EN_36037.jpg