National Gift Card Corp. (NGC), Crystal Lake, Ill., announced Sept. 18 that the company is broadening its international presence with expansion of its operations, retail partners and customer base to the U.K. and Europe.
As part of the growth plan, NGC is purchasing a majority stake in Revive Prepaid Management, located in Bracknell, Berkshire, U.K., about 30 miles west of central London. Revive Prepaid Management provides retailers, restaurants and other leisure chains with complete turnkey gift card solutions for their brands. They assist brands in increasing their gift card business and provide and manage business employee incentive programs and customer loyalty programs which utilize all forms of traditional and digital gift cards. Existing clients include River Island, Primark and Ask Italian Restaurants.
Initially, NGC Corp Group Europe Limited (ngcEurope)—as the new division has been named—will offer fully managed gift card solutions to leading brands and will supply traditional and digital gift cards for bulk fulfillment representing about eight retail partner brands for the U.K. and Europe, including iTunes U.K. and Amazon.co.uk, with others to follow. National Gift Card’s corporate headquarters will remain in Crystal Lake, Ill.
“As we celebrate 10 years in business, we are especially excited about our prospects as we expand our growing business to the European and U.K. markets,” said NGC CEO Adam Van Witzenburg. “We are enthusiastic about this new opportunity and look forward to serving our customers in this market. We’ve been looking at the European market for quite some time, and we now believe there is a bright future ahead of us there.”
Andrew Johnson, managing director of Revive Prepaid Management, has been named to head ngcEurope. He noted the NGC majority purchase “makes perfect sense for everyone, as it will allow us to collaborate on some exciting sales opportunities here in the U.K., and on the continent, as well as using NGC’s strengths in technology, fulfillment and customization to build on our existing capabilities.” He noted that the development and advancement of gift card technologies, such as digital cards and mobile device delivery, “hold significant promise in the European market.”
In addition, ngcEurope has established two website portals. For information, visit www.ngc-group.co.uk, and for customer orders, visit www.ngcdirect.co.uk.
