The renewing K-Plussa – all you need
Kesko and the K-retailers launch a thorough development programme, titled "K-Plussa supercard", concerning the K-Plussa customer loyalty system. The reform will apply to all 3.5 million K-Plussa customers. It will also increase the choice and diversification of cards and benefits available to customers so that one card for payments at home and abroad will be sufficient for most customers. The first phase of the development programme will start in May, which will also mark the beginning of major cooperation with OP Bank Group.
Interaction between the K-store and the customer to increase
The K-Plussa customers will receive an increasing number of centralisation and loyalty benefits from the K-stores and other Plussa partners. Information will be collected from the K-Group stores in order to develop selections and services and to increase interaction between the K-store and the customer. The more services provided by K-Plussa outlets the customer uses, the more benefits he or she will receive. There are nearly 3,000 K-Plussa outlets and we want to continue to actively increase the number of the best cooperation partners.
The K-chains’ total Plussa benefits to grow from €100 to over €200 million
The chains in the K-Plussa system, such as K-market, K-supermarket, K-citymarket, Anttila, Kodin Ykkönen, Intersport, Asko, Sotka and K-rauta will give significant benefits to K-Plussa customers in their own and joint customer loyalty programmes. For example, the services provided by K-rauta and Rautia for builders and renovators, and the customer programmes of Kodin Ykkönen and Anttila department stores will further increase benefits to K-Plussa customers. The aim is to raise the total annual benefits of Plussa special offers from the previous about €100 million to over €200 million.
Joint K-Plussa benefits to increase, such as OP-Visa with the Plussa feature
The diversified partnership with OP Bank Group, including cooperation with Pohjola Insurance Company, will start at the beginning of May. The partnership will make available to customers OP-Visa and OP-Visa Electron cards with the Plussa feature which can be used as normal debit or credit cards, and the new, international K-Plussa Mastercard with no annual fee. K-Plussa customer will also be offered an opportunity to deposit their Plussa points on their bank accounts. These reforms aim at making accruing Plussa benefits even easier than before.
The benefits given by Plussa points will remain unchanged until further notice, at 5% at the highest. Customers who pay with an OP Bank Group card with the Plussa feature will also get an additional benefit of 0.5% at K-food stores throughout 2007. When the customer has the Plussa feature added to an OP Bank Group card he or she will also receive vouchers to the total value of 30 euros, accepted by K-speciality stores. The Pirkka magazine – the K-Plussa benefit distributed to all loyal customers – has the widest readership in Finland. According to the most recent survey, the magazine has 2.5 million readers. Next autumn, Plussa customers will also be offered other banks’ payment card options.
Further information from:
President and CEO Matti Halmesmäki, Kesko Corporation, tel. +358 1053 22201
Corporate Executive Vice President Juhani Järvi, Kesko Corporation, tel. +358 1053 22209
President Terho Kalliokoski, Kesko Food Ltd, tel. +358 1053 22204
Managing Director Pasi Mäkinen, K-Plus Oy, tel. +358 1053 37100
Photos can be downloaded at www.kesko.fi/material > Image archive >Topical issues
There are currently as many as around 3.5 million K-Plussa cardholders in nearly 1.8 million households in Finland. The K-Plussa card is accepted at nearly 3,000 outlets. Last year the number of K-Plussa cardholders increased by 185,000 and this year the number has increased further by nearly 50,000. In addition to the K-Group stores, the diversified Plussa network includes Neste, Sonera, A-lehdet, Helsinki Energy, Scandic Hotels, Finnkino, and Europcar.
Kesko (www.kesko.fi) is a retail specialist whose stores offer quality to the daily lives of consumers through valued products and services at competitive prices. Kesko operates in the Nordic and Baltic countries and Russia.
