The Site that Keeps on Giving

Friday, Apr. 5, 2002
'Tis better to give than to receive' is a sentiment with which Eric Mosley heartily concurs. He's CEO of Globogift, an Irish startup that uses the Internet to dispense gift certificates on a worldwide basis.

Globogift ( www.globogift.com) gives buyers two choices. They can select a merchant themselves (in a country of their choice), and Globogift will have the selected retailer's paper certificate mailed to the recipient. Or, they can purchase a Globocertificate which is e-mailed to the receiver. Recipients of a Globocertificate then redeem it at the Globogift website, and there can choose to receive a voucher from any one of the participating merchants. The number of merchants they can choose from varies from country to country. Those living in Ireland can select from 150; those in the U.S. — which is Globogift's biggest market — have only one choice, Macy's. But Globogift will shortly be adding several other American options. Overall, it has about 500 participating merchants around the world. If a recipient gets, say, a $50 Globocertificate, Globogift will convert that amount to the local currency before issuing it. The average amount spent on certificates is $98.

The company is the brainchild of Edward Reynolds, a former insurance industry executive, and now Globogift's chairman. When it launched in late 1998, Reynolds thought it would mostly appeal to individual consumers, but 90% of its business comes from corporations. For multinational companies, Mosley says, the site makes it easier to give rewards or incentives to employees, especially when they are located in far-flung corners of the planet. A company can provide gifts to hundreds or thousands of employees at once, each one personalized. Companies also use the site to send gifts to valued suppliers or customers. The vast majority of its corporate clients, he adds, prefer sending the Globocertificate because it further simplifies things for them, and usually gives the recipient more choices.

Mosley says it has 20 companies using the site on a weekly basis, and a "host" of others who use it regularly. Its client list includes Microsoft, Citigroup and Nortel. "It's also an easy sell to merchants," Mosley says, because it provides them with customers they might otherwise not have gotten. Globogift receives a commission from the merchants, and it also receives a fee from users. Corporate clients are charged on volume.

The company had its first profitable quarter at the end of 2001, but Mosley doesn't expect it to be regularly profitable for a while because it's still expanding. The company operates in 30 countries, but 90% of its business comes from large, industrialized countries, where many multinationals have operations, including Britain, Ireland, Germany, France and Australia. But its reach extends from Singapore to New Zealand. Growth now means increasing sales, Mosley says, and that involves "a lot of one-on-one marketing." But Globogift is learning that recipients of Globocertificates also help sell the service. Many people who have gotten certificates come back as buyers, Mosley says. Truly, giving can be a rewarding experience.