PARIS, November 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
The Printemps group has partnered with Wirecard to offer a new payment solution to customers using the mobile app Alipay. As a result, Printemps Haussmann has become the first department store in France to accept this payment solution, which has more than 450 million Chinese users already.
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In this way, Printemps is pushing forward with its goal of offering customers an even more unique and exclusive shopping experience with this payment method, which offers significant benefits for Chinese clientele who regularly enjoy shopping in Paris. Among other things, the Alipay solution allows them to make luxury purchases in a quick, easy and completely secure way, as transactions are carried out using the QR code generated by their smartphones. So there's no need to carry large amounts of cash around.
Additionally, with Alipay, Printemps provides its Chinese clientele with a familiar payment set-up. Alipay has over 450 million active user, and has been completely integrated into everyday Chinese life, regardless of age, income, or maturity. As a bonus, it is interconnected and highly compatible with Chinese social networks.
Printemps can also better respond to customers' specific expectations by making use of this solution's features, particularly the ability to communicate targeted and geolocalised offers to the app's users.
Thanks to its collaboration with Wirecard, Printemps can integrate Alipay payments directly into its central management system, allowing the offer to be enrolled in over time. The system will be rolled out at all 18 Printemps stores by the end of the year. In addition, Wirecard is taking charge of the entire payment process with Wirecard's Connected POS technology.
"Chinese tourists are an important target clientele for Printemps, which is why we are developing various unique offers and services to ensure the best response. Today we are especially proud to be offering them the exclusive opportunity to make purchases at Printemps through the Alipay application. We were able to embark on this adventure thanks to the professionalism and experience of Wirecard, which has guided and advised us throughout this process and is a strong and reliable partner for the future," said Annalisa Loustau, Chief Marketing Officer for the Printemps group.
Rita Liu, Director of Alipay Europe, continued: "For our customers, this roll out is synonymous with greater added value, as they can now pay with the same method they use at home. Paris is one of the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists. Through our marketing platform, Global Lifestyle Platform, we can provide them with relevant information, such as promotions, notifications and commentary, even before they arrive in Paris. We are confident that the new Alipay offers rolled out with Printemps, in terms of payment methods and marketing, will be quickly adopted."
Christian Reindl, Executive Vice President of Sales Consumer Goods at Wirecard, added: "We are pleased to partner with Printemps, one of the world's most renowned players in the luxury goods market, who has now become the first French department store to offer its customers the Alipay mobile payment solution. We believe the increasing number of Chinese tourists travelling to Europe presents an opportunity for significant growth, particularly in the luxury goods sector, and we are also planning many other collaborations in this sector."
Wirecard has been providing European distributors with an innovative payment concept at point of sale with the Alipay app since December 2015. For more information on Wirecard's Alipay payment solutions, visit https://www.wirecard.com/alipay/
About Alipay
Alipay currently has over 450 million active users and more than 200 domestic financial institution partners. Alipay has evolved from a digital wallet to a lifestyle enabler. Users can hail a taxi, book a hotel, buy movie tickets, pay utility bills, make doctors' appointments or transfer money to each other directly from various modules within the app and purchase wealth management products such as Yu'e Bao. In addition to online payments, Alipay is expanding to in-store offline payments both inside and outside of China. Over 2,000,000 brick-and-mortar merchants now accept Alipay as a payment method across China. As of June 2016, Alipay was supported in 70 overseas markets, with in-store payments covering more than 80,000 retail stores, and tax reimbursement via Alipay is supported in 24 countries and regions, including South Korea, Germany and France. Alipay works with over 40 overseas financial institutions and payment solution providers to enable cross-border payments for Chinese travelling overseas and overseas customers who purchase products from Chinese e-commerce sites. Alipay supports the settlement of 18 currencies.
About Printemps
Founded in 1865 by Jules Jaluzot, the Printemps group is one of the top French names in fashion, luxury and beauty; it owns and operates 19 department stores in France. The Group is also active in the lifestyle sector, with 5 Citadium stores, and has become a formidable player in fashion e-commerce through the Place des Tendances website, which it acquired in 2013.
As the inventor of the department store concept, Printemps boasts an exceptional cultural and artistic heritage with its flagship store on Boulevard Haussmann the best known representation of this heritage. The iconic store is a listed building and recently celebrated its 150th anniversary.
With over 3,500 brands and a total surface area of 180,000m², the Group reported turnover of €1.7 billion in 2015. Three thousand employees, all driven by a unique sense of service and whose expertise is one of the Group's cornerstones, welcome 70 million visitors to stores annually, including over 20 million at Printemps Haussmann.
With Paolo de Cesare at the helm, the Printemps group has been owned by a Qatari investment company since 2013.
About Wirecard
Wirecard AG is a global technology group that supports companies in accepting electronic payments from all sales channels. As a leading independent supplier, the Wirecard Group offers outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payments. A global platform bundles international payment acceptances and methods with supplementary fraud prevention solutions. With regard to issuing own payment instruments in the form of cards or mobile payment solutions, the Wirecard Group provides companies with an end-to-end infrastructure, including the requisite licences for card and account products. Wirecard AG is listed on the Frankfurt Securities Exchange (TecDAX, ISIN DE0007472060, WDI). For further information about Wirecard, please visit http://www.wirecard.com or follow us on twitter @wirecard.
Contact:
Wirecard AG
Jana Tilz
Tel.: +49(0)89-4424-1363
E-Mail: jana.tilz@wirecard.com
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