DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Excentus (www.excentus.com), a loyalty marketing and technology solutions company serving the grocery, specialty retail, convenience retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) sectors, has acquired the assets of Exclusive Connection$ (www.ecloyalty.com), an innovative loyalty marketing and promotions company based in Freeport, IL, to broaden the solutions that Excentus can deliver to the growing convenience retail sector.
Excentus describes the asset acquisition as an ideal match that supports the company’s vision of helping retailers and brands improve connections with their consumers and get more out of their respective loyalty programs and promotions, regardless of the underlying loyalty technology platform.
Excentus provides technology and loyalty marketing services to hundreds of retailers nationally and operates the popular Fuel Rewards® program, which offers cents-per-gallon savings as a loyalty program currency. Since 2012, its 8 million U.S. members have saved more than $900 million on fuel through loyalty partnerships with leading national brands and retailers. Exclusive Connection$ (EC) specializes in negotiating, supporting and managing targeted offers by major CPG brands within convenience store loyalty programs.
"No company executes full-service convenience-store loyalty promotions better than Exclusive Connection$, and we know this because many of our customers have told us directly," said Brandon Logsdon, President and CEO of Excentus, in announcing the acquisition. "Through our experience operating the Fuel Rewards program, we understand the importance of the right offer and the ideal promotional mix to create long-term customer engagement and loyalty program success. Aided by EC's hands-on expertise, proven track record and impressive relationships with some of the market's most popular consumer brands, we believe we can add unprecedented value to convenience retailers and CPG brands that currently deploy or utilize loyalty programs, regardless of the technology platform they are using."
Exclusive Connection$ negotiates with CPG brands to create offers and promotions, and handles offer set-up and testing, promotion, signage, social media strategy, training, support, rebate settlement, budgeting and reporting for convenience stores. In conjunction with the asset acquisition, Exclusive Connection$ employees will remain based in the Freeport, Illinois office.
Excentus: A Growing Convenience Retail Strategy and Footprint
"We are proud to join the Excentus family, and we look forward to continuing to create some of the most engaging and successful loyalty programs, across a spectrum of technology host platforms, for the nation's convenience stores, CPG brands and their customers," said Exclusive Connection$ President Jamie Hudson, who will join Excentus as Vice President and General Manager of Promotional Services.
The acquisition supports Excentus' ongoing expansion within the convenience retail sector. In October 2016, Excentus and Verifone announced plans to develop digital punch-card loyalty programs for the fuel and convenience retail industry, powered by Excentus' Reward Marketplace host and mobile app capabilities and Verifone's Commander Site Controller. The addition of Exclusive Connection$' targeted product promotions and offers will deepen Excentus' capabilities for the convenience retail industry.
For information about the Exclusive Connection$ acquisition, or to interview company executives, please contact Vanessa Horwell at vhorwell@thinkinkpr.com or call 305-749-5342 ext. 232.
About Excentus
Excentus Corporation, a privately held company based in Dallas, provides industry-leading loyalty marketing and technology solutions to grocers, specialty retailers, convenience retailers and consumer packaged goods brands across the nation and is the only solutions provider that also operates its own nationwide loyalty program, the Fuel Rewards® program. Founded in 1996 with a goal of easily lowering the cost of everyday life, Excentus and its loyalty program clients have helped U.S. consumers save more than $2 billion on fuel to date. www.excentus.com
About Exclusive Connection$
Exclusive Connection$ is an innovative marketing and promotions company that specializes in creating, managing and supporting customized loyalty programs for the convenience store industry. Founded in 2008 and based in Freeport, IL, Exclusive Connection$ provides program design, supplier and brand offerings, rebate settlement, budgeting, training, social media support and analytics to help convenience stores increase reach, revenues and foot traffic in target areas through compelling loyalty programs featuring some of the market's leading consumer brands.
