Global Retail Insights Network launched to enable top-100 e-commerce retailers to expand globally

GRIN's mission is to assist retailers achieve their global expansion objectives. Our services focus on core areas of the retail value chain that have the greatest impact on successfully crossing international business borders. (Graphic: Business Wire)

IRCE 2013

CHICAGO--()--GlobalCollect, the world’s premier payment service provider, announced today the formation of The Global Retail Insights Network (GRIN), an integrated coalition of companies seeking to reduce the complexity for retailers wanting to rapidly expand beyond their domestic borders into global markets.

Other participating companies currently include E4X; Kount; Pitney Bowes Inc.; Edgar. Dunn & Company and Translations.com. These companies all bring specific expertise on advising companies on international expansion and offer many of the technology and services required to do so. Other organizations will be added in the future based on retailer needs.

According to figures from eMarketer, the global B2C e-commerce market surpassed $1 trillion in 2012, and is expected to grow 18.3% this year reaching $1.3 trillion. The global market is expected reach $2 trillion by 2016. In BRIC countries, even greater rates of growth are forecast, with the total market growing from $153.7 billion in 2012 to $522.3 billion in 2016.

“Selling overseas is a huge and very real opportunity, but it brings real challenges with it,” said Carl Miller, GlobalCollect’s global market director for retail. “Localized marketing, payments, logistics, currency exchange and tax and duty compliance are just a few of the issues cross-border retailers have to deal with, and the Global Retail Insights Network was formed to create a strong coalition of proven experts to help retailers address those challenges.”

GlobalCollect provides the e-commerce payment processing expertise within GRIN. With a single commercial contract and a single technical connection, GlobalCollect’s full-service payment platform processes consumer transactions in more than 170 different countries using local currencies and supports more than 150 different payment methods. The company has been doing this for nearly two decades and serves more than 500 of the world’s most recognized brands in retail, travel, gaming and digital goods and services.

Pitney Bowes global e-commerce and parcel distribution services provide a unique combination of regulatory expertise, advanced technology and a sophisticated logistics infrastructure that reduces the friction in global e-commerce for both buyers and sellers.

“Launching a brand internationally is not a simple process and while it has tremendous upside, there are also unique challenges associated with cross-border commerce,” said Craig Reed, vice president, Global E-commerce for Pitney Bowes. “One major challenge is not having a direct connection to the global consumer. From a delivery perspective, if a retailer isn’t the merchant of record, the challenges to your brand probably outweigh the benefits. As a member of The Global Retail Insights Network, Pitney Bowes will help merchants offer a simple and seamless online shopping experience to their customers, and focus on the most impactful global opportunities while providing the data to support ongoing strategic growth.”

“Providing global content is the key to driving international traffic and conversion,” said Matt Hauser, vice president of content solutions. “If retailers want to earn trust in a new market, communicating to potential buyers in their native language is a necessity, not a luxury. At Translations.com, we focus on maintaining international brand voice to build customer loyalty coupled with solutions to drive process efficiencies and speed time to market. We are extremely excited about the opportunity to be a part of the Global Retail Insights Network to help retailers succeed.”

Jack Alton, Vice President of Sales for Kount – which provides GRIN’s fraud expertise - believes that if used in the right way, e-retailers can turn fraud prevention from a cost center into a profit center.

“The increase of ecommerce worldwide has led to an increase in online card fraud and cybercrime is becoming ever more sophisticated. In the UK alone in 2012 the value of online sales was £78 billion and this is forecasted to rise by 11.5% in 2013. This has made the implementation of industry leading fraud prevention more important than ever. I believe however that fraud prevention can do so much more than just prevent fraud. With intelligent fraud prevention technology it can enhance the customer experience, increase sales and ultimately improve upon the bottom line for all online retailers.”

Lastly, Edgar, Dunn & Company provides strategic analysis and critical business guidance to clients such as merchants. Edgar, Dunn & Company acts as a collaborative, trusted advisor, helping organizations respond to many of the industry’s most significant issues, including new payment product opportunities, customer profitability and retention, operational excellence, credit and fraud risk, new technologies, and global expansion.

The Global Retail Insight Network website can be found at www.gringrowth.com. The members of the Global Retail Insight Network will be present at IRCE 2013 in Chicago this week. To make an appointment or for more information, please write to info@gringrowth.com

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About GlobalCollect

GlobalCollect is the most knowledgeable global Payment Service Provider in the world, processing more than US$14 billion in international e-commerce payments per year for more than 500 of the world’s most recognized e-commerce brands in the digital goods and services, travel, retail and video gaming industries, among many others. With nearly two decades of payments experience, we enable our clients to efficiently and securely accept payments from more than 170 countries in more than 170 currencies, using in excess of 150 local payment methods including all major credit and debit cards, direct debits, bank transfers, real-time bank transfers, eWallets, cash at outlets, prepaid methods, checks, and invoices. This gives our customers unparalleled coverage, especially in high-growth regions like Latin America, where GlobalCollect acquired regional PSP Sub1 in 2012. Our robust and redundant systems guarantee our customers high availability and reliability. GlobalCollect’s business intelligence tools and more than 400 payments experts help our clients elevate their payment strategies to become a strategic asset to their companies. Headquartered in Amsterdam, GlobalCollect has six locations around the world, and is a Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe company. For more information please visit: http://www.globalcollect.com and follow us on: http://www.linkedin.com/company/globalcollect, http://www.twitter.com/Global_Collect and http://www.facebook.com/globalcollect.

About E4X

E4X is a global leader in multicurrency settlement solutions, working alongside global processors to facilitate foreign exchange and global payments for ecommerce merchants. With E4X’s patented technologies and industry-leading services, online retailers can take advantage of local currency pricing, rate guarantees, transparent pricing and enhanced and consistent reporting across multiple currencies, processors and payment types - enabling successful global expansion and profitability. For more information, visit www.e4x.com.

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes provides technology solutions for small, mid-size and large firms that help them connect with customers to build loyalty and grow revenue. Many of the company’s solutions are delivered on open platforms to best organize, analyze and apply both public and proprietary data to two-way customer communications. Pitney Bowes includes direct mail, transactional mail and call center communications in its solution mix along with digital channel messaging for the Web, email and mobile applications. Pitney Bowes has approximately USD$5 billion in annual revenues and 27,000 employees worldwide. Pitney Bowes: Every connection is a new opportunity™. www.pb.com.

About Kount

Kount helps businesses boost sales by reducing fraud. Our all-in-one, SaaS platform simplifies fraud detection and helps online businesses accept more orders. Kount’s turnkey fraud platform is easy-to-implement and easy-to-use. Kount’s proprietary technology has reviewed hundreds of millions of transactions and provides maximum protection for some of the world’s best-known brands. Merchants using Kount can accept more orders from more people in more places than ever before. For more information about Kount, please visit www.kount.com.

About Translations.com

With annual revenues of more than $340 million, Translations.com is a leading provider of enterprise localization services and technology solutions. From offices in more than 80 cities on five continents, Translations.com offers a full range of services in 170+ languages to clients worldwide. Translations.com's GlobalLink Product Suite is used by more than 1,000 global organizations, including Hilton Worldwide, IKEA, Polo Ralph Lauren, Skype and UPS. Translations.com is part of the TransPerfect family of companies, with global headquarters in New York and regional headquarters in London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.translations.com.

About Edgar, Dunn & Company

Founded in 1978, Edgar, Dunn & Company is a global payments and financial services consultancy. Our team is composed of seasoned professionals who service clients in over 45 countries. EDC provides a full range of strategic consulting and research solutions for traditional, emerging and alternative payment products and channels. We work with a broad range of clients across the entire payments industry value chain, providing them with market and competitive intelligence, corporate and business unit strategy, international expansion planning, and other strategic and advisory support. For more information regarding our consulting services or payments studies, please visit: http://www.edgardunn.com or contact pascal.burg@edgardunn.com.

Contacts

GlobalCollect
John Snoek
Global VP Marketing
+31(0)23-567-1500
E-Mail: press.globalcollect@globalcollect.com
Web: www.globalcollect.com

Release Summary

Global Retail Insights Network companies bring specific expertise advising online retailers on global expansion. Offering many of the technology and services required throughout the value chain.

Contacts

GlobalCollect
John Snoek
Global VP Marketing
+31(0)23-567-1500
E-Mail: press.globalcollect@globalcollect.com
Web: www.globalcollect.com