CH17 Loyalty reaches out to Singaporean ICT company to provide affordable loyalty for small biz

Thursday, 14 December 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Targeting 80% of the retail business including the traditional and popular “sillara kade” boutique, CH17 in collaboration with 99RetailStreet (Brand name of Aequm Ltd., a Singapore-based entity that enables small retailers in Sri Lanka to compete with modern trade) is bringing customer loyalty to the SME segment, both in FMCG and pharmaceutical sector.

These traditional retailers mostly classified as micro and small never get to experience or implement any of the business solutions implemented or being implemented by various developers. The reason being prohibitive cost in acquiring and running such programs, said CH17 Loyalty CEO Jumar Preena.

Aequm currently services 250 of these SME customers with its POS offerings in Sri Lanka.

Unlike their counterpart in large enterprise, these micro and small business develop a truly loyal customer relationship over a period of time. Random purchases on credit with no collateral whatsoever and trust are generally hallmark of their relationship with their customers. Due to its sheer size, the larger players do not have these luxuries. “We want them to take advantage of this,” Jumar explained.

Aequm CEO Alok Jayant said: “We want to leverage the power of customer loyalty in small shops. Customers build strong relationships with their local stores as the local store owners tend to know them personally. By enabling the 99RetailStreet loyalty platform and extending cash discounts/loyalty to this customer base via CH17 offerings, this partnership between CH17 and 99RetailStreet will leverage the power of customer loyalty between consumers and their local stores to bring huge benefits for end consumers.”

Aequm and CH17 are targeting an addition of 20,000 customer loyalty cards next year as these cards would be available for sales to customers from any of the outlets that have tied up with 99RetailStreet.

CH17 recently entered in to an agreement with the Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of SRI Lanka (FCCISL) to provide an end-to-end solution to the Micro and SME entrepreneurs to help them in business management and market access.

“We have now found the missing link to complete the all-important supply chain – the basic Internet of Things (IoT), through the tie-up with 99RetailStreet,” he added.

Aequm, a cloud-based start-up based out of Singapore (brandname-99RetailStreet), enables unorganised retailers to compete with modern trade. It has already rolled out its solution to more than 250 pharmacies and FMCG stores in Sri Lanka and has strategic tie-ups with CPG and pharmaceutical manufacturers and other ecosystem partners in banking, telecom and media.