Exame 01/06/2011 - Tatiana Vaz
A company the size of TAM, the largest airline in the country with a turnover of 12 billion reais and 44.5% market share, open the capital of a of its units - in this case, the loyalty program - seemed a shoo. Built in 2009, Multiplus had 6 million customers and partnerships with over 120 companies at the time of its IPO in February 2010. The operation, however, left much to be desired. Were captured in the bag 692 million, 5.35% less than the minimum set by company executives and by BTG, the bank that coordinated the operation. At the time, the performance was explained by the hangover from the crisis in markets worldwide, and especially because the Multiplus present a unique business model in Brazil and still difficult to explain to investors and consumers: the points acquired by shopping in certain establishments or mileage of TAM could be exchanged either by passages as, say, for claims on cell Shortly over a year since the IPO, it seems that the doubts about the company vanished. At least with regard to investors. With just over 90 employees, Multiplus grossed 1.1 billion dollars in 2010 and valued roles astounding 107.8% from the IPO until the first fortnight of May this year. In the same period, the Bovespa rose 2%. Today, its market value nearing 5.2 billion dollars, close to the parent company, TAM, valued at 5.3 billion. "Investors finally realized how our business," says Eduardo Gouveia, president of Multiplus. Not
was a sudden that analysts and investors started to see a model in Multiplus able to make profit. Many of them had fresh in their minds the failure of the Smart Club loyalty program, which was abolished in 2004, bringing together, in addition to TAM, pareciros as the network of petrol stations Shell and Lojas Americanas. From the middle of last year, however, Multiplus closed a series of partnerships that gave more impetus to the business: 28 of them for the accumulation of points, reaching a total of 151 members, and six others for the so-called "coalition" which allows the exchange points for products or services - among them are the pay TV company Sky, the hotel chain Accor and the group Multi, language school owner Wizard. Each of these partner companies pay a kind of administration fee to participate. In addition to associated companies, the strategy of Multiplus attracted 600,000 new customers in just over six months, causing your wallet to come to 8 million subscribers at the end of 2010. The business model is Multiplus very similar to Canada's Aeroplan loyalty arm of Air Canada, which went public in 2005 and now worth five times more than the parent. The most visible difference between the two programs is that here is a TAM slightly less weight as the first option to exchange points - 28% of revenue comes from Multiplus rescue by scoring tickets. In Canada the rate is 37%. Still, almost Multiplus symbiosis between TAM and worries. "A slice of revenue for the TAM Multiplus seems small, but represents a lot in terms of costs," says Marcello Gunther, airline analyst at Banco Safra. In 2010, the cost of tickets accounted for 99% of the expenses of Multiplus in exchanging points, a total of 273 million reais. The situation may worsen. The batch of tickets purchased by Multiplus must end before the IPO in October - and nobody knows for sure what price to sell TAM related to new passages. "The Multiplus today faces a dilemma," says Gunther. "The exchange of tickets is still its major draw, something that she can not do without. On the other hand, this kind of press award costs too much. "
Until now expanding Multiplus is favored by the near absence of competition - a situation that must change dramatically from the second half. The Dotz, who 11 years ago serves as a loyalty program online and already has 2 million registered customers, closed in late 2009 a partnership with Banco do Brazil and Cielo to extend services to the world "offline." Beginning in July, participants of the program in Central Region West of the country can exchange their points "virtual" products and services by about 50 establishments, including the network of stations and Ale chain of fast Bob's food.
Later this year, four other capitals, and cities of the interior of Sao Paulo, must rely on the service. Since October 2009, Dotz has been testing the program in Belo Horizonte. "In just over a year, in Dotz added 25,000 new customers in the city," says Marcello Farrell, director of the Bob's brand. The Advantage program, the joint promotion WebPartners, will also enter the fray. In May, the company made an agreement with Cielo points to account for establishments in 1000 in Brasilia and Goiania. Faced with the threat of competition, Multiplus has sought new partnerships. The most recent was Redecard. The agreement, struck in September, will allow the accumulation points at restaurants in the state capital. Maintaining growth is the only way to Multiplus continue to shine in the bag. 
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