Trinity Mirror Regulatory News (TNI)

TRINITY MIRROR TO LAUNCH DAILY DEALS BUSINESS

Trinity Mirror is launching "happli", a nationwide daily deals business, focused on attracting and retaining loyal, long-term customers for retailers.

The launch is supported by a £10 million investment over the next two years with the business forecast to deliver net revenues of around £20 million by 2014.

The deals business represents a good strategic fit for the Group, focusing on delivering simple, high value, local and national deals directly to customers.

The sector is an increasingly important area in selling marketing solutions to small and medium size enterprises (SME). Strengthening our relationships with SME advertisers through the provision of a diversified range of digital products and services is a core strategic imperative for Trinity Mirror.

There are significant opportunities to drive new revenues from this market which was estimated to be valued at circa £100 million in 2011 and is forecast to rise to over £1 billion by 2016.

By leveraging the strengths of the Group's full portfolio, local infrastructure and existing national and local customer relationships, as well as building a dedicated expert team to develop the business, Trinity Mirror is well placed to succeed in this area.

happli has already been successfully piloted in Manchester and Newcastle and from today the business is being launched nationwide with nationally available deals and is being rolled out locally in a further three cities - Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

By the end of the year happli will have been rolled out to a further 20 cities. By early 2014 local deals will be available in over 50 cities.

The web and mobile site - www.happli.co.uk - will showcase a daily selection of handpicked great value deals and experiences. Customers will be encouraged to check prices, read reviews and share recommendations with friends via Facebook.

An experienced digital management team - led by Managing Director, Dave Raywood - is already in place and will report to Chris Ellis, Managing Director, Trinity Mirror Digital.

Dave Raywood, happli's Managing Director, said: "We have listened carefully to customers and retailers and have developed a unique proposition, which we believe is clearly differentiated and with a customer experience that is second to none.

"We are working with retailers to really understand their objectives and build winning deals that will offer real value to customers.

"Daily Deals are an increasingly important part of the marketing mix for SMEs and our deal partners will be working with them to craft promotional offers that showcase what they have to offer, delight consumers who buy them and work with the retailer to drive repeat visits and sales."

The launch is being supported by a heavyweight advertising campaign across Trinity Mirror's full portfolio, including full page ads in the Daily Mirror, Daily Record and relevant regional titles. 

Dedicated online search, affiliate and social marketing activity will communicate the benefits of the service under the tagline "Live life. Live happli."

Chris Ellis, Managing Director, Trinity Mirror Digital, said: "Launching new nationwide digital brands and diversifying revenue streams is an important part of our digital growth strategy.  

"happli is a new social commerce platform which delivers on both a local and national level. We are launching a well-thought-out proposition that works for consumers and retailers alike. We'll be leveraging Trinity Mirror's existing portfolio and customer relationships, as well as building new digital marketing capabilities and ultimately opening up direct-to-consumer sales on a large scale." 

ENDS