| Type | NYSE ADS |
|---|---|
| Industry | Loyalty marketing services |
| Founded | December 2, 1996 |
| Headquarters | Plano, Texas, United States |
| Area served | USA, Canada |
| Key people | Ed Heffernan, President & CEO |
| Products | Air Miles |
| Revenue | $2.791 bn Ytd dec1037%[1] |
| Net income | $194 mil Ytd dec1032%[1] |
| Total assets | $8.272 bn Ytd dec102%[1] |
| Employees | Approx. 7,400+[2] |
| Subsidiaries | LoyaltyOne Epsilon Alliance Data Retail Services |
| Website | www.alliancedata.com |
Alliance Data NYSE: ADS is a publicly traded, leading provider of loyalty and marketing solutions (such as private label credit cards, coalition loyalty programs, and direct marketing services) derived from the capture and analysis of transaction-rich data that provides insight into how and why consumers make certain purchases.
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Alliance Data was formed from the December 2, 1996 merger of two entities: J.C. Penney's credit card processing unit and The Limited's credit card bank operation, named World Financial Network National Bank.[3]
In August 1998 Alliance Data acquired LoyaltyOne, then-branded The Loyalty Group Canada, for $250 million.[4] The deal gave Alliance Data two valuable business enhancements, Canada's Air Miles Rewards Program and the company behind the popular Air Miles program, LoyaltyOne.[5]
On May 17, 2007, Alliance Data and The Blackstone Group (a private equity firm) announced plans for Alliance Data to be acquired by The Blackstone Group.[6][7] In April 2008, Alliance Data terminated the merger agreement with Blackstone Affiliates.[8][9]
Ed Heffernan was promoted to president and CEO of Alliance Data in February 2009, after being with the company since 1998.[10][11][12]
Retail Services is a provider of integrated credit and marketing services including private label, co-brand and commercial credit card programs.
LoyaltyOne, located in Canada, provides loyalty marketing programs for North American brands in the retail, financial services, grocery, petroleum, retail, travel, and hospitality industries.
Five businesses make up LoyaltyOne: AIR MILES Reward Program, in which approximately 2/3 of Canadian households participate in the national program;[13] Colloquy; LoyaltyOne Consulting; Precima; and Direct Antidote.
Hewitt Associates named LoyaltyOne in their "2010 List of the 50 Best Employers in Canada."[14]
Epsilon provides a broad range of loyalty marketing services spanning database marketing, direct mail, email marketing, Web development, loyalty programs, analytics, data services, and strategic consulting, among others.
Ad Age ranked Epsilon among their top marketing services firms and direct marketing agencies list for several years: in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.[15][16][17] It sends billions of email ads every year.[18]
On March 30, 2011, Epsilon detected unauthorized access to its email database, resulting in the theft of consumers' names and email addresses. No credit card information was obtained. These customers were on banks' and retailers' mailing lists.[19]
Due to the volume of intrusions and information theft incidents in the spring of 2011, which involved Epsilon, Sony, EMC Corp., Citigroup, and others,[20]the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, chaired by Rep. Mary Bono Mack (CA-45), approved legislation on July 20, 2011, designed to protect American consumers from cyber attacks and identity theft.[21] The Secure and Fortify Electronic Data Act (SAFE Data Act), authored by Chairman Bono Mack, was authored with the goal of enhancing protection of personal information by establishing uniform national standards for data security and data breach notification. The bill now moves to the full Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration.[22]