Archway shipped 220 million gift cards in 2007 and predicts 2008 will be nearly double.
ROGERS, MINN. (Feb. 20, 2008) - Exceeding client service expectations to meet retailer needs for gift, pre-paid and financial cards,
Archway Marketing Services, Inc., a leader in marketing fulfillment, surpassed its gift card forecast and shipped 220 million cards in 2007 ' 16 million more than earlier predicted. Shipping cards to more than 50 different retail clients, Archway nearly doubled 2006 gift card distribution numbers.
"With the more recent change in our economy and consumer's spending habits, the gift card market continues to grow and mature," said Mike Moroz, president of Archway Marketing Services. "Gift cards have become a year-long gift item, we anticipate gift card usage will continue to grow with the increased acceptance of the financial gift cards."
Already in planning for the 2008 holiday season, Archway predicts gift cards shipping from its Rogers, Minn., facility to continue to grow exponentially and is preparing to ship nearly 350 million gift cards this year. This figure is in line with industry predictions. TowerGroup, a leading financial services research firm, estimates that the entire gift card sales industry generated a total of $97 billion in 2007, up from $83 billion in 2006.
In addition to brand specific loaded and non-loaded cards for retailers and restaurants, Archway also distributes the popular financial cards, which are universally accepted. Archway expanded its capabilities and capacity to support the security requirements for these cards and the rise in usage of the universally accepted financial cards. Archway has been approved by the four major Card Associations, VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. Archway is poised to address continued growth in the gift card market.
Archway is an end-to-end solution provider, offering procurement, fulfillment, and inventory management, as well as serial number tracking, forecasting, automatic replenishment and online reporting for gift, prepaid and financial card programs. The company's technology infrastructure combined with its serial number and lot tracking expertise, were used to develop a radio frequency (RF) tracking system and card fulfillment e-tools that streamline inventory management to get cards in the consumer's hands faster.
About Archway Marketing Services
For more than 50 years, Archway Marketing Services, Inc., has been providing industry leading business-to-business and business-to-consumer companies with marketing
fulfillment services and business performance services. Archway provides fulfillment and logistical services to clients in all industries including Fortune 500 companies. From business intelligence to printing, fulfillment and analytics, Archway has the resources necessary to provide integrated, scaleable and flexible approaches to fit its clients' unique requirements. With more than 1,500 employees, Archway has operations in 13 locations in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Visit
http://www.archway.com/ for more information.
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