Alliance Data Systems Corporation is a publicly traded 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.
Alliance Data was formed from the December 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.
In August 1998, Alliance Data acquired LoyaltyOne, then-branded The Loyalty Group Canada, for $250 million. 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.
But, it wasn’t until June of 1999, that the real substance of the company was truly in place.
In May 2007, Alliance Data and The Blackstone Group, a private equity firm, announced plans for Alliance Data to be acquired by The Blackstone Group. In April 2008, Alliance Data terminated the merger agreement with Blackstone Affiliates.
Ed Heffernan was promoted to president and CEO of Alliance Data in February 2009, after being with the company since 1998.
Retail Services is a provider of integrated credit and marketing services including private label, co-branded and commercial credit card programs. Alliance Data Retail Services manages nearly 120 card programs for retail brands such as Victoria’s Secret, J.Crew, Eddie Bauer, The Buckle, HSN, Pottery Barn and Pier 1 Imports.
In 2011, Alliance Data, in partnership with NICE Systems, was honored with the Operational Leadership Award for its customer care centers by Ventana Research.
Alliance Data Retail Services maintains two banks to manage the funding and receivables for its clients’ credit programs. In September 2012, the banks rebranded their names from WFNB (World Financial Network Bank) and WFCB (World Financial Capital Bank) to both operate under the Comenity name, as Comenity Bank and Comenity Capital Bank, respectively.
LoyaltyOne
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 the LoyaltyOne: Air Miles national reward program, in which approximately two-thirds of Canadian households participate; Colloquy; LoyaltyOne Consulting; Precima; and Direct Antidote.
Hewitt Associates named LoyaltyOne in their “2010 List of the 50 Best Employers in Canada.”
Epsilon
Epsilon provides a broad range of loyalty marketing services spanning database marketing, direct mail, email marketing, web development, loyalty programs, analytics, data services, strategic consulting and creative services, among others.
Ad Age has ranked Epsilon among the top marketing services firms and direct marketing agencies for several years, and Epsilon has the distinction as being the Top US Agency From All Disciplines and Top US CRM/Direct Marketing Agencies for 2012. It sends billions of permission-based emails every year. Acquired by Epsilon in 2011, Aspen Marketing Services is a marketing services agency headquartered in Chicago, Illinois with locations in the United States and Canada. In 2012, Epsilon reached an agreement to acquire the Hyper Marketing (“HMI”) group of companies, the largest privately held digital marketing services agencies in the United States, for about $460 million.
In March 2011, Epsilon detected unauthorized access to its email database, resulting in the theft of email addresses of its clients’ customers.
In late February 2013, Facebook announced partnerships with four companies, including Epsilon, to help reshape its targeted advertising strategy.
One Day, 4,500 Volunteer Hours: Alliance Data Nonprofit Service.
On communityOne Day, you won’t find anyone at the LoyaltyOne offices. Associates spend the day volunteering at local charities. Last year, associates provided 4,500 volunteer hours to 15 different charities. Activities ranged from cleaning parks to assembling prosthetic hands for amputees to packing lunches and summer survival kits for the homeless.
Giving back is part of our culture.
It’s never been about accolades or awards for us. Giving back is just part of what we do. And we do it really well.
- Enterprise-wide efforts, such as our Internal Grant Reward Program, matching gifts, and volunteer rewards
- Initiatives led by our lines of business, such as Dress for Success, Operation Feed, and CHUM (Christmas Wish Holiday Charity Drive)
- Enterprise-wide partnerships like Habitat for Humanity in which associates from all lines of business volunteered over 900 hours in eight days
Our associates help shape and define our community involvement.
When it comes to giving back, our associates play an active role. Their input and feedback has helped us determine which areas to focus on and how to foster participation.
- Spirit of competition — Fun for our associates and good for the nonprofits that benefit
- Team-building activities — Regularly revolve around volunteering or giving back
We put a lot of thought into how our money is spent.
In 2013, we invested nearly $4.5 million in the community. This scale of giving doesn’t happen overnight — we put a lot of consideration into our level of giving and how the money is being spent.
- We support education, children, and independent living in an effort to bring about meaningful and measureable change
- Key partnerships — United Way, Kids Help Phone, Mid-Ohio Foodbank, Children’s Medical Center Dallas, motionball, Homeport, LaunchAbility, Habitat for Humanity, and others
We encourage our associates to make a difference, and we help their gifts have a bigger impact.
We want to engage and inspire our associates to make a difference. That’s why we support their efforts in a number of ways.
- Over 6,000 free resources, training modules, and eBooks are available through our online training and development portal
- Volunteer rewards — For every 30 hours of volunteer time, associates receive $300 to donate to their charity of choice
