AgTalk | Edenred India to surge penetration rate: MD, Johann Vaucanson

Edenred is the inventor of Ticket Restaurant Meal Vouchers with over 50 years of experience in corporate and public benefits. It designs, develops and manages innovative solutions to attract, motivate, win the loyalty and deploy benefits to employees, channel partners, customers, business associates and citizens at large in areas of work-life benefits, rewards & loyalty solutions and public social programs. Edenred has over 50 years of experience in corporate and public benefits. The company operates in 40 countries, with 6,000 employees, servicing 610,000 private and public sector customers, 38 million beneficiaries and 1.3 million affiliates.

Having begun operations in India more than a decade ago in 1997, Edenred is now present at 11 prime locations backed by more than 500 employees. Currently more than 3500+ corporates benefit using their products and services. With more than 2 million service users and 26000 + affiliated service providers spread across 3400+ cities, towns and locations in India, our endeavour to constantly delight our customers and users continues.

Adgully spoke with Johann Vaucanson, MD, Edenred India, who joined the company effective 1st July 2013. Our discussion centered on their future plans and how their concept of Ticket Restaurant Meal Vouchers and other gifting business models are growing in India.

Johann Vaucanson holds a Masters Degree in Trade and Finance from Ecole Supérieure de Commerce of Saint-Etienne, Business School, France and is been associated with Edenred for more than a decade. He has been instrumental in launching new age products like Ticket Tesorus (Saving plans) and Bien-Être a la Carte (Concierge services) during his tenure with Edenred France, previously Accor Services.

Vaucanson’s plans as the Managing Director for Edenred India include scaling up the India operations, attaining sustainable growth, both, organic and inorganic, introducing a range of new-age products & services in the portfolio and expanding to newer geographies. Prior to joining Edenred India, Vaucanson was the Managing Director for Edenred Poland followed by Edenred Turkey.

The following are the excerpts of the conversation:

Adgully (AG): Share with us your understanding of Edenred market in India and abroad?

Johann Vaucanson (JV): We are present in 40 countries globally; we are operating differently in different markets. In the past, growth was coming from Europe today it is led by the Latin American market whereas in future, the development will be driven by Asia especially India. So, this is why we are  based in India from more than 17 years. We have been investing in India considering the market will accelerate growth in the years to come. 

AG : You have been the inventor of Ticket restaurant, so how has this progressed so far?

JV: We invented  Ticket Restaurant 50 years ago, and at the beginning  our traditional market was Europe. With the legacy of 50 years, Ticket Restaurant Meal Voucher boasts strong presence in Latin American market as well as in different parts of Asia.  Our investments in Ticket Restaurant Meal Voucher have surged across different regions  as we  adapt to fulfill the local needs and the end users in line to the local regulations. Being a global company, we adapt to the local approach considering the market scenario.  In India we commenced our operations 17 years ago; our significant investments in the past have led us to a good path of growth and development especially in the complicated market. .

Our strategic initiatives in the past have paved the way to build and fuel the growth for brand “Ticket Restaurant Meal Vouchers”. We have observed that penetration in the market is just 20%; our intent lies in adapting our offerings to address the rest of population, thereby increasing the market penetration. . Today, our flagship offering Ticket Restaurant® Meal Vouchers addresses the needs of the organizations intending to provide work-life benefits to their employees. Also, Edenred designs innovative programs and solutions for public institutions under its offering Ticket Service® which enables public institutions and government bodies to efficiently manage and distribute public funds and benefits, exercise budgetary control and prevent leakages in the systems. .  Our work is to increase the potential market and increase the current penetration in an endeavor to develop strong growth for the future.

AG: Please share more with us about the gifting business and how the market is accepting it and evolving with time?

JV: There are varied players in the market as the industry boasts strong growth potential.  . Accentiv, part of Edenred is one of the leading operators in providing Rewards and Loyalty solutions.  Accentiv’® develops strategies, reward solutions and technologies to help its clients create sustainable, valuable relationships with their customers, distribution networks and employees.

Gift cards are means of payment, it is important for the companies who are bringing in and managing the program. The gifting industry has evolved over the years; we oversee strong growth potential in the market.

AG: What is the current market size and opportunity that you are looking at in this space?

JV: We are looking for sustainable growth in India. We adapt our solutions to suit the needs of our stakeholders. . We are in a B2B business, wherein our services help the companies to improve their business.  Over the years, we have strengthened our offerings with changing needs and technologies. With a current market size of Rs 6,000 crore, the market is set to grow by Rs 47,000 crore by 2016!  With e-commerce and the phenomenon of instant redemption gaining significance, it has become crucial for players to invest in technology and innovation. At, Edenred innovation has been key growth driver to fulfill customer services.

AG: What are the kind of threats or challenges you face and what is your edge over the competition?

JV: Across the world there is no threat to the company, because we have the capacity thanks to the activities, innovations that we have done in India and other countries. All these activities have helped us to turn all the weaknesses into opportunities. As a service provider, our challenge has been to cater to the robust population In the Indian market, as a service provider reaching to the robust population has been challenge for us.

AG: How is Edenred located globally?

JV: Globally we are present in 40 countries across 5 continents whereas in India we are present in 10 cities in 11 branches. 

AG: Is there any competitor for Edenred and what is your edge over competition?

JV: We provide several kinds of solutions and with every solution we have competitors.. Globally competition is very positive for business because it will challenge the value creation that we are giving to our customers. Without competitors the market does not seem wonderful it means the market has diminished. Having competitors means we are doing well in the market and also help us to rethink about our business model and to rethink about the value which is important for us.

Competition is pushing up to develop new functionality, in line with the needs of customers. After some years you will see competitors doing the same thing which is not good in competition. Our business development team is working to find additional value to keep us ahead of competition and our solutions are not comparable.

AG: This concept of gifting will it works well in the B2B or B2C channel?

JV: Most of the companies today have good technologies, but are not in line with the need of customers and that’s why they are facing problems. Some business will work well in B2C, doing solutions for B2C business is easy because you already have potential customers, here competition is big and margins are low. When you start new business in B2B here you have the competition but when you providing global program and services the value is much higher and revenue is also high. So, the B2B approach will help to generate more volume then the B2C from the beginning.

AG: What according to you is the future of gifting business for the next 3-5 years?

JV: It will continue to grow strongly, but several companies still have to find the good business model and develop good business partners. It will continue to get stronger over the years.

AG: What are Edenred’s plans and strategies for the year ahead?

JV:  In line with our development strategy, Edenred believes in achieving inorganic growth through acquisitions and strategic partnerships. Our intent in the years to come is to strike strategic alliances and partnerships and spot growth opportunities through alliances and possible acquisitions in the related space. India is still in its nascent stage and the overall penetration in prepaid services is about 20% only. We have significant strategic plans laid out for the coming years all the way up to 2015.We wish to attain a CAGR in the range of 25% annually for the next 5 years.