Retail engagement specialists Sprooki lure ex-Westpac CIO as chairman ahead of float
Retail engagement specialist Sprooki, set up by two former Fairfax digital executives, has named former Westpac CIO Bob McKinnon as chairman, ahead of the company’s expected float later this year.
McKinnon: former CIO at both Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank, is new chairman of Sprooki ahead of company float
The company has also launched a flagship deployment of its technology linking retailers with consumers at Sydney’s Manly wharf.
Sprooki has been rolling its technology out across southeast Asia since 2011 and is now moving into the Australian market.
Founded by Claire Mula and Michael Gethen, both veterans of Fairfax Media’s first digital operation F2, the company is working to tap into growing interest from retailers in connecting with consumers through their phones as they enter shopping precincts.
Gethen told Mumbrella the business began with location targeting and aggregation of deals and offers across Asia, with the business growing to provide white label software for retailers and shopping centres.
The company now also offers predictive analytics.
“Now we are moving into Australia. there is an element of coming home,” Gethen said.
“We have got two Aussie entrepreneurs building a business in Asia and in terms of the next big phase of growth, we have looked at all of the options around venture capital versus public market and we think it is timely and the market has an appetite for a business like ours to be publicly listed.”
“It’s all about customer engagement in this era we are in now where people are finally starting to wake up to mobile and the fact that the context of location – where is this person now?”
He said that knowing a if a person who favoured a brand was near its outlet was more valuable in many cases that two or three years of data gathered through a CRM system.
The company has partnered with Invigor to service Manly Wharf, a major commuter and tourist hub in Sydney, to demonstrate its capabilities.
Invigor chairman and CEO Gary Cohen said the new platform would work together with the retail hub’s existing analytics.
“The Sprooki platform is an ideal complement to the analytics from our Insights Visitor platform and we are pursuing a number of other opportunities for the combined proposition.”
Gethen said that the company’s experience in Asia, working in a mobile first environment had set it apart as well as the ability to use mobile platforms to drive in store conversion for clients.
The appointment of Bob McKinnon, former CIO at both Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank, as chairman is accompanied by the announcement that former Scentre general manager of retail relations, Jack Hanrahan, is also joining the board and management team.
Gethen said Sprooki was seeking to float on the ASX in the next few months, using the capital to continue its expansion in Australia.
