How did it start, what were the beginnings of the company and where is Unique Gift today?
The origins of Emoti Group, the international group created by Unique Gift, date back to 2006. Then Linas Čeikus, who had previously worked in the event industry for many years and thus had extensive contacts with many partners selling services, opened the first company in Lithuania offering gifts in the form of experiences. Later, new ones began to form within the group. We currently operate in five countries: Lithuania and Latvia, as well as Estonia, Finland and, of course, Poland. I joined Unique Gift in 2010, when it had been operating for less than three years.
Interestingly, before starting cooperation with Linas, I was very close to the idea of giving "vouchers" to my loved ones – at that time still in the form of hand-drawn invitations. I gave such gifts to my friends, e.g. for shared motocross rides. So we quickly found a common language and translated our ideas into business development.
In 2007, the company employed literally a few people. 17 years later, over 350 employees work at Wyjątkowy Present. We have over 80 of our own branches located in shopping malls throughout Poland. We have a thriving online store, which we are still developing, as well as four additional channels to reach the customer – external retail, B2B, telephone sales and Voucheromats. We operate omnichannel to communicate with our recipients as best as possible. We are expanding our marketing – last year we launched a television campaign with spots for the first time. We see that the strategy we have adopted is bringing results.
Along the way, we faced many challenges and stages, which I measure by exceeding the number of employees employed or sales channels supported. There was never a moment of peace in Unique Gift – I feel like every year we say that the last 365 days were the most difficult or the most interesting in terms of development. And that's what's amazing about this company.
How are the market and consumers changing? What sets you apart?
Consumers increasingly identify with the idea of giving gifts in the form of experiences and are also more willing to use vouchers. Based on our research, I can say that Poles define our product better every year, know what it is and treat it as one of their gift choices. However, material gifts are still the first choice, so in our activities we not only promote experiences, but also memories that stay with us forever.
A few years after our founding, competing brands appeared on the market. Thanks to the increase in customer awareness of this type of product, we can develop independently of each other. And the potential for this is huge, because our observations and analyzes show that the industry can grow fivefold or even sixfold. This is because awareness of the idea of giving vouchers is increasing in Poland. We maintain the leading position on the market of gifts in the form of experiences with a share of over 30%. We operate intensively in the product, marketing and financial fields. We look at competition through the prism of healthy competition. The success of others is an incentive for us to develop, accelerate and set standards.
When it comes to differentiators, credibility and stability are certainly important for customers – Ujątkowy Gift is the longest-operating company on the market and we can talk about over a million people who have used our Vouchers. This gives us credibility and convinces consumers that we are a safe choice, we select partners appropriately and ensure the highest quality.
We were the first company in the industry to introduce a 3-year voucher validity period during COVID-19, but what is equally important, we maintained this guarantee even after the pandemic. This means that for 36 months the customer can use the funds that were prepaid for the purchase of the Voucher – for one year we guarantee the implementation of the selected service, we give the possibility of exchanging it for another one at a given price, and for the next two years we allow the selection of any product from our offer in the amount you have. This is a huge value that sets us apart because other brands have returned to gifts valid for 12 months. We also have the highest product availability. With over 80 branches, we are also closest to our customers. They still like to come to us and talk to an advisor – pick up the product in person or get advice during the purchasing process. We can also boast the largest database of entities in Poland with whom we cooperate and thanks to whom we provide services. We are the only company in the industry to run our own brands on a large scale. We have 5 of them – Dinner in the Dark, Shitty Dinner, Magic Dinner, Underwater Dinner and Walk In The Sky. As you can see, there are many differentiators.
Which products have sold the best over the years, what changes are taking place at the forefront? Are there any products that have fallen out of circulation?
Over the last 10 years, the number of offers available on the website has increased from several hundred to over 9,500. When talking about sales, it is easiest to point to the most popular categories. The first three are gastronomy, beauty and SPA, and air, e.g. parachute jumping or balloon flights. The first two are certainly the most accessible and understandable, because Poles have been giving each other vouchers for restaurants or massages for years. The last group includes services that may be more difficult for customers to find locally or on the Internet. Unique Gift uses its platform to integrate all suppliers in one place, thanks to which consumers find what they need faster.
For years, the number one experience available has been Dinner in the Dark, which we have been offering since 2014. This is a foreign concept that we introduced to the Polish market in a completely unique way. It involves eating a meal in complete darkness, which we are unable to experience in everyday life. This causes us to perceive not only flavors but also the surrounding space in a completely different way. Dinner in the Dark is a very universal experience that is appreciated by every age group and which we currently offer in 9 cities in Poland.
Of course, there are products that are no longer available and this is usually due to customers' lack of interest in this form of spending time. As an example, I can mention that consumers are moving away from classic paintball in favor of the laser version. Seeing this and similar changes in trends, we update our offer on an ongoing basis to respond to the needs of our customers.
Stationary outlets or the Internet – which channel do consumers prefer?
Both channels are very important because each of them attracts a slightly different consumer. Therefore, in our case we cannot talk about a clear preference. That is why we operate dynamically both online and offline.
Customers accustomed to stationary shopping are always more willing to visit shopping malls. Our research shows that, of course, some of them also buy online, but not all of them.
We see a very strong relationship between these two sales channels and examine how consumers move and flow between them. It should be noted, however, that the group that sticks to a given form of purchase is still relatively constant.
A unique gift also includes… private labels. Please tell us about them and what is your strategy regarding these products?
The adventure with private labels began in 2014 with the above-mentioned Dinner in Darkness project. We translated the idea known abroad as a restaurant in the dark into Polish reality and added a number of new elements to make the event more attractive.
After the first year of the dinner's operation, we already knew that it was a great success and we wanted to offer further experiences, previously unavailable in the country. There were many projects and some of them still function successfully today, such as the increasingly popular hit Shitty Dinner – a comedy dinner, or Walk in The Sky – an extreme descent down the facade of the building.
The private label strategy is simple. The goal is to design new brands and expand the existing ones with new locations, so that part of the turnover generated by them is increasing.
When creating products, we know that we have much greater control over the most important parameters, i.e. the form of service, price and product personalization. Thanks to this, we tailor the offer to the client's needs and capabilities. At this point, all of our own designs generate approximately 15% of Unique Gift sales.
I will also ask about consumers: their age, where they come from and whether they come back for more experiences, maybe also for themselves?
I can say that our most important target groups have not changed much over the years. These are mainly people in the age group between 25 and 40, in which the result was 70%. women dominate. Ladies usually remember deals better, prepare in advance to buy gifts and are more inclined to look for interesting solutions. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to buy impulsively and at the last minute. Our consumers are people open to new types of product concepts.
Most of them are representatives of large urban centers, which depends on our availability and ability to provide the service. However, this is changing as we work with the offer development team to reach smaller towns. Our goal is to popularize gifts in the form of experiences, so that they are available everywhere and to everyone.
We see an increase in interest in vouchers among people who buy them for themselves and we currently estimate that it is approximately 15-20% of people.
Regardless of whether for themselves or their loved ones, Poles keep coming back for vouchers and are increasingly willing to recommend such a purchase to others. Year by year, we observe an increase in the number of promoters of such services and a decrease in the number of critics.
For what occasions do customers buy gifts? Which months are in highest demand? Do gifts sometimes go unused?
The report commissioned by Unique Gift shows that almost 70 percent all vouchers were received or given on the occasion of a birthday or name day.
Going into detail, it is natural that seasonality is extremely important in our industry. In our case, the greatest demand for gifts occurs around Christmas. December is a key sales month, because every third person receiving an experience voucher gets it for Christmas or St. Nicholas Day.
Interestingly, the second fundamental month in terms of sales is June. This is the time associated with the end of the school year, the start of the wedding season and many occasions falling during this period, such as Children's Day or Father's Day. This is also the moment when you can freely use many typical summer categories, such as air, water or motoring.
Just as we put material gifts, e.g. books, on the shelf, it also happens that we do not use the vouchers we receive. For our part, we make sure to minimize the situation of not using vouchers, and also to ensure that the offer is wide and the products we sell are available for as long as possible. We want customers to be able to actually provide their service or, if necessary, exchange the experience for another one.
Trade must be ready for disruptions such as the previously mentioned pandemic. How did you get through this period?
Our industry was not among those that suffered the most from the pandemic. Perhaps at first it may be surprising, because it seems that an survival voucher is not a product of basic necessity. However, let's imagine that we go to celebrate any occasion without a gift. This does not happen because we have a strong need to give gifts to another person. Due to financial difficulties, we may reduce the amount allocated for the gift, but we will not give up the gift completely.
Although the first months after the appearance of COVID-19 were really hard for us, we quickly started to return to normal sales. This happened, among others, by extending the validity of vouchers and assuring customers that the purchased experiences will definitely be redeemed. 2021 was already a time for us to return to high growth and, paradoxically, it can be said that the pandemic helped with this. After the period of isolation, we noticed how important it is to spend quality time with family and friends. We have realized that it is worth giving gifts that build relationships and memories.
Now we face inflation. Is it noticeable?
Of course, like all Poles, Wyjątkowy Gift also faces inflation on several levels, because both relationships with customers and our partners, of which there are currently over 1,600, are important to us.
The voucher validity we have introduced is an attractive solution for both of these groups. On the one hand, when a customer purchases an experience from us, he or she is sure that the purchased service will be provided for the next 12 months, even if its cost increases during this time. In turn, changing the voucher to a gift card one year after purchase, valid for the next two years, protects the interests of our contractor, who constantly bears the costs of his business and is forced to increase his prices from time to time.
Please tell us about your company's future plans.
We still want to maintain our leading position and further development, especially in the external retail channel. We know that this area offers huge opportunities for growth and allows us to reach Poles even wider with our products. Although our online service is growing by double digits in percentage terms from year to year, we are also preparing big changes in this field. We are also planning further own brands. I cannot reveal the details, but we intend to implement ideas that do not exist in Poland yet this year or at the beginning of next year. We still have a lot to do. The growth prospects for the entire market are very optimistic, so I am convinced that we will implement our plans.
