[August 18, 2014] |
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VendScreen Continues Strong Momentum, Company Growth in 2014
PORTLAND, Ore. --(Business Wire)--
VendScreen, a provider of touchscreen payment technology, announced
significant momentum in its growth for 2014. Founded in Portland, Ore.,
in 2011, VendScreen is a turnkey, affordable hardware and software
solution that retrofits self-service retail machines to deliver a unique
and engaging end-user experience, driving incremental revenue and
improving functional efficiencies for vending operators. VendScreen's
touchscreen technology wirelessly connects vending machines to a
cloud-based computing platform that enables cashless transactions, and
delivers nutrition information, on-screen promotions, and instant help
features, including credit codes for refunds. Recent achievements
include:
Recapitalizing the company
In January, the company closed on a major financing round. The financing
was led by two of the Portland company's existing investors, 3X5 Special
Opportunity Fund and Merrickhanna Ventures. It will be used to deliver
innovative new features and to accelerate market share growth for its 3G
vending platform technology.
Optimizing the technology
VendScreen continues to add innovative new feature functionality to its
scalable cloud-based platform, including contextual on-screen
advertising, instant credit code refunds and an operator portal
management suite.
Growing the company
Over the last six months, VendScreen has experienced significant growth
in all major business categories. The company's customer base has grown
over 250 percent from the same period last year. Sales have increased
over 50 percent in the last 90 days alone and over 92 percent of all
customers are reordering more devices and adding new locations.
Building strategic alliances
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July: VendScreen partnered with SConnect, a consortium of
industry-leading independent food service companies that provide
state-of-the-art technology and programs to their corporate food
service clients. USConnect affiliates will now receive group rates on
VendScreen touchscreen devices. Affiliates are also eligible for
management, monitoring and wireless services at fixed monthly prices,
decreased cashless processing costs and select device pricing.
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June: VendScreen entered into a marketing alliance with Unified
Strategies Group Inc., one of the largest U.S. purchasing cooperatives
which services independently owned vending companies. Members can now
obtain VendScreen's touchscreen products and services at group rates.
VendScreen and USG will work together to market future services to
members such as loyalty offers, couponing, on-screen promotions and
contextual advertising.
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June: VendScreen entered into a long-term pilot with several of the
largest Pepsi bottlers in the U.S. in order to collect critical sales
lift data and other metrics for a broad scale roll-out of a Pepsi
bottlers program later this year.
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May: VendScreen added Verizon Wireless (News - Alert) as an available cellular
carrier for its retrofit 3G devices installed on vending machines
across the country. Previously, all VendScreen devices exclusively
accessed the Sprint (News - Alert) cellular network.
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April: VendScreen announced the successful installation of payment
touchscreens on more than 1,000 current machines managed by Evergreen
Vending located in Tumwater, Wash.
In March, VendScreen introduced a seasoned executive team who would
focus on delivering reliable and innovative products and services to the
company's current and future vending operator customers. The company
enlisted David Grano as president and CEO. Grano joined VendScreen from
APTUS Financial, a leading provider of ATM management solutions, and
brings more than 20 years of successful experience building and running
financial and payment technology companies. Also added were John Archer,
COO, who has more than 25 years of engineering and operations experience
in telecom computing, including RadiSys Corporation and Intel (News - Alert); Chuck
Treister, vice president of sales, a vending industry veteran who spent
the past 10 years running U.S. Vending Management, LLC.; Matthew Buhler,
EVP of business development, a 20-year self-service payments veteran;
and Jody Wagner, VP of business operations, who brings nearly 30 years
of technology operations experience.
"We are focusing 100 percent of our energy on the success of our
customers," said Grano. "Our business model is built on being an agent
in our customers' growth, now and in the future."
About VendScreen Inc.
Based in Portland Ore., and a graduate of the Wieden + Kennedy Portland
Incubator Experiment, VendScreen, Inc. is the industry's leading
manufacturer of retrofit touchscreen devices for vending machines.
VendScreen devices are powered by a proprietary cloud-based computing
platform that enables cashless transactions, dynamic product and
nutrition information, on-screen promotions, and centralized remote
monitoring. For more information, please visi, www.facebook.com/VendScreen,
or follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) at @VendScreen.
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