PLCC Partnership Agreement Signed
Vice Chairman Jeong Tae-young Leads Collaboration
[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Jung Tae-young, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Card, who has gained attention for unique designs and marketing through collaboration with other industries, has now partnered with Starbucks. Following the launch of Korea's first airline-exclusive credit card in partnership with Korean Air last April, this time he has introduced a coffee brand-exclusive card, also a first in Korea.
According to Hyundai Card on the 16th, Vice Chairman Jung Tae-young signed a private label credit card (PLCC) partnership agreement with Song Ho-seop, CEO of Starbucks Coffee Korea, at Starbucks The Jongno R branch located in Jongno, Seoul, the previous day. Starbucks and Hyundai Card will jointly design and launch a Starbucks-exclusive credit card, with Hyundai Card supporting card operations and marketing.
Vice Chairman Jung has recently been leading the market through collaborations with other industries using the PLCC model. A PLCC is a card operated jointly by a company that wants its own exclusive credit card and a specialized card company. It is characterized by focusing card benefits and services on the respective company. Hyundai Card’s ability to dominate the PLCC market is based on Vice Chairman Jung’s investment in data capabilities. Since 2015, he has invested hundreds of billions of won to strengthen data capabilities.
Starbucks, which partnered this time, has never launched a PLCC or even a general co-branded credit card since entering Korea in 1999. This would have been impossible without trust in Hyundai Card’s data. Earlier, Vice Chairman Jung collaborated with Cho Won-tae, Chairman of Hanjin Group, to launch the Korean Air PLCC card on April 27. The Korean Air card was designed with benefits led primarily by Korean Air. The Smile Card, a PLCC launched in 2018 in partnership with eBay Korea, is also approaching one million subscribers this year.
A Hyundai Card official explained, "Starbucks choosing Hyundai Card as the partner for its first own-brand card seems to reflect high evaluation of Hyundai Card’s accumulated brand power and capabilities developed while pioneering the PLCC business."
Starting with this partnership agreement, Starbucks and Hyundai Card plan to incorporate benefits and services focused on Starbucks into the PLCC product. In particular, the two companies plan to maximize the concept and marketing strategy emphasizing the meaning of "the card that first contains Starbucks stars."
A Hyundai Card official said, "The two companies will accelerate the development of customer-tailored services based on data science along with operating the PLCC product."
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