SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — KT&G (KRX:033780), a global ‘top-tier’ cigarette manufacturer, has begun its expansion into Europe, starting with Romania in April, followed by Portugal, Andorra, and Spain with its representative superslim brand ESSE.

KT&G is South Korea’s leading company holding the No. 1 position in each of its Next Generation Products (NGP), Health Functional Foods, and Combustible Cigarettes (CC) businesses. To further consolidate its position as a global top-tier player, KT&G is accelerating overseas growth in its three core growth business areas, NGP, Health Functional Food, and Global CC.

To this end, KT&G is currently focusing on expanding its global business with subsidiaries or offices in 10 countries around the world, including Europe, Indonesia, Taiwan and Kazakhstan. Last year, the company introduced a company-in-company (CIC) system for each region with the aim of expanding overseas markets more aggressively and expanding local distribution coverage, and is accelerating growth in Eurasia and Asia-Pacific. As of the end of ’23, KT&G sold about 717 brands with 5,184 employees in 143 countries around the world, strengthening its position as a global top-tier company.

In particular, KT&G is expanding direct management from production to marketing and sales by building a localized value chain centered on CICs in each overseas region. To this end, KT&G began construction of a new factory in Almaty, Kazakhstan, last year and has begun construction of the second and third factories in Indonesia, in addition to its existing factories there, speeding up its efforts to secure a global production base. In particular, once the construction of the second and third factories in Indonesia is completed, Indonesia will become the largest overseas production base for KT&G’s business and a key growth engine for achieving its mid- to long-term vision.

The fruits of growth investments for global business expansion efforts are already being realized. Last year, KT&G’s overseas sales of cigarettes reached 53.2 billion pieces, a new record for the company. This year’s second quarter was also the largest quarterly sales quarter, and according to analysts’ forecasts, overseas cigarettes are expected to break the record again in the third quarter.

KT&G is not resting on its laurels, and is preparing for new growth by establishing its status as a “Global Top-tier” company in accordance with the “2027 KT&G Vision,” which was newly established in 2023. KT&G is strengthening its intrinsic competitiveness and structural innovation centered on its three core businesses, and has set ‘50% of sales from overseas business’ and ‘60% of sales from non-tobacco business’ as its main business KPIs for 2027, and is focusing its company-wide capabilities to achieve them. Through this, KT&G plans to surpass the No. 1 ranking in Korea and achieve the Global Top 4.

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BANGKOK, Nov. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Big C Supercenter is taking major strides to become the leading destination for tourists seeking Thai souvenirs. Partnering with Vpon AI Big Data Group, a specialist in online-to-offline (O2O) solutions, Big C aims to enhance its reach, particularly in the Chinese market, and solidify its global presence.

Big C’s Strategic Vision:

Leader in Thai Souvenirs: Big C welcomes millions of travellers annually, achieving impressive sales across 5 flagship branches in major cities and 45 convenient locations in secondary destinations. As the top choice for authentic Thai shopping, Big C is committed to delivering a world-class experience for every traveller’s journey.O2O Marketing Focus: With Vpon’s expertise, Big C is building a strong online community in China, driving offline engagement and expanding to other tourist segments next year.WeChat Mini Program: To cater to mainland Chinese customers, Big C has launched a WeChat Mini Program, allowing customers to place orders directly from home in China. Whether they choose doorstep delivery, pick-up at a Big C store, or hotel delivery, this service provides unparalleled convenience, especially for those with limited time.Tailored Offerings: Big C is enhancing its branches with faith-based attractions like the Siva God shrine at Rajdamri, customised product ranges, and multilingual support for a seamless tourist experience.

Promotions and Pricing: Iconic shopping bags and targeted promotions during peak seasons like Chinese New Year and Golden Week will attract and engage tourists.Next Step: Expanding Thai products through platforms like WeChat mini program and promoting Thai culture, attractions, and cuisine via video content in China.

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https://youtu.be/jY41ks1bbgc

Big C kick-started their global digital transformation journey strongly by choosing China as the first destination, and appointed Vpon as the global tourist activation consultant.

Travel Data Tech in Retail: To precisely target Chinese and international tourists, Vpon developed a travel data dashboard uniquely for Big C. Supported by the accumulation of massive data from 900 million mobile devices, the dashboard visualises real-time insights tailored to their business needs. These valuable insights empower Big C to plan data-driven strategies for tourist activation, identifying highly potential customers through a deep understanding of traveller behaviour, preferences, travel trend and pattern.Localised social strategies: To achieve a successful China market entry, Vpon built a localised social image for Big C on mainstream Chinese social channels including Xiaohungshu, Douyin and WeChat, and achieved a viral success of 24 million total impression in just one week for Big C’s golden week promotion, showcasing a successful cultural blend in and community building.O2O strategies: To drive users from online to physical stores, and from stores to online channels, Vpon and Big C developed seasonal campaigns, personalised ad targeting and community engagement by integrating multi-dimensional data, including Big C’s own mobile and e-commerce data, in-store analysis, customer profile, and traveller insight. The actionable items are further tailored to reach individual audiences’ pre-trip, during-trip and after-trip, ensuring a rich brand presence throughout the whole journey.Influencers engagement: With the support of an extensive influencers data dashboard, Big C can analyse and select high-quality influencers around the world in one-click. Vpon has connected Big C with top-tier Xiaohongshu influencers with over 1 million followers, boosting the key words “Big C” and “travelling to Thailand” to the Viral Hot Topic. The strategic influencer marketing strategy successfully imprints Big C as one of the top-of-mind Thailand brands among international tourists.

Vpon AI Big Data Group is a leading big data company providing mobile data solutions with AI-powered technologies. Supported by the accumulation of massive data from 900 million mobile devices and a daily processing rate of 21 billion transborder data, Vpon integrates premium media resources across APAC, providing clients with all-rounded data and AI solutions, including data analytics services, AI-enhanced results, corporate digitalization, brand awareness and cross border marketing solutions etc., providing strong tools to aid clients in raising brand awareness and generate leads through data.

Vpon has obtained ISO 27001 (Information Security Management) and ISO 27701 (Privacy Information Management) Certification, by the British Standard Institution (BSI).

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SOURCE Vpon Big Data Group

PLANO, Texas, Nov. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Alkami Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKT) (“Alkami” or the “Company”), a leading cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for financial institutions in the U.S., today announced the pricing of the previously announced underwritten secondary offering (the “Offering”) of an aggregate of 7,500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to be sold by entities affiliated with General Atlantic (AL), L.P., S3 Ventures Fund III, L.P., George B. Kaiser and Brian R. Smith (collectively, the “Selling Stockholders”). The Offering is expected to close on November 8, 2024, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The underwriter has a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,125,000 shares of the Company’s common stock from the Selling Stockholders at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.

The Selling Stockholders will receive all of the net proceeds from the Offering. The Company will not sell any shares of its common stock in the Offering and will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares of the Company’s common stock in the Offering.  

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is acting as the underwriter and sole book-running manager for the Offering.

The underwriter may offer the shares of common stock from time to time for sale in one or more transactions on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, in the over-the-counter market, through negotiated transactions or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices, subject to their right to reject any order in whole or in part.

The Offering is being made pursuant to an automatically effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3, which has been filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and became effective on August 8, 2024. The Offering is being made only by means of a free writing prospectus, prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus that form a part of the registration statement. The prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to and describing the terms of the Offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the prospectus supplement, when available, and accompanying prospectus relating to the Offering may be obtained from: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by email at prospectus-eq_fi@jpmchase.com and postsalemanualrequests@broadridge.com. 

This press release is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, these securities, in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Alkami
Alkami Technology, Inc. is a leading cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for financial institutions in the United States that enables clients to grow confidently, adapt quickly and build thriving digital communities. Alkami helps clients transform through retail and business banking, digital account opening, payment security, and data and marketing solutions.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements relating to the Offering and expected closing date. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by terms such as “expects,” “believes,” “plans,” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that may materially affect such forward-looking statements include: our limited operating history and history of operating losses; our ability to manage future growth; our ability to attract new clients and retain and expand existing clients’ use of our solutions; the unpredictable and time-consuming nature of our sales cycles; our ability to maintain, protect and enhance our brand; our ability to accurately predict the long-term rate of client subscription renewals or adoption of our solutions; our reliance on third-party software, content and services; our ability to effectively integrate our solutions with other systems used by our clients; intense competition in our industry; any downturn, consolidation or decrease in technology spend in the financial services industry, including as a result of recent closures of certain financial institutions and liquidity concerns at other financial institutions; our ability and the ability of third parties on which we rely to prevent and identify breaches of security measures (including cybersecurity) and resulting disruptions of our systems or operations and unauthorized access to client customer and other data; our ability to successfully integrate acquired companies or businesses; our ability to comply with regulatory and legal requirements and developments; our ability to attract and retain key employees; the political, economic and competitive conditions in the markets and jurisdictions where we operate; our ability to maintain, develop and protect our intellectual property; our ability to respond to evolving technological requirements to develop or acquire new and enhanced products that achieve market acceptance in a timely manner; our ability to estimate our expenses, future revenues, capital requirements, our needs for additional financing and our ability to obtain additional capital; the completion of the Offering; the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the Offering; and other factors described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Investor Relations Contact
Steve Calk
ir@alkami.com

Media Relations Contacts
Marla Pieton
marla.pieton@alkami.com 

Valerie Kerner
alkami@fullyvested.com 

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SOURCE Alkami Technology, Inc.