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Global Blue: the home of international shopping
WHO WE ARE
From a small Swedish company to global international
shopping brand
We introduced Tax Free Shopping in 1980 when we offered
tax free to shoppers in Sweden and were known as ‘Sweden
Tax Free Shopping’. Then we grew, until we were offering tax
refunds to travellers all over Europe and became ‘Europe Tax
Free Shopping’. By 1998 we were a global company and fittingly
became Global Refund.
Now Global Blue is much more than the 16 million tax refund
transactions we handle each year. Today, our multi-product
and services portfolio bridges the gap between businesses
and international travellers, offering a one-stop shop for
international shopping for travellers, merchants and banks. Our
range of market leading products and services, combined with 30
years of experience ensures we give travellers the best shopping
experiences the world has to offer, as well as enabling merchants
and banks to effortlessly grow their international customer base.
Today 270,000 affiliated merchants and over 22 million
travellers use Global Blue’s services throughout the world.
We operate over 200 customer services desks in major airports
and cities. Global Blue is headquartered in Nyon, Switzerland
since 2001, and employs 1’200 people around the world in 40
countries on five continents.
OUR MISSION
To enhance the interactions between travellers, merchants
and banks and in so doing create additional value for all.
If you’re a merchant searching for a global customer base,
a bank looking for more international shopping transactions,
or a traveller who’s after the ultimate shopping experience,
look for our name and our logo, and we’ll help you look further.
OUR VISION
To be the go-to brand for merchants and banks wishing to build
custom from international travellers and for travellers wishing
to shop abroad.

WHAT WE DO
1. Tax Free Shopping: a key service for customers and an
essential tool for merchants
Global Blue Tax Free Shopping allows shoppers to
reclaim the VAT or GST they’ve paid on their shopping in
foreign countries. As the most recognised brand in tax free
shopping that’s trusted by travellers, merchants that display
the Global Blue Tax Free Shopping logo benefit from our
strong brand equity.
What’s more, merchants who offer Global Blue Tax Free
Shopping are not only able to provide tax refunds to existing
customers, but also attract new ones, through our worldwide
marketing capabilities. We’re also digitising all of our tax free
systems to be not just the world’s largest tax refund offer, but
also the most efficient. Digital Tax Free Shopping, the new
standard in tax refunds, will make the process as seamless as
swiping a credit card.
50%
Of all luxury goods sold in the world are purchased in
connection with travel
16 million
The number of tax free transaction we handle each year
2. Currency Choice: total price transparency for
international shoppers
Currency Choice is Global Blue’s dynamic currency
conversion service that allows international shoppers to
pay in their home currency, instead of the local currency,
at the point of purchase.
With Currency Choice, international shoppers get to see the
price of their purchases in their home currency, and that’s the
exact amount that will appear on their credit card statement
back home. No surprises, no complex calculations, and no
confusion: offering transparency and real choice for the
traveller. Currency Choice enables merchants to offer their
customers total peace of mind when making purchases away
from home, which has been proven to increase consumer
spending. Coupled with the attraction of increased sales,
Currency Choice also provides merchants with a commission
on every transaction.
6 million
The number of Currency Choice transactions made each year
33%
The average amount merchants save on credit card costs
by using Currency Choice
3. Market Intelligence: the ultimate in international
shopper insights
At Global Blue we have spent the last 30 years tracking
foreign customer spending patterns and behaviour. We
know where each of the world’s nations shops and what
they like to buy. As more travellers become members
of Global Blue through our website and digital tax free
programme, we’re able to combine transactional data
with detailed customer information to produce
unparalleled levels of marketing intelligence.
Add to this the trend data we’re able to gather through our
dedicated staff on the ground in the world’s most important
traveller economies, and you understand why Global Blue’s
intelligence offer is truly unique.
Italy
Russian customers have quickly progressed from demanding
overt branding to more subtle labels. We’ve been able to
advise fashion clients of this change, ahead of the curve.
Germany
The rapid rise of German kitchenware products amongst the
Chinese is something that has been discovered by having
Chinese natives on staff. We’ve helped our merchants
re-direct their promotional activities and rapidly drive sales

4. Advertising & Awareness: targeted global marketing at an
affordable price
Traditionally pushing your brand to international customers is
extremely expensive, a luxury that only the wealthiest brands
can afford. Today, Global Blue has a cost-effective solution.
We’ve created three powerful, targeted media platforms in
which merchants can advertise to international audiences at
a fraction of the cost of conventional channels.
Our SHOP magazines are the travellers shopping bible. We
produce over 3,2 million of them, in 80 editions, and distribute
them across 28 countries. Upon arrival at the hotel, travellers
are presented with our guide and can quickly and easily see
what local retailers have to offer. Packed with first-class
editorial and features, and in two formats - Luxury and
Style - there’s even more opportunity for merchants to target
their audience.
Our brand new website – www.global-blue.com – enables
us to establish a never-ending dialogue with our customers,
offering a number of mobile applications that will literally
guide travellers to merchants’ doors. Once at the destination
the traveller can use our smart phone app, iSHOP, to find the
stores with those particular goods that they are looking for,
and to get direction to find the shortest route to go there.
37 destinations
Worldwide coverage of our multi-channel media and
advertising formats
5. Direct Promotions: speak to travellers at every stage
of their journey
We’re rolling out Global Blue information points in travel
agents across key markets in Russia, the Middle East and
Asia. As travellers decide on their next destination, they’ll be
able to interact with merchants’ brands, providing a level of
timeliness that has never been possible before.
What’s more, merchants have the opportunity to interact
with travellers through every stage of their journey thanks
to Global Blue’s wide range of paper-based and digital
promotional tools. Customer catalogues, brand-specific
shopping guides, VIP invites and even shopping tours, have all
proven to drive sales.
300%
Sales volume increase produced by a direct promotion
campaign for a major UK luxury department store
1364%
ROI of a direct promotional campaign for a famous
shoe brand
6. One Interface: the global transactions standard
With our years of experience handling complex tax free
transactions, we’ve learnt how difficult it is to get retail
technologies to work efficiently with one another, and
how inflexible the processing of payment card
transactions can be.
Global Blue’s One Interface is a software application that
seamlessly integrates payment systems, payment terminals,
stock management systems, banks and acquirers and valueadded
services such as tax refund and dynamic currency
conversion. Travellers and merchants enjoy quick and
efficient transactions, while standardised processes make
it easy for merchants to expand operations to new countries
without prohibitive investments in front-end technology.
Burberry
In collaboration with EPICOR, Burberry’s global point
of sale system, Global Blue has rolled-out One Interface
in 38 countries.
7. The Global Blue Academy: a world of learning on
your doorstep
We have years of experience dealing with shoppers from
all over the world, so we’ve introduced The Global Blue
Academy, to help train merchants how best to engage with,
and sell to, an ever-growing international shopper base. Our
courses cover everything from cultural understanding and
insights into when and where different nationalities shop, to
more practical information on how to sell profit-generating
products such as Tax Free Shopping and Currency Choice.
3X
World-renowned department store tripled Chinese tourist
business in 18 months by integrating a structured Global Blue
Academy training programme for their sales staff.
8. Global Blue Consultancy: the business edge for
international expansion
With a global network of retail experts, no company is better
placed to advise merchants on how to attract international
shoppers and how to expand into new markets. From HR
and property to marketing, technology and finance, our
consultants provide expert advice every step of the way.

OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM PRESS CONTACTS
Per Setterberg
President & CEO
Arjen Kruger
Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer
Philipp Manser
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Michael Balzer
Senior Vice President, One Interface
Hans Carlson
Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Jorge Casal
Senior Vice President, Tax Free Shopping
Luigi Gallazzini
Senior Vice President, Sales
Johan Grönberg
Senior Vice President, Administration
Waleed Hanafi
Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer
Cecilia Ogvall
Senior Vice President, Legal
Gino Ravaioli
Senior Vice President, Dynamic Currency Conversion
Colin Shenoy
Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Marie Bergfelt
Global Blue
Tel: +46 (0)31 756 56 32
Mob: +46 (0)708 510 033
Email: mbergfelt@global-blue.com
Heidi Salon
Burson-Marsteller for Global Blue
Tel: +41 (0)22 593 6924
Mob: +41 (0)78 689 9497
Email: heidi.salon@bm.com