Coldwater Creek to expand loyalty program in new long-term agreement with Alliance Data

Sandpoint, Idaho -- Coldwater Creek and Alliance Data Systems Corp. announced they have signed a new, long-term agreement for Alliance Data's Retail Services business to expand Coldwater Creek's co-branded credit card program and launch a Coldwater Creek private label credit card program.



Alliance Data will provide end-to-end proprietary credit card services from account acquisition to multichannel marketing and customer service for Coldwater Creek. Alliance Data plans to acquire the existing co-brand credit card portfolio at a future date from the current issuer.



In addition to launching a new private label credit card program and providing co-brand credit card services integrated with the 'Coldwater Creek Rewards' loyalty program, Coldwater Creek will leverage Alliance Data's comprehensive suite of advanced analytics and multichannel marketing capabilities to help strengthen its relationship with its best customers across all sales channels.



As part of the launch of the new Coldwater Creek Rewards platform, Alliance Data will introduce new tools and technologies allowing unique communications with Coldwater Creek's valued customers, fully leveraging a multichannel approach to drive a relevant cardholder experience. These capabilities are designed to increase customer loyalty, enhance the shopping experience, and ultimately drive incremental sales for the brand. Coldwater Creek will also leverage the data assets of Epsilon, another Alliance Data company, in support of the company's prospect marketing efforts to drive customer acquisition.



"We are excited to partner with Alliance Data to leverage their expertise in delivering industry-leading credit and loyalty-based marketing programs to strengthen our customer relationships and drive sales," said Jill Dean, president and CEO of Coldwater Creek. "Expanding our loyalty program is a key priority for our company, and we believe that the best way to strengthen brand loyalty and provide an improved shopping experience across all of our channels, is to offer our customers a choice of credit card options, both of which will be fully integrated with our rewards program."