LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - Sep 29, 2016) - Joseph Nejmans, President of ShareRails.com, which is being acquired by Grey Cloak Tech (
Grey Cloak Tech is in the process of acquiring ShareRails, an Online to Offline Technology firm which is enormously important in the trillion dollar retail sector. Below is the interview with Mr. Joseph Nejman, Founder and President of ShareRails. As a Harvard graduate, Mr. Nejman served in a variety of business development roles at Google and sourced and led the investment in Maker Studios, which was acquired by Disney for approximately $1 billion.
Q: Grey Cloak recently announced the signing of a binding Letter of Intent to acquire ShareRails.Com; tell us something more about ShareRails please.
A: ShareRails has strategically assembled a unique team of proven pioneers in social commerce and retail marketing innovation. ShareRails technical co-founder, Dmitry Chourpo, built one of the first fashion social networks (FashionFinder) that was acquired by ASOS plc ($4B online fashion retailer in UK) in 2010. The team also includes technical experts in Online-to-Offline marketing responsible for making millions of skus -- across 200,000 brick and mortar stores -- searchable and discoverable through online marketing channels.
ShareRails was hand selected from 100s of businesses by a panel including Swire Properties CEO, Guy Bradley, to participate as 1 of 10 companies in the Swire blueprint accelerator program. ShareRails has been working in stealth mode on a market-first O2O mall project with Swire that is expected to be announced before end of year.
Q: What are your plans for next four months?
A: Launch SR O2O service with select partners in Q4 this year, publishing offline retailers and mall catalogues online to increase foot traffic and digital engagement leading to offline store sales and click-n-collect sales.
ShareRails also plans to launch a new mobile optimized influencer merchandising tool tightly integrated with the Shopify (SHOP) platform that will enable ShareRails to directly process consumer transactions, dramatically increase mobile conversion rates, and improve commission rates for influencers and publishing partners.
Q: How fast do you expect ShareRails to scale?
A: Once the new influencer platform launches this December 2016, we expect to grow our influencer network, (acting as direct mobile sales agents for our merchant partners) 50% month over month. This growth expectation is based on a conservative marketing budget and agent acquisition cost metrics we've validated over the past year. The growth of this network will fuel merchants adoption and revenue.
Q: Tell us about how an Omni-Channel works?
A: Omni-Channel is no longer a buzzword but the new retail reality, consumers shop neither exclusively online or offline and so successful retailers must engage with their shoppers wherever they are. Over 90% of retail transactions happen in-store but consumer start their shopping journey by searching online for information and most consumers reference online sources while shopping in-store.
ShareRails empowers traditional brick-n-mortar retailers to directly compete with pure-play ecommerce brands for online awareness. As Google and Facebook aggressively try to persuade physical retailers to shift marketing budgets online, physical retailers must first establish a stronger online presence with the right content and tools to leverage paid online media campaigns. Google and Facebook both recently launched ad products for "offline inventory" which is only possible if retailers have their local in-store catalogue available in a dynamic digital format which ShareRails provides.
Q: What is the thesis behind online to offline marketing?
A: The thesis is that traditional offline retailers can use ShareRails O2O platform to drive new customers and sales more effectively from online channels. Local retailers are missing out on millions of shopping searches each month because their product inventory and other key information is not accessible online and therefore they do not appear in relevant search results nor can consumers see what products are in stock without visiting the store.
ShareRails levels the digital playing field between e-commerce stores and brick-and-mortar stores that carry similar inventory by creating rich product data feeds and content from each local retail partner that is then indexed by Google and other search engines.
Our long term vision is being the first platform connecting offline retailers to mobile performance marketing channels (influencers and digital publishers).
Q: Please explain the MES market (Market Expansion Services) and why it is projected to reach $ 3.8 trillion in the U.S. by industry consultants in 2018?
A: Top retailers and Fortune 500 brands struggle to effectively adapt to new consumer behavior as mobile phones become the primary medium for everything from shopping to entertainment.
Handicapped by older technologies and outdated IT infrastructure, there is growing demand for services and tools to enable these global brands and retailers to effectively transition to web based systems that allow for more fluid data and content which in turn translates to more effectively serving customers and a more cost efficient sales strategies.
Safe Harbor Notice
Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements" (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Grey Cloak Tech Inc. cautions that statements, and assumptions made in this news release constitute forward-looking statements and makes no guarantee of future performance. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the time statements are made. These statements may address issues that involve significant risks, uncertainties, estimates made by management. Actual results could differ materially from current projections or implied results. Grey Cloak Tech Inc. undertakes no obligation to revise these statements following the date of this news release.
For more information, visit http://www.greycloaktech.com and www.ShareRails.com.
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