Ten Group

1 million requests made to Ten Lifestyle Concierge

---

From cleaners to elephants to VIP tables in Las Vegas – 1 million requests made to Ten Lifestyle Concierge

Today Ten Lifestyle Concierge celebrated completing 1 million tasks on behalf of its members, consolidating its position as the fastest growing company and global market leader in the personal concierge sector.

And the millionth request was for a VIP table at Pure Club in Las Vegas for a member and four friends.

Founders Alex Cheatle and Andrew Long celebrated by sharing cake and champagne with the company’s 300 staff.

Comment from the member who briefed the millionth request

The member who briefed in Ten’s millionth request, Paul Bonner, said: ‘I have found the service to be absolutely spot on. It’s far exceeded my expectations. I’d particularly like to thank lifestyle manager Merrick Wolfe, whose information and advice on Vegas has been excellent.’

As a surprise and to help celebrate the millionth request, Ten organised a complimentary guest list for Paul and his companions at Tao in Las Vegas, a table reservation with a reduced minimum spend (from $700 down to $350) and a round or two of shots from Ten.

Ten’s phenomenal growth

Ten has averaged 48% sales growth over the last three years and has 100% retention rate for major corporate clients. The business has an annual turnover of £16 million.

Founded in 1998, Ten was the first organisation to offer to take on all those tasks people just don’t have the time or the knowhow to complete for themselves. It now provides lifestyle concierge to private individuals and through corporate customer loyalty schemes. Ten’s clients include Coutts, Barclays and Citi.

Concierge booms as a marketing tool

Over the last 10 years, concierge has become a key marketing/loyalty tool in the banking and luxury sectors. The UK concierge sector is now worth £30 million annually (of which Ten is worth more than 50%).

Comments on Ten’s growth

CEO Alex Cheatle, said: ‘Our first call 12 years ago was from a member asking us to find a weekly cleaner. Since then, the business has got bigger and smarter with every new employee and member.

‘It’s very humbling to think that we’ve been trusted to complete 1 million tasks on behalf of our members.

‘I’m very proud of the way that we’ve grown so fast in the last few years. I think it’s down to society getting busier and people getting more discerning. In these times, people don’t have the money or spare time to waste on a wild goose chase, they need outside help.

‘For example, it’s far more efficient to ask a travel specialist lifestyle manager to research holiday options, than to do it yourself. The lifestyle manager will have been to the places you’re considering, will know the best places to go and can make sure you’re treated with the utmost care by our pre-vetted suppliers.’

COO Andrew Long, said: ‘It’s incredible how far we have come since I took the brief for our very first job. Our scale has enabled us to invest in world-class technology and specialist people.

‘And we’re growing so fast that we expect our two millionth job to hit in December 2011, just over a year from now.’

Types of requests made by members of Ten Lifestyle Concierge

Over the years Ten has had lots of unusual requests too, such as sourcing blue diamonds and arranging a match with a chess grand master. Ten has also sourced an elephant for a wedding, and arranged a hand-delivery of tea and toast on the other side of the world.

Ten has specialists in entertainment, restaurants, travel, home refurbishments and many more niche areas. Its services are offered 24 hours a day, seven days a week in English, Russian, Mandarin, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese and Turkish; plus 13 further languages during office hours.

Background on Ten

By using the right contacts, internal knowledge management, peer feedback, buying power, insider information and sector specialists, Ten delivers world-class concierge services entirely focused on the customer.

Since 1998, Ten has remained the global market leader in lifestyle concierge, managing and delivering a personalised service on behalf of 70 organisations.

Ten has more than 300 employees working in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

You can find our websites at http://www.tenlifestyle.com/ and http://www.tengroup.com

Further examples of requests made of Ten Lifestyle Concierge

The recent chaos caused by the volcanic ash cloud resulted in 100 members being stuck in Madrid. Ten swiftly organised two luxury coaches with picnic hampers to return them to London. The company also arranged a stopover in a French château for shower breaks and a complimentary dinner.

Another member had bought a designer glass bathtub which didn’t fit up the spiral staircase in his Grade II-listed house. His lifestyle manager arranged for the street below to be closed while a crane was brought in to lift the bath through a window.

Ten often responds for help with romantic gestures, for example, the member who wanted to hire an elephant for his wedding parade, or the chivalrous gent who asked Ten to hand deliver hot chocolate and marshmallows to his girlfriend who’d been struck down by flu.

Ten has delivered 999 red roses to Hong Kong for a proposal, flown 101 tulips to Paris at a member’s request, and crafted flowers into shapes as diverse as lions and rugby balls.

Further information on corporate concierge as a marketing tool

• Marketing spend on concierge is doubling year on year and will overtake cinema advertising by the end of 2012
• Spend on concierge is already worth 20% of the total spend on cinema advertising
• It will reach the levels of radio advertising in 2014.