Prandium, Inc. announced January 11, 2000 that it will begin marketing gift certificates for its Koo Koo Roo and El Torito restaurant concepts through C-TRIBE.com, an online group purchasing community for Internet Shoppers. Joining other retailers such as Barnes and Noble, Blockbuster, KB Toys and Foot Locker, Prandium expects this new outlet to provide consumers an easy way to buy and send gift certificates for its popular west coast restaurant concepts.
“We believe the service C-Tribe is offering its customers blends both convenience and value. Their economic model is simple: the more customers who agree to buy a gift certificate from us through them, the lower the cost for everyone,”commented Robert L. Carl, Prandium, Inc. Vice President. “The incremental sales from this program are supported by very low administrative costs for Prandium and provide us with another means to reach the Internet surfing consumer. The gift certificates can be used at any of our 43 Koo Koo Roo or 101 El Torito restaurant locations.”
C-Tribe, a San Francisco based Internet start up, offers its members the opportunity to “bid” for gift certificates within its inventory. C-Tribe’s membership form virtual buying groups on the Internet and can receive Koo Koo Roo or El Torito gift certificates directly from C-Tribe within days of placing their bid. Former Andersen Consulting executive, and co-Founder of C-Tribe Aneysha Pearce added, “When we launched C-Tribe in October of 1999, we envisioned a means to provide value to our members on the brands they know and trust. Our alliance with Prandium and their very popular restaurant concepts is a great fit with our overall strategy. We are pleased to have been chosen by them to become an efficient conduit to their loyal customer base and expect great results.” concluded Pearce.