NICK HARFORD is StubHub International Dir of Business Development & Partnerships. Harford joined StubHub in July '12 and has helped the company expand its presence overseas since it launched in the U.K. earlier that year. Prior to joining StubHub, Harford worked in partnership-focused roles at Arsenal and Electronic Arts. StubHub now has offices in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., and has tickets listed in 11 countries. The company also has a "small and growing team" in Germany ahead of a planned launch there in September. Harford spoke to SBD Global about the company's recent updates to its mobile app, StubHub's growth in the U.K. and the differences between operating in the U.S. and the U.K.
On recent updates to StubHub's mobile app ...
Nick Harford: We have recently given our mobile app a big overhaul to personalize the experience for fans and bring them new features based on their music or theater preferences, linked to events they've been to in the past. The idea is that if your favorite band is in town, then the new mobile app will keep you in the loop. We want StubHub to be more about discovery, more personalized and more of an entertainment planner in your pocket -- building on the safe, more transactional marketplace we have been known for in the past.
On expanding into the U.K. in '12 ...
Harford: We selected the U.K. because of the market size and potential for us to deliver the StubHub approach, which is fan-focused and transparent. The U.K. has a diverse event landscape from concerts and music to theater and sports. There's also the added benefit of a common language -- even if it sometimes divides us as Americans and Brits.
On StubHub's growth in the U.K. ...
Harford: We have increasing acceptance and understanding of our business approach within the sports and entertainment industry as evidenced by increasing growth in face value primary distribution on behalf of event organizers alongside establishing the core of our business, which is ticket resale you can trust. Another success indicator for us is how we have established partnerships with market-leading entertainment businesses e.g. AEG, This is Global (the largest U.K. commercial radio station group) and various sports rights holders. We have also seen significant growth in brand awareness in the U.K. as a result of our marketing and partnerships initiatives and we now plan to extend that position into new markets.
On the impact of partnerships with EPL clubs Everton, Sunderland and Tottenham ...
Harford: These partnerships were important in helping raise our profile and ability to prove that we could be credible partners and give confidence to prospective partners.
On how much of StubHub's U.K. sales come from sports compared to other events ...
Harford: There are fewer sports tickets sold on our site than music and theater due to the regulation on soccer/football in England & Wales. The exact breakdown varies depending on the events listed at any one time but it's fair to say that the bulk of our focus is on music, concerts and theater.
On the effect of the U.K.'s law requiring a football club's authorization to resell tickets ...
Harford: We have worked with selected teams in line with national regulations and outside of resale we are doing more premium ticketing distribution deals for other clubs, which are separate to resale.
On standing out from the competition ...
Harford: Our competitors tend to be specific to individual markets so in the U.K., we would look at different competitors to those in say Germany. We believe we often complement other primary distributors -- we do not own or price tickets to any event and have an all-in-pricing model, so the price you see is the price you pay -- there are no hidden charges on StubHub. We are also increasingly working with partners focused on face value primary distribution, where the seller is displayed to the buyer.
On plans for expansion ...
Harford: We will be launching in Germany in September and assessing other markets to expand to in 2016 -- international expansion is a key part of StubHub's growth. We are also expanding our activities in some of AEG's venues and extending a number of our club agreements.
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