OEX TO TAKE THE CONTROLLING INTEREST IN iPOS, A SUPPLIER OF POS SALE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.

On 24 August 2020, an investment agreement was signed on the basis of which OEX S.A. will take over 43,000 shares of new issue in iPOS S.A., i.e. 51.0 per cent of the increased share capital of the company, for the total of approx. PLN 6 million. Consequently, the OEX Group, specialising in the provision of sales area services and technologies, expanded its investment portfolio in the Retail Services segment.

iPOS, operating since 2014, originated and created the first ever POS system which combined the functions of a cash register and a payment terminal. iPOS systems are integrated with a proprietary cloud IT platform, iPOS web, which supports and analyses the sales as well as manages the goods and warehouses. It is provided in a SaaS model. The systems meet all the requirements of the so-called online cash registers, as confirmed by the certification from the Polish Central Office of Measures. iPOS addresses its solution to small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the retail sales sector. Currently, almost 3 thousand sale outlets use iPOS’s solutions. The Company’s revenues in 2019 amounted to PLN 2.7 million.

‘We are consistently implementing the strategy of development and construction of the value of the OEX Group on the basis of modern technologies. iPOS will allow us to expand our Retail Services competences, i.e. in the segment of traditional local stores which we have been supporting for years. Owing to this investment, the offering of OEX will grow to include technological solutions making it possible for the clients to support sales in retail outlets and analyse the same in real time as well as to support payments, the significance of which is constantly growing in relation with the consumers’ switching to non-cash settlements. We are of the opinion that iPOS’s growth potential within a short-term perspective  is considerable in view of the mandatory exchange of electronic cash registers among certain groups of enterprises that will have to take place, according to the applicable legal regulations, before 1 July 2021. In the longer-term perspective, we see a growth potential in the development of the iPOS web platform, where new services will be added, e.g. on the basis of big data set analyses, AI solutions and machine learning. Also synergies with other OEX Group companies may not be overlooked. Our field teams are currently paying tens of thousands of visits per month to retail outlets and an inclusion of iPOS’s offering will be a new added value in the portfolio of services provided,’ said Jerzy Motz, President of the Management Board of OEX S.A.

The electronic cash register market is estimated at 1.6 million active machines, of which 400 thousand are advanced and specialist cash management systems and approx. 1.2 million are regular cash registers. Currently, we are witnessing a process of cash register exchanges, the biggest one since the introduction of the electronic cash register obligation. The process is extending to include more and more tax groups.

‘In the first year of its operations, the Company focused on the creation of technology and prototypes as well as the development of a proprietary web application constituting an integral part of our comprehensive solution – iPOS smart and smart+. Next year, we intend to boost the sales significantly and break even. We provide a solution that at the price of a regular electronic cash register provides features and possibilities available so far only in expensive systems. We estimate that in view of the mandatory cash register exchanges, a competitive price and unique functionalities, such as remote store or service outlet management as well as access to analytical data from any place, the Company will increase its market share. The funds obtained from the issue of shares subscribed by OEX will be used to implement the development strategy encompassing an extension of the range of machines, a growth in the number of subscribers and a development of functionalities of the iPOS web platform,’ said Adam Tomaszewski, President of the Management Board of iPOS S.A.

The Management Board of iPOS S.A. is composed from the Company’s founders and shareholders: President of the Management Board, Adam Tomaszewski, who has over 15 years of experience on the market of electronic payments, Vice President, Jacek Kucharzewski, who co-designed and implemented dedicated terminal solutions for large commercial networks, e.g. Orange and Ruch, and Member of the Management Board, Michał Pawłowski, who has over 18 years of experience in the design and implementation of electronic cash registers, both for small stores and for large networks, such as JMP “Biedronka”, Lidl, Jysk, Real, Żabka.