HelloPost making it easier to celebrate

Mikhail Singh, chief executive officer and managing director of HelloPost TT said this is an online greeting card provider where they do customised and personalised greeting cards. They also offer flowers, confectionery, wines, spir- its, gift certificates for restaurants and spas which are delivered on that special day.

“A grandmother who lives abroad can send a ‘Sweet 16’ birthday card and a gift certificate for a spa day,” Singh said.

“Or a man who is busy at office and wants to send a card to (his significant other) for her birthday, can come online, say ‘I love you baby’ and send her a certificate for anything he knows she may like. Even someone who works offshore and has a best friend who is getting married, they can do an engagement card with a bottle of champagne and dinner for two. It’s that easy.” Singh was speaking at the formal launch of the company on Monday night at One Woodbrook Place, Port-of-Spain.

Singh said part of their thrust as entrepreneurs is that they are responding to the call that the Government has been making for online shopping.

Last year, Government had placed a levy of seven percent on online purchases of goods and services through the internet from retail companies resident overseas that are not subject to taxation in this country.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert said online purchases were now a significant area of foreign exchange demand, which was putting a strain on reserves since credit card transactions were settled almost immediately.

“We are now engaging our local sector to have local content available to our grassroot population. We are trying to increase foreign exchange by marketing towards the TT diaspora and New York, Miami and Toronto as well. We are trying to take an approach to be more holistic and put forward a new business and a new marketing strategy,” Singh told the Newsday.

Singh said he had also recognised that not everyone has access to a credit card and is working with OnLine Solutions to facilitate their customers.

“A teenager wants to buy his mother a gift for Mother’s Day, it’s kind of messed up to use mom’s credit card to buy her a gift. This way we would allow you to buy a top up in the same way you would top up your phone, and you can use that on the site as well.

I think it’s going to be a big seller as well.

“We think that this is something that people will respond to because it is convenient, it’s comfortable and everyone likes personalisation.

They like gifts with their own name on it.”