New deals site set to disrupt market

On a mission to disrupt New Zealand’s deals industry in a positive and sustainable way, Deal Champ is rolling out a business model touted as a ‘win-win’ for vendors and buyers.

Launched in Christchurch on October 21, Deal Champ’s business model was hammered out in a late-night brainstorm, fuelled by Covid-19 and a bottle of whisky. Deal Champ is the brainchild of the four founders of Queenstown-based Everything Travel Group (ETG) and experienced deals industry guru Chris ‘Squid’ Bradley.

Nigel Hobbs, Matt Morgan, Callum Goodall and Kris Barrs of ETG had been running the online travel and tourism agency for nearly two decades, watching cracks slowly appear in the deals industry. Deal Champ was born as a result of their frustration with the lack of transparency and high commission rates for vendors, and a booking and payment system which rapidly unraveled as Covid took hold.

Like all good ‘lightbulb moment’ ideas the premise is simple – unlike other models, Deal Champ doesn’t take any commission or fees from vendors. Instead, customers pick their deal and pay ten percent of their savings to Deal Champ, thereby ‘accessing’ the deal.

From that moment on, the transaction is between the customer and vendor only, meaning there’s no middleman, no holding payments and no hidden costs. Customers are sent an e-voucher to use to pay the vendor directly.

The model is different from other deal and online booking sites, where the ‘deal’ the customer sees is not what the operators get.

“The old model was broken with a huge lack of transparency, whereas Deal Champ is user-friendly, no contract, no commission and no bullshit,” says Bradley. “We’ve set the bar high right from the get-go as we’re aiming to be the biggest and fairest deals site by Christmas, supporting local all the way.”

The site will span across six different industries including experiences (encompassing tourism), accommodation, wellness, dining, retail and services.

Sophie Pullinger from Simply Beautiful by Sophie is looking forward to the future with Deal Champ. “Deal Champ has filled a gap in the market. I am excited to use this platform to showcase my business and looking forward to seeing where this marketing platform goes.”

Shane Thomas from SPT Decorating is also thrilled to be listed on the site. “Deal Champ are what we have been looking for to offer our small business some savvy marketing. Professional and friendly staff make Deal Champ easy to work with.”

Chris Bradley is adamant the deals industry needs to work with, not against vendors. “In a really tough time in business life right now we need to work together to reset the industry and make it transparent so vendors can afford to keep staff employed and yields up.”

Deal Champ also has the investor support of hugely successful tech-hospitality startup First Table, founded by Queenstown’s Mat Weir. Future developments will enable First Table restaurant listings to be purchased through Deal Champ, making the site New Zealand’s biggest deals platform.

Deal Champ will roll out in different areas throughout New Zealand over the coming months.