Becoming American Express:
150+ Years of Reinvention
and Customer Service
TURNAROUND AND GROWTH
American Express divested several businesses to
strengthen the company’s balance sheet and concentrated on shoring up its
core payment, travel and financial planning businesses. The 1984 acquisition of
IDS (Investors Diversified Services) – which had initiated American Express’ transformation from what had
become known as a card and travel company into a true financial services
power – proved to be a valuable investment, particularly as other parts of
the enterprise underwent major reengineering efforts to overhaul business
processes and slash operating costs. The company eventually lopped $3
billion from its cost base, freeing up money to invest in a number of new
products and services.
Rebuilding relationships with merchants became a top priority, as did significantly increasing American Express Card acceptance across a wide range of industries and geographical markets. The company also began forming a number of strategic partnerships with selected airlines, banks, retailers and other key businesses around the world. Proving highly successful, these alliances have enabled American Express and its partners to efficiently leverage their brands and business strengths while providing premium products and services to their mutual customers.
Within the decade, American Express was again operating from a position of strength. As the company celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2000, its earnings, market share, core businesses and share price were strong. Even so, the company began taking steps to counter several external economic issues on the horizon.
No one could have predicted the magnitude of the challenges to come.
Full Circle -->
