Gift company Smartbox plans addition of 100 Dublin jobs

The company has also announced the acquisition of Portuguese firm Odisseias

Pictured l-r: Martin Shanahan, IDA Ireland chief executive, Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, and John Perkins, Smartbox Group chief executive.

Experience gift company Smartbox group will create 100 new jobs as part of future growth in its Dublin office, the company said Thursday.

Additionally, the company announced its acquisition of Odisseias, a gift experience company in Portugal with 75 per cent market share. The acquisition is subject to approval from competition regulators.

The roles at the Talbot Street location will focus on areas including research and development, customer experience, sales marketing and finance.

Smartbox, which sells gifts including overnight stays, gastronomy experiences and adventure tours, sold roughly 6.5 million experience gifts in Europe over the past year across its 10 European countries.

READ MORE

The company’s current office footprint has recently seen an addition of a further 2,000sq ft to accommodate its growing headcount.

As a result of the project, Smartbox is currently recruiting candidates including systems engineers, web developers and data analysts.

The company expects its total headcount to exceed 500 by the end of this year.

"The company recorded strong growth in fiscal year 2016/2017, with a record €480m in business volume, an 11% increase. This expansion today is a further endorsement of Smartbox Group's commitment to Dublin and we are delighted with the quality talent, which we can access here in Ireland", said John Perkins, Smartbox chief executive.

IDA chief executive, Martin Shanahan, welcomed the company's commitment to Ireland: "The company's decision to continue to expand their operations in Ireland represents an invaluable international endorsement for the country and for the skilled workforce residing here. It will act as a strong selling point for other technology companies considering moving here", he said.

Peter Hamilton

Peter Hamilton

Peter Hamilton is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in business