American Express 2001 Annual Report Download - page 21

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can be used. American Express stands prepared to capture a significant share
of that new spending.
Over the past several years, we have made steady progress in our U.S. con-
sumer card business, particularly in two areas cited earlier – growing our
lending business and introducing new products.
We are also focusing on expanding our relationships with existing cardmem-
bers by cross-selling other products and services. One example is in the
Consumer Travel area where we are testing a variety of new programs, such as
rebates to cardmembers for certain vacations purchased at participating
American Express Travel Service locations. In addition, we are strengthening
the appeal of our premium products – the Centurion Card®and Platinum Card®
– through partnerships with upscale merchants such as Neiman Marcus, Sony
and Equinox Fitness Clubs.
Serving small businesses is another key growth area opportunity. Small
businesses create three out of every four new jobs in the United States and are
an important engine of the U.S. economy. Serving this sector has been a very
successful, high-growth business for American Express. In 1987, American
Express launched the first charge card specifically designed for small busi-
nesses. Since then, we have become the leading card issuer to this segment, and
over the past five years have grown to be one of the top lenders as well. Today,
we serve nearly 3 million small business customers.
axp_19
We are re:investingsavings
from our reengineering initiatives into growth opportunities.
OPEN: The Small Business
NetworkSM signals our broadened
commitment to helping small
business owners succeed. We
are introducing new products
and services and expanding
our Internet offerings to meet
the servicing needs of U.S.
small business owners.