Annual Report 2011
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Annual Report 2011 41046.indd 1 4/3/12 6:20 PM First to scale and building momentum Revenue $242 in millions $186 $131 $106 Adjusted $58 EBITDA (1) $10.9 in millions $4.2 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 $(1.6) $(9.8) Members $(13.6) in thousands 673 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 540 349 258 140 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (1) See inside back cover for reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to U.S. GAAP Net Income (Loss). 41046.indd 2 4/3/12 6:20 PM 2011 Report Dear Stockholders,, This is our fi rst stockholder letter andnd we are delighted to share with you our vision for the future as well as our results from the past year. We believe the stage is set for a new world of urban mobility. We are building momentum around a deliberate shift away from Zipcar’s mission is urban car ownership toward an array of smart transportation options that improve life for many people. As we lead the creation of an to enable simple and exciting new industry, we are dramatically reducing the second largest expense in most households—transportation spending responsible urban living. —and we’re doing it in a way that makes urban life smart, more sustainable and fun! We are inspired to be part of a rare company that can do well by doing good. In short, the information highway is becoming a substitute for At Zipcar, our mission is to enable simple and responsible urban paved highways. In a 2011 survey, 55% of Millennials (ages 18-34) living. We believe personal car ownership in dense population in the US reported that they actively make an effort to drive less, centers is unnecessary, unsustainable and uneconomic for the up from 45% only one year earlier. This longer term trend is majority of residents. Urban-owned cars sit idle on average over confi rmed by the Federal Highway Commission, which reported 90% of the time, taking up precious space, and the total cost of that drivers ages 21-30 drove 12% fewer miles in 2009 than in car ownership can be well over $10,000 annually, accounting for 1995. In fact, in 2008, only 46% of potential drivers 19 years old over 19% of average household income. Meanwhile, urbanization and younger had drivers’ licenses compared to 64% only ten years has become one of the world’s most important trends—for the before. fi rst time, 50% of the planet’s population lives in urban areas, with that percentage expected to exceed 60% within 20 years. Cities With our compelling “Wheels When You Want Them” value propo- around the world are looking for ways to make urban living more sition, Zipcar offers on-demand, self-service access to a network affordable, preserve green space, address parking constraints and of vehicles where and when people need them without the costs provide alternative, effective mobility options for residents. and hassles of ownership. In addition to the savings we provide to our members—an average of $600 per month—we provide At the same time, there has been a dramatic shift in consumer a signifi cant environmental benefi t, with every Zipcar taking 15 behavior enabled by new technology. Consumers have shown personally owned vehicles off the road. Moreover, our members unprecedented adoption of self-service web and mobile applica- tend to drive less by making their transportation choices by the tions to simplify their lifestyles, often electing to make the smart trip, relying on a mix of options including Zipcar, walking, taxis, fi nancial choice to pay for access versus ownership. Attitudes biking and public transit. By contrast, our unique business model toward car ownership are changing as we increasingly connect and the benefi ts we offer to our members are very different from with friends, families and colleagues online instead of physically. those of the rental car industry, which is largely focused on daily and weekly transactions for out-of-town travelers and temporary replacement cars during repairs of personally owned vehicles. 41046.indd 3 4/3/12 6:20 PM In the new world of urban mobility, we envision a future where car sharing members outnumber car owners in major cities around the globe. That may be a bold statement, but we see it as only a matter of time. We estimate the addressable global market advantages we have achieved. We have built the world’s largest for car sharing to be over $10 billion and we believe car sharing car sharing network of cities, locations, members and vehicles. is still in the very early stages of adoption, even in our largest As a result, we are able to realize signifi cant returns from invest- existing markets. For people who don’t need to drive cars often, ments in our technology and our brand, not to mention the viral the high cost and unsustainability of car ownership simply doesn’t marketing benefi ts that come with the largest membership base make sense and we believe there is a better way—the Zipcar way. in the industry. The advantages of scale also provide reduced costs in critical areas such as vehicle procurement, fi nancing and parking Guiding Principles as well as benefi ts in risk management and insurance. In short, we As the market leader we are fostering a culture that enables us are fi rst-to-scale in a network driven business where scale drives to do two things very well: build a great company that will win in leverage across many key aspects of our business model. the long term and drive operational excellence while delivering results in the short term. Creating a new industry doesn’t happen 3. Building a strong brand that is synonymous by accident—it is the result of a talented and committed organiza- with car sharing and smart mobility tion of people, aligned around a set of guiding principles. While When most people think of car sharing, they think of Zipcar. We each of the guiding principles below is individually important, it is have been at this for over ten years and we have built a brand that excelling at all of them in combination that we believe provides a sus- embodies the new on-demand solutions consumers have come to tainable competitive advantage and a recipe for continued success. expect. We are “Wheels When You Want Them.” Our brand connotes simplicity, convenience, innovation, freedom, fun, sustainability, 1. Adhering to our fi rst core value: community and smart consumption. Moreover, on the strength of obsess about the member experience our brand and business performance, we are assembling a broad Whether it’s their primary or secondary car, our members have array of partners who want to work with the leader in the category. chosen to sell their personal cars or not buy cars and instead rely We will continue to invest in our powerful brand as we enter new on us for their driving needs. We take the trust they have placed markets and as we introduce new products and services. in us very seriously and we are constantly evolving our service standards, training practices and technology to ensure we are 4. Being the absolute best at developing the technology providing the highest quality experience. We aim for a rating of 10 and processes that power this complex service model out of 10 every time any member uses our service anywhere in the We have used our proprietary, purpose-built technology and our world and we measure that every day through surveys as part of unparalleled database to create the leading member experience.e our member satisfaction program. Ok, so maybe we are obsessive For example, we have now had over half a million downloads when it comes to our members having a great experience every of our iPhone and Android mobile apps and close to half of all time—fact is, this is the difference between winning and losing. reservation activity is now done over a mobile device. Additionally,l the insights we gain every year from enabling millions of memberb 2. Exploiting our fi rst-to-scale position reservations (over 4 million in 2011 alone) allow us to optimize our We are by far the largest car sharing operation in the world. We fl eet deployment, pricing and product offerings to maximize thee believe we are well poised to continue to lead the development of service we are providing and the returns we are producing. Our the car sharing industry globally, building off the fi rst-to-scale fl eet management systems and management dashboard are enabling us to drive operational excellence and scalability to Milestones levels we only dreamed of just a few years ago. Y 673,000 13 million 100 million 600 million members reservations hours driven miles driven 441046.indd1046.indd 4 44/4/12/4/12 111:391:39 AM 5. Striking the right balance between growth and profi ts Winning in the long term is about making the right investments: in technology, in new members, in new markets, in new products and services and in our people. It would be easy enough to drive for more near term profi t by taking our foot off the accelerator in We have a culture of one or more of these areas. However, that is not the right course for the road we are on given the size of the addressable market we see in front of us. On the other hand, we realize that revenue delivering results in growth in and of itself does not deliver shareholder value unless it translates into strong bottom line returns.