October, good month/bad month
Retail Technology Innovation Hub takes a look at the retail technology space during October and rounds up the winners and losers
Good month for…
Following a pitch day for its retail innovation programme, JLAB, the John Lewis Partnership has selected four businesses to help it reduce the impact of plastic waste: CupClub, Cuantec, RePack and Replenish.
H&M is forming a global payments partnership with Klarna and also making an undisclosed equity investment in the company.
Gap has chosen Adyen to manage its in-store and online payments across Europe.
Adyen’s tech will be rolled out in over 150 stores across four countries – UK, France, Italy and Ireland. The online business for both Gap and Banana Republic will also use its payments platform.
Alibaba’s Jack Ma leads the way in the annual Hurun China Rich List, which covers those with a net worth over two billion yuan ($209 million).
The listicle notes that Ma, 54, climbed back to the position of richest man in China, just weeks after announcing his retirement from Alibaba. “The US$10 billion growth in his wealth to US$39 billion was mainly due to a new round of investment in Alipay’s mothership, Ant Financial. Jack Ma founded two of China’s most valuable companies.”
Personalised menswear styling and e-commerce service, Thread, has closed a $22 million Series B founding round and added 50 new brand partners to its range.
Oasis and Warehouse Group COO, Hash Ladha, has been appointed CEO. He will take over from Liz Evans who will remain in place until early 2019 to aid a smooth transition, and then move to FatFace.
Crypto social network, Minds, has landed a $6 million Series A investment from Medici Ventures, the blockchain subsidiary of US online retailer, Overstock.
Blockchain powered e-commerce payments and ID venture, Nuggets, has been included in the Fintech Power 50.
Greg Kidd, an early investor in Ripple and Square, as well as Twitter and Coinbase, has entered into a strategic partnership agreement valued at $30 million with mobile payments and loyalty marketing platform, Yoyo.
Ten leading global online grocery markets (including China, the USA and UK) will experience combined growth of $227 billion, at an annual rate of 20%, by 2023, according to IGD.
Online retailer Farmstead has partnered with Udelv to test deliveries via autonomous vehicle in the San Francisco Bay Area, making it one of the first grocers in the country to do so.
Bad month for…
US retail giant Sears has filed for bankruptcy after succumbing to huge debts and losses.
Fashion chain Coast has announced that 300 jobs and 24 stores are set to go.
Accessories chain Claire's, which is said to be considering closing some of its UK stores, is out of touch with today’s young shoppers, according to GlobalData.
Debenhams has posted record annual losses of £491.5 million and announced the closure of up to 50 stores, putting 4,000 jobs at risk.
Critics put the blame on lacklustre stores, an uninspiring brand mix and poor digital capabilities, which have left it exposed at a time of intense structural change in retail.
UK retailers are tapping into artificial intelligence solutions at a much slower pace than other industries, according to a new report from Microsoft.
The jury’s out on…
Waitrose is trying out a service which will allow drivers to let themselves into customers’ homes while they are out and put their groceries away. The retailer will initially test demand for the ‘While You’re Away’ offering with 100 customers located within the delivery area of its dotcom fulfilment centre in Coulsdon, south London.
