June, good month/bad month

Retail Technology Innovation Hub takes a look at the retail technology space during June and rounds up the winners and losers.

Good month for…

Cash…The Bank of England published its response to the treasury’s call for evidence on cash and digital payments in the new economy.

The usage of cash is evolving, but there is, and is likely to remain for the foreseeable future, a significant public demand for banknotes, the Bank of England observed. Notes and coins accounted for 40% of all payments in 2016, compared to 62% in 2006.

Despite this decrease and the rise of contactless and mobile payments, people who choose to use cash do so for a range of reasons, including it being a useful budgeting tool and quick and easy to use. It also works when other methods do not (for example, the Visa systems crash at the beginning of June).

Fashion tech startup, Lookiero, has closed a funding round of Euro 4 million led by All Iron Ventures.

AI startup, Nextail, has closed a $10 million Series A funding round led by venture capital firm KEEN Venture Partners, and also including Sonae Investment Management and existing investor Nauta Capital. 

Italian startup, Supermercato24, has raised €13 million in a Series B funding round led by FII Tech Growth, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst and current investors 360 Capital Partners and Innogest.

Google is to invest $550 million in Chinese e-commerce giant, JD.com, as part of a strategic partnership geared towards creating “helpful, personalised and frictionless shopping experiences”.

Cainiao Network is heading up a group that will build a $1.5 billion logistics centre at Hong Kong International Airport.

Self-driving robot delivery startup, Starship Technologies, has secured $25 million in seed funding and appointed former Airbnb executive Lex Bayer as CEO.

Joe Browns recorded over £1.25 million sales in the opening seven months of trading in its first ever retail store. 

US-based inventory robots venture, Bossa Nova, has closed a $29 million funding round led by Cota Capital. 

Carrefour announced a partnership with Google that, from early 2019, will enable shoppers to buy the former’s products through Google platforms including Home, Assistant and a new Google shopping website in France. Terms of the joint venture were not disclosed.

Nuggets and Poq made it on to Tech London Advocates’ Retail Tech 50 list, which showcases the most interesting and exciting retail technology companies in London. 

JD.com reports that transaction volume reached a record high of $24.7 billion during its 18-day June anniversary sales event (aka 6.18). 

Bad month for…

Burger King apologised for a social media stunt, in which it offered money and a lifetime supply of Whoppers to Russian women who get pregnant by players at the World Cup.

The scrapping of the resurrected BHS website shows UK department stores can only survive with an omnichannel sales approach, according to ParcelHero.

Lush came under fire for a social media and in-store campaign highlighting a “small and secretive subset of undercover policing that undermines and threatens the very idea of democracy”. 

Three people who stole $1.2 million in consumer electronics from Amazon via an elaborate returns scheme have received hefty prison sentences.

Poundworld entered administration after rescue talks collapsed.

Dixons Carphone launched an investigation into a data breach involving 5.9 million payment cards and 1.2 million personal records. 

The jury’s out on…

House of Fraser’s Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) proposals have been given the green light by its creditors, resulting in up to 6,000 job losses.

AO World still has a long way to go before convincing investors that it can become the Amazon of electrical appliances, according to Fiona Cincotta, Senior Market Analyst, City Index.