X5 Retail Group tech innovation drive continues apace

Russian food retailer X5 Retail Group and French tech accelerator Lafayette Plug and Play (LP&P) have released the interim results of their innovation scouting tie up.

In December 2019, Х5 became an anchor partner of the LP&P platform by signing a three-year agreement. It has now been awarded LP&P’s Corporate Innovation Award, based on the number of pitch sessions held, pilot projects considered and commercial contracts signed.

In April through to June, Х5 was introduced to 50 tech solutions, including 11 that have passed through the proof of concept stage with its various business units. Companies included Persado, Automation Hero, Mediar, GeoSlam, Carfit, Placense, UntieNots, GoComo, Acerta, Brive, Trailer Dynamics, AutoAid and Compredict. 

Х5 says that it was particularly interested in solutions for automated scanning of premises and creation of blueprints, a neuronet that writes texts with a high degree of conversion, gamification products, a solution for deep analysis of social media, a mobile app for analysing driving styles, and innovations in diagnosing vehicles and predicting breakdowns. 

“In our search for innovation, we have always looked for practical applicability of solutions and the economic benefits produced by rolling them out. Co-operation with LP&P allows us to review solutions from all over the world, without confining ourselves to a single country or continent,” says Denis Levchenko, Head of Х5 Retail Group’s innovation unit.

“For us, it is important that we can introduce many of these innovative developments right here and now, thereby improving the consumer experience and speeding up retail digitalisation. We are pleased that our colleagues at LP&P have recognised our active work with startups and we look forward to our continued co-operation, which will undoubtedly become even more fruitful going forward.”

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