RTIH presents the retail technology week in numbers
Do you like numbers? Do you like retail systems news? Then this is the article for you. Including RELEX Solutions, Walmart, Vinted, Gopuff, Carrefour, Amazon and WHSmith.
5…InPost has signed a five-year partnership agreement with Vinted, an online consumer-to-consumer marketplace dedicated to second hand fashion.
As a result, it will become one of Vinted’s shipping partners across Europe.
The service will be provided under the InPost brand in the UK, Poland and Italy, and Mondial Relay in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.
€500 million and €5 billion…RELEX Solutions has announced a €500 million funding round led by funds managed by Blackstone Growth (BXG), Blackstone’s growth equity investing business.
This puts its valuation at €5 billion
0…Walmart is testing out reusable tote bags as part of its InHome delivery service, which is expanding across the US.
The pilot project is part of a broader effort by the retailer to move toward reusable, recyclable or industrially compostable packaging and reach zero waste in its own operations in the US and Canada by 2025.
6,000…UK coach operator, National Express, has partnered with buy now pay later specialist Clearpay (known as Afterpay outside the UK and Europe).
Customers can now select Clearpay to pay for their travel in four instalments over six weeks, interest free.
National Express joins over 6,000 merchants partnering with Clearpay, and is the first company in the UK travel sector to offer the FinTech venture’s service.
135,000…Almost 135,000 UK bricks and mortar retail jobs were lost during the Covid-19 pandemic, GMB analysis of official figures suggests.
1…WHSmith has opened its first ever checkout-free store at LaGuardia Airport, New York.
It’s the first WHSmith to open in the US (as opposed to the retailer’s other fascias such as InMotion and MRG) and taps Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, which was pioneered at the Amazon Go offering.
180…London restaurant, The River Café, has announced a partnership with same-day courier Gophr.
This comes as it expands its delivery service, following a trial with Gophr that kicked off in November and peaked at 180 orders delivered across three days in the week before Christmas.
$124 million…Swappie, a Finland-based online destination for buying and selling refurbished smartphones, has wrapped a $124 million Series C funding round.
1…US-based quick commerce startup, Gopuff, has become the official instant delivery partner of McLaren’s Formula 1 team.
Gopuff branding will be featured on McLaren’s cars. The partnership will also involve fan experiences and rewards.
€750,000…Estonia-based autonomous store technology startup Grab2Go has secured €750,000 in funding.
It will use the cash for product development, expanding its team and its go to market strategy.
$170 million and $1.5 billion…Logistics tech company Veho has announced a $170 million Series B raise led by Tiger Global with participation from SoftBank Vision, at a $1.5+ billion valuation.
$12 million…Netacea, a UK-based bot detection and mitigation specialist, has secured $12 million in Series A funding.
The startup says that it currently works with three out of ten of the world’s largest retail sites. The funding will enable continued expansion in the UK and the US.
10…Carrefour has made its hypermarkets and supermarkets available on the Everli same-day grocery delivery platform in 10 French cities: Lille, Lyon, Nice, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nantes, Grenoble, Rennes, Paris and their surrounding suburbs.
5…US-based online grocer Farmstead’s service is now live in the city of Chicago, with delivery in as little as one hour.
Chicago is Farmstead’s fifth market. Its service originated in the San Francisco Bay area, and it also serves Miami, Fla. and Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, NC.
1…Ireland’s first completely frictionless store, Market x Flutter, officially opened this week at Flutter Entertainment’s newly renovated global headquarters in Clonskeagh, Dublin.
Compass Group UK & Ireland, part of foodservice business Compass Group, developed the store for Flutter, using AI powered computer vision technology from AiFi. allowing shoppers to purchase items without having to wait in line or stop to scan or pay.
It stocks fresh meals, including a selection of hot and chilled dishes to-go, as well as drinks and confectionery.
£230K…Research from online consumer goods company Thrasio has found that books, CDs and vinyl are still big business for Amazon sellers with firms turning over an average of £230K per month.
$20 million…Banked, a startup that enables consumers to pay from their mobile banking apps, has completed a $20 million Series A funding round.
This was led by Bank of America and Edenred Capital Partners. Existing investors Acrew, Force Over Mass, Firestartr, OM2, Love Ventures Kuvi Capital and Paul Forster (founder of Indeed.com) also participated.
$200 million…Chinese beauty retailer, HARMAY, has concluded its Series C and D rounds of financing, raising a combined $200 million.
The Series C was led by General Atlantic and the Series D by QY Capital, with Eastern Bell Capital, N5 Capital, Ocean Link, Hillhouse Venture, and BA Capital among the co-investors.
