The six biggest retail technology news stories of the week
It’s Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past five days, including Klarna, Amazon, Walmart, boohoo, and Farfetch.
1. Klarna boss Sebastian Siemiatkowski slams media following funding round
Buy now pay later big hitter Klarna this week announced a $800 million financing round, valuing it at $6.7 billion.
This featured new investors including Mubadala, the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, in addition to existing backers such as Sequoia and Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Sounds great until you take in to account that, in June 2021, the company was valued at $45.6 billion after closing on a $639 million round of funding, making it the highest valued private FinTech in Europe at that time. Ouch!
Michael Moritz, Chair at Klarna and a partner at Sequoia, blamed “investors suddenly voting in the opposite manner to the way they voted for the past few years”.
He predicted that “after investors emerge from their bunkers, the stocks of Klarna and other first-rate companies will receive the attention they deserve”.
Co-founder and CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, meanwhile, took to Twitter to flag that the funding was secured “during the worst stock downturn and challenging macro in decades”.
“We are not immune to public peers being down 75-90% and hence our valuation is down on par,” he added.
He also threw out “some facts that the media might omit in reporting on this”.
2. Kyle Field scores a first with Amazon Just Walk Out and Amazon One tech
Kyle Field, home of the Texas A&M Aggies, is set to become the first collegiate venue in the world to open stores equipped with Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology and the Amazon One palm recognition and payment service.
Three checkout-free stores are slated to open this autumn so fans can use them during the college football season.
They will be able to insert their credit card at the entry gate or hover their palm over an Amazon One device to enter.
Just Walk Out technology determines what items shoppers take from or return to the shelves, and when they leave, the credit card they inserted or linked to their Amazon One ID will be charged for the items they took, with no checkout required.
3. Walmart places major electric delivery vehicles order with Canoo
Walmart has inked a deal to buy 4,500 all-electric delivery vehicles, beginning with the Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle (LDV), from Canoo.
The retailer also has an option to purchase up to 10,000 units as part of its goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
While the LDV is expected to begin hitting the road in 2023, the companies plan to kick off deliveries to refine and finalise vehicle configuration in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex in the coming weeks.
4. Farfetch and Outlier Ventures team on Web3 startups initiative
Online luxury marketplace Farfetch is revamping its Dream Assembly initiative after a two-year hiatus to focus solely on Web3 in partnership with European VC firm Outlier Ventures.
Dream Assembly Base Camp will provide a cohort of Web3 startups in the luxury fashion and lifestyle sectors with mentorship, networking, and support.
The remote 12-week programme will be tailored to each startup and will focus on digital fashion, tokenized loyalty, immersive experiences, and the creator economy.
Participating companies will gain access to Farfetch and Outlier Ventures’ network of mentors from the fashion, technology and Web3 industries, as well as investors, to support their future fundraising efforts.
5. The Walt Disney Company goes big on Web3 with 2022 Disney Accelerator Class
The Walt Disney Company has announced the six companies that will be joining the 2022 Disney Accelerator.
This year's class is focused on building the future of immersive experiences and specialises in technologies such as augmented reality, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and artificial intelligence characters.
The Disney Accelerator kicks off this week. Over the course of the programme, each participant company will receive guidance from Disney's senior leadership team, as well as a dedicated executive mentor.
It will conclude with a Demo Day during the autumn at The Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, CA.
5. boohoo online returns move is lazy and irresponsible. Here’s why
Are online returns a problem to solve or an opportunity to embrace?
That was the question posed this week by Julian Burnett, Founder at Quercus Advisors and former Chief Information Officer & Executive Director, Supply Chain & Business Transformation at House of Fraser and Chief Technology Officer - Head of IT Strategy, Architecture & Business Process, John Lewis.
Burnett broached the topic as pureplay boohoo announced it had become the latest retailer to charge shoppers who return items. Customers must now pay £1.99 to send back products, with the cost deducted from their refund.
boohoo blamed the move on the rising cost of shipping. The likes of Uniqlo, Next and Zara also now charge for online returns.
