REWE picks Cologne as it opens another Trigo powered autonomous store in Germany
REWE has opened its fourth Trigo powered store, situated in Cologne, Germany’s fourth largest city.
Located in the Sülz neighbourhood, this is, at 564 sqm, Trigo’s largest store to date.
In an online post, the company said: “The launch of this latest installment represents a unique opportunity. A store marked for renovation, it was a chance for us to participate in the redesign of REWE’s store of the future.”
It added: “This being our second store in Cologne, and our fourth overall with REWE, it was an opportunity to build on the experience and trust built between the teams and embark on a more ambitious project.”
“ In addition to its sheer scale, this store’s expansive product variety offered a new challenge: It features more products than all other REWE stores combined, including signature items such as coffee machines, scales, deposit machines, and a large variety of alcohol.”
Trigo concluded: “Despite its scale, this was one of our fastest installed stores to date. It features our next-generation sensing infrastructure with high resolution IP cameras delivering superior image quality.”
“Located near REWE’s headquarters and outfitted with the infrastructure to support future product roadmap, it’s well positioned for furthering retail innovation. It is truly the store of tomorrow.”
Kai-Uwe Reimers, Head of Research and Innovation, REWE digital, commented: “The bar is rising around customer expectations, customers have less time, cost and effort are getting more important.”
“Computer vision will be the core of the future store. It changes the supermarket workflow by introducing frictionless checkout which solves the biggest customer pain point in the store: standing in line.”
“When we were ready to start with frictionless checkout it was clear that Trigo would be the first to talk to.”
“We screened the market again, we talked to other retailers and in the end, we decided for Trigo because we really believe in the team, we really believe in the solution, and we think it’s the most advanced solution at the moment.”
FUNDING ROUND
Last year, Trigo bagged $100 million in funding, reaching a total of $204 million raised to date.
The investment was led by Singapore state investment firm Temasek (TEM.UL), and 83North.
New strategic investors included SAP and existing backers also joined the round, including Hetz Ventures, Red Dot Capital Partners, Vertex Ventures, Viola, and supermarket giant REWE Group.
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