Including Wonder, Walmart, and Just Eat: RTIH’s most read retail technology articles from last week
Check out the articles on this here website that caught your fancy last week, including Sawhorse Productions, Zepeto, No Boundaries, Marks and Spencer, AutoScheduler.AI, H&M, and the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards.
2024 RTIH Innovation Awards: shortlisted entries announced including Ikea, Currys, Lowe’s, and Tesco
We’re pleased to announce the shortlists for the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards.
We received a record number of entries this year and many fantastic examples of the continued resilience and dynamism of the retail space during hugely challenging times.
Congratulations to all those who made it through the initial submission process!
It’s now over to our judging panel who will decide the winners to be announced at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, taking place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London.
The event will be held on Thursday, 21st November and consist of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.
To book your place at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony on Thursday, 21st November, click here.
The awards, sponsored by Scala, CADS, 3D Cloud, Brightpearl by Sage’s Lightning 50, Business France, and Retail Technology Show 2025, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Industry veteran Tony Hoggett lands at Marc Lore’s Wonder following SVP of Grocery role at Amazon
Tony Hoggett, Amazon’s former SVP of Grocery, is joining Marc Lore's food delivery startup as its Chief Operating Officer, according to a report by Fortune.
A former Tesco executive, Hoggett started at Amazon in January 2022, and served on the company’s senior leadership team. His last day there will be 1st November.
In a LinkedIn post, Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive, said: “I’m disappointed that Kroger or Ahold Delhaize didn’t hire Tony to be their CEO. I was also hoping that Starbucks would hire him, and have him design and lead a programme similar to what he will be doing at Wonder.”
Wonder operates 27 fast casual restaurants in the northeast that offer around two dozen different cuisines or menus to diners out of a single location.
Although it owns meal kit company Blue Apron, Lore told Fortune that Hoggett’s hiring does not signal a desire to further expand into the grocery space. Instead, Hoggett will be responsible for opening and running tech enabled storefronts and their hourly staff.
He will also head up the fresh food supply chain Wonder depends on. Its meals are partially cooked at a central kitchen, before final touches are completed out of the company’s storefronts.
Lore claims he will IPO within three to five years.
Walmart enlists Sawhorse Productions as it steps into Zepeto metaverse with No Boundaries launch
Walmart’s young adult clothing brand, No Boundaries, has officially launched on Zepeto, an Asian avatar centric social universe.
In a LInkedIn post, Sawhorse Productions said: “Our team is thrilled to build on our work with Walmart to engage younger audiences by activating this rapidly growing UGC platform.”
“The NoBo drop includes ten virtual versions of pieces from the line’s fall collection. And we brought the community in by collaborating with Zepeto creator, Xexi, to design limited edition items. We also created a twisted prep photobooth backdrop, knowing that Zepeto users love the in-game photo booth function.”
It added: “Sawhorse is passionate about helping brands navigate the immersive/gaming space. Is Zepeto new to you? It’s a platform to watch - ultra fast growth, truly global user base and a highly engaged community.”
Marks and Spencer kicks off roll-out of self-checkouts in changing rooms despite shoplifting concerns
Marks and Spencer is bringing self-checkouts to its store changing rooms so that shoppers won’t have to join two queues when trying on and buying clothes.
The retailer is planning to roll-out self-service tills in 180 of its clothing stores by early 2028.
Operations Director Sacha Berendji told The Telegraph: “We’d like customers to be able to walk straight into the fitting room with no queue, try on what they’ve chosen, then pay there and just walk out.”
“Shoplifting is a major problem in this country, but there are things that we’re all doing to mitigate some of those losses.”
The new tills have thus far been introduced in 28 recently revamped stores.
AutoScheduler.AI hires former Amazon Director of Supply Chain Ian Johnston as VP of Customer Success
AutoScheduler.AI, a warehouse orchestration platform and WMS specialist, has appointed Ian Johnston as VP of Customer Success.
He will replace Stephen Zujkowski, who is retiring. Johnston has over a decade of experience in supply chain operations, logistics management, and strategic leadership.
Before joining AutoScheduler.AI, he served as Director of Supply Chain at Amazon, overseeing North America's largest heavy bulky logistics network, which included managing demand forecasting, capacity management, and product development for the US and Canada.
Prior to that, he served as a Marine Infantry Officer, where he led combat operations in Afghanistan and deterrence operations in Southeast Asia. He later served at the White House, supporting two administrations and several high profile events.
“As a leader within Amazon, Ian has demonstrated a deep understanding of operational planning and championed many technology implementations that enabled transformative changes within numerous operations,” says Keith Moore, CEO at AutoScheduler.AI.
"His rich and diverse experience in leading and supporting innovation and a keen understanding of driving customer excellence make him a perfect fit for this pivotal role at AutoScheduler.AI."
ICA Gruppen’s Oskar Jakobsson gives thumbs up to smart fitting rooms at H&M flagship store in Stockholm
Oskar Jakobsson, Director Customer Solutions at ICA Gruppen, has taken to social media to praise the smart fitting rooms at H&M’s flagship store in Stockholm that opened last week.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “I sometimes get asked what I recommend or think about digital solutions for retail. For me this is often the wrong question, tech for the sake of technology is always a bad decision. Tech should improve the customer experience, self service should reduce friction, staff tools should improve efficiency and staff experience also.”
He added: “That’s why I was happy to see the smart fitting rooms at H&M Stockholm. I have been a supporter of this solution since I was head of innovation at H&M, we then did the first initial POC and tests so I was extra proud to see it live today.”
“What we found in the initial tests was that in a good implementation they increase customer experience, increase sales, help staff to be more efficient and reduce friction in the entire explore, fit to buy journey.
The solution detects what shoppers bring in through RFID. They can see availability in-store of colours and sizes, send a request to staff to bring new sizes etc. They can also see what matches well and availability online.
Sagard NewGen buys supply chain planning and revenue growth management solutions firm FuturMaster
Sagard NewGen has announced the acquisition of FuturMaster, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider of supply chain planning and revenue growth management solutions, from its founder and Cathay Capital.
Sagard NewGen becomes the group's majority shareholder alongside the management team and Cathay Capital, who have reinvested in the new transaction.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
FuturMaster's platform is used by the likes of Heineken, L'Oréal, TotalEnergies and SNCF.
Just Eat Takeaway.com moves to next stage of in-car ordering system roll-out following UK launch
Customers in Ireland, Spain and Italy can now use text/touch commands to place orders using the in-car screen, with the feature also rolling out to Germany and Austria over the coming weeks.
The app is currently available in the Mercedes-Benz In-Car App Store for customers of select car lines including the new CLE , E-Class, C-Class and GLC with an activated “Entertainment Package Plus”.
Just Eat is also working with other major car brands to roll this out further and test similar features.
“We want to fit seamlessly into the lives of our network so we’re always looking at how best to evolve our technology to make using our platform as convenient as possible,” says Jessica Hall, Chief Product Officer, Just Eat Takeaway.com.
“For our customers, this means making the ordering journey as easy as possible, whether that’s supporting them to try new foods or find last minute groceries. For our partners, we want to provide them with a consistent end-to-end experience, to help them reach more customers and grow their businesses. Testing brand new innovations is one of the ways we do this.”
