Fast fashion firm Asos undergoes significant makeover: 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 Ikea Ireland, Gopuff, Uber Direct, Getir, Magnum, Serve Robotics, Veesual, Eileen Fisher, and the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards.
100…The latest edition of the RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List has arrived, sponsored by 3D Cloud by Marxent. Here are the people who made a splash in 2023 and are set for a barnstorming 2024.
RTIH has scoured the retail technology world to find the most influential figures for this comprehensive list of people and trends that shape the industry and help drive it forward.
We’re living in unprecedented times.
The Covid-19 outbreak and cost-of-living crisis have driven a seismic change in shopping habits.
We are seeing retailers taking innovative technologies like AR, AI, and spatial computing, and finding ways to use them to make customer experiences more exciting and dynamic.
Which is where the RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List comes in, presented, we should stress, in no particular order.
Such disruption requires new ways of problem solving and thought leaders who can both evangelise and execute on the likes of digital transformation and omnichannel success.
We hope you enjoy reading through it and, as always, if you would like to give feedback or believe that there are some glaring omissions, please feel free to get in touch via the form at the end of this article.
Many thanks to 3D Cloud by Marxent, which provides 3D product visualisation software trusted by top furniture and DIY retailers, for sponsoring it.
Download the list in pdf format here.
Or read via Issuu here.
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$7.5 million…Veesual, a Paris-based AI powered virtual try-on platform for the fashion industry, has announced the closing of a $7.5 million dollar seed round led by AVP (AXA Venture Partners) and Techstars.
The investment will accelerate the company’s plans to expand into the US market by opening its first office there, recruiting senior talent, and enhancing its current product offering for American apparel companies.
A cornerstone of this expansion is a new partnership with women’s fashion brand Eileen Fisher.
This will see Veesual’s virtual try-on technology integrated into the latter’s online shopping experience.
"We are thrilled to be the first US brand to partner with Veesual on this innovative new virtual try-on tool,” says Blair Silverman, Vice President of E-commerce at Eileen Fisher.
“We are committed to inclusivity, designing clothes that cater to every body shape. Navigating online shopping poses challenges, particularly in predicting how garments fit diverse body types.”
“Our collaboration with Veesual addresses these challenges head-on and we are proud to be launching a tool that is sure to be a new standard for e-commerce.”
1…Ikea Ireland has opened a distribution centre in Rathcoole, Co. Dublin.
The facility, employing over 200 people, follows investments in six plan and order points, upgrades to the Ballymun store, and a collaboration with Tesco Ireland on an affordable collection service.
Ikea claims that the DC will result in its business in Ireland having one of the shortest delivery times in Europe. Before now, deliveries to Irish consumers required dispatch from the UK. Delivery times will now reduce to three days.
The DC is over 27,000 square metres, has a storage capacity of 20,000 cubic metres – equal to over 258,000 flatpack BILLY bookcases or double the size of Croke Park pitch – and is capable of housing up to 9,000 different product lines, spanning across almost every product in the Ikea range.
The retailer expects the facility to be making more than 300,000 deliveries in the first year of operation, with that figure almost doubling to nearly 600,000 within five years. Eventually the plan is to be able to deliver up to three million items a year from the centre.
£1.5 billion…Asos this week reported half-year underlying revenue of £1.5 billion, down 18%. Underlying loss before tax grew 32.7% to £120 million.
Guy Lawson-Johns, Equity Analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, says: “As guided by Asos’ management, sales have taken a dive and the reported 18% fall in revenue might not feel like progress. In response to a tougher environment, Asos is undergoing a significant makeover, shifting focus to profitability and cash generation.”
“The move to enhance the balance sheet and get the business on track for a more profitable future is encouraging, but it hasn’t been easy for investors.”
“Behind the scenes, there are early signs that strategic ambitions are starting to bear fruit. Efforts have been made to streamline the inventory and the group has cut £593 million in stock (£7 million away from pre-Covid levels).”
“This move has not only released cash for reinvestment elsewhere in the business but has also led to a significant improvement in free cash flow of around £240 million year-on-year. Although there is still more work to be done, once this is accomplished, it should provide Asos with some much needed momentum.”
He adds: “Under the new commercial model, improvements are also being seen in higher margin own brand sales. The roll-out of Test & React is helping it meet customers rapidly changing preferences and build towards its medium-term target of 30% own-brand sales.”
“Despite these operational improvements, there are still structural hurdles to overcome. It’s no secret M&S and Next have been growing sales in the third-party brands Asos is known for, and newer entrants like Temu are taking market share from the fringes.”
“Successfully expanding into international markets, like the US, will be crucial for the company's future, although this comes with its own set of challenges. In the near-term, management needs to closely monitor the wider impacts of its margin improvement programmes.”
“Any compromise on Asos’ strengths in service, such as convenient delivery and returns, could have long-term implications for growth. The current valuation suggests uncertainty in the market about Asos’ ability to deliver.”
1,000…A central London grocery store says it is saving almost 1,000 products from being thrown away needlessly, each month, using AI and a monitoring system that reveals when products are close to their use-by dates.
Belsize Park supermarket Kavanagh’s has worked with Smartway, which helps retailers combat food waste, and VusionGroup, a specialist in digitalisation solutions for physical commerce, to install Smartdetection Flash Evo.
The system uses Smartway’s technology to list products that are about to expire. Intelligent flashing labels on shelves, created by VusionGroup, lead workers to each item.
The Smartway AI then guides supermarkets on the best way to discount items to make them appealing to shoppers or facilitates donating the food to charity. On average, the shop has avoided disposing of 215 products a week, since the system was installed, the equivalent of 1.2 tonnes of CO2 reduction per month.
13…Imaginuity has developed and launched a virtual shopper named Cindy for JLL Retail Property Management at 13 shopping centres across the US.
Created to be a consistent and replicable virtual spokesperson online, Cindy embodies multi-ethnic characteristics designed to resonate across geographically dispersed shopping centres.
She is an extension of Imaginuity’s Pylot platform that aims to create “beautiful, human centred website experiences.”
107%…By 2028, the buy now pay later user base will increase by 107%, from 380 million users in 2024, according to Juniper Research.
It found that despite FinTech companies commanding the BNPL market for years, 2023 saw a major shift, as super apps and banks gained traction. WeChat and Grab are notable super apps offering BNPL to users, embedded within platforms offering numerous products.
Market leader Klarna recognised the potential here, transforming its app into one. In future, the market will see not only more super apps offering BNPL, but consolidated retail experiences tailored to consumer demand; altering market shares significantly.
Juniper Research’s Matt Purnell says: “As the BNPL landscape becomes increasingly competitive, vendors must not only stand out, but incentivise repeated use through reward points or increasing loan limits for consistently punctual repayments.”
The research also noted regulatory discussions and general BNPL prevalence have marked a turning point for consumer confidence, with more people utilising solutions. Banks have therefore begun offering their own BNPL products; adding protections to transactions for seasoned BNPL users and risk-adverse or older populations alike.
Recognition from banks also provides confidence to businesses, with fraud risk being mitigated relative to non-regulated BNPL vendors. This confidence will result in over 10 billion BNPL transactions forecast in 2028.
15…Gopuff has announced the launch of Powered by Gopuff, a logistics and technology platform that, according to the quick commerce big hitter, enables brands to offer affordable delivery from their owned and operated online stores in as fast as 15 minutes.
“We’ve spent the last ten years building and scaling our own hyper-local logistics network and operations to consistently meet customer demands for fast, affordable, and reliable delivery,” says Daniel Folkman, SVP of Business at Gopuff.
“As a result of this work, we've established ourselves as the face of instant commerce. Now, with the launch of Powered by Gopuff, we're also becoming the fabric of instant commerce by extending our proprietary fulfilment and logistics capabilities beyond our app for the first time."
This award will go to a retailer enabling physical spaces to thrive via innovative technology, even as online shopping continues to grow.
We’re looking for examples of reducing friction in the customer journey, offering improved experiences, and blurring the lines between channels.
Download an entry form here.
Clare Montgomery, Head of Operations, says: “StoreSpace is delighted to be sponsoring the Retail Technology Innovation Hub Awards - for the fifth year running!”
“We’re once again sponsoring the Bricks and Mortar Innovation category, which is the award recognising the enormous potential of innovative technology in physical retail spaces.”
“Bricks and mortar stores still play such a key role in the retail industry, so we’re honoured to be sponsoring the award which champions this.”
1…Magnum has launched its first ever 3D OOH billboard in locations across the UK to celebrate its latest flavours Euphoria & Chill.
The 3D billboard creates a platform to build on the ice cream brand’s latest advert – The Pleasure Express - with the aim of offering audiences an engaging blend of the physical and digital worlds.
The Pleasure Express 3D OOH creative kicks off a summer campaign to support the launch of NPD Magnum Euphoria Pink Lemonade and Magnum Chill Blueberry Cookie.
The immersive 30 second 3D ad welcomes viewers onboard the magical Pleasure Express train to journey to a station marked “Wherever Pleasure Takes You”, showcasing that Magnum is truly ‘pleasure worth waiting for’.
The live action billboard is pitched as the UK’s largest ever 3D OOH campaign - running in 324 sites including malls, D6 and four spectacular large format sites: DeepScreen by Ocean locations Piccadilly Lights in London, New Street in Birmingham, Printworks in Manchester and Liverpool Media Wall.
The solution is designed to generate buzz on social media and earn media coverage.
3,000 and 500…Ikea has announced an initiative to embed artificial intelligence (AI) literacy across its organisation.
The retailer’s training programmes aim to ensure that co-workers are not just prepared but empowered to lead into the new age of AI.
“Our vision is clear. It’s about enhancing the capabilities of co-workers through technology, ensuring that Ikea continues to be the place where innovation and compassion go hand in hand,” says Parag Parekh, Ikea Retail (Ingka Group) Chief Digital Officer.
Since FY24, Ikea has set targets to provide AI literacy training to approximately 3,000 co-workers and 500 leaders.
According to Parekh, “this effort is a testament to the Ikea belief in the power of its people to harness technology for greater creativity, efficiency, and results’’.
He adds: ‘’Our vision is clear. It’s about enhancing the capabilities of co-workers through technology, ensuring that Ikea continues to be the place where innovation and compassion go hand in hand.’’
£8.2 billion…New data from Adobe reveals that UK online spending reached £8.5 billion in March 2024, representing a 3.7% increase on the £8.2 billion spent in March 2023. This follows YoY growth of 5% in February and 1.5% in January, indicating consumer confidence and online spending power returning in the first quarter of 2024.
UK retailers felt the benefit of Mother’s Day, an early Easter and the additional weekend in March.
They will also hope to tap into increases to universal credit and child benefit, cuts to National Insurance and lower caps on energy prices.
$10.6 million…Global location intelligence provider, dataplor, has announced a $10.6 million Series A funding round led by Spark Capital.
The round, which included participation from Quest Venture Partners, Acronym Venture Capital, Circadian Ventures, Two Lanterns Venture Partners and APA Venture Partners, will boost dataplor’s expansion plans, as it looks to build “the most accurate, comprehensive and dynamically updated database of global Point of Interest (POI) data on the market”.
It currently offers data coverage across more than 200 countries and territories, encompassing over 300 million locations and 15,000+ brands.
Companies in industries including technology, mapping, search, third party logistics, consumer packaged goods (CPG), telecom, investing, real estate and finance tap dataplor’s global coverage to power strategic decisions and investments.
86%…Consumers want retailers to provide faster and more convenient delivery options, according to research commissioned by Uber Direct and involving a survey of 2,014 UK shoppers during peak, 28th November - 5th December 2023 (shortly after Black Friday).
This, somewhat unsurprisingly, revealed significant variations in expectations when the age of the consumer and the product category were factored in.
The study showed a high demand for options such as same-day, on-demand and accurate next-day delivery slots. This included 86% of consumers who said it is important that retailers offer same-day delivery.
However, expectations around these options were much higher among younger shoppers. For instance, almost all (96%) Gen Z participants (18-26 year olds) considered this important – and 69% said they would pay a premium for this service.
73% of Baby Boomers (59+ year olds) agreed this was important, but just 32% said they would pay a premium.
$11.8 billion…Turkish ultrafast grocery delivery firm, Getir, is said to be working on a radical restructuring plan just two years after it was valued at just off $12 billion.
According to Sky News, Getir, which operates in five markets including the UK, is examining a number of options as part of talks with its leading investors.
Sky News report: “Sources said this weekend that this could involve a break-up of the rapid delivery group, an exit from a number of its remaining markets or some form of emergency restructuring mechanism.”
It added: “A source close to the company denied that any form of insolvency process was under consideration, saying that if it decided to exit a country it would do so in an orderly fashion.”
“Another insider added that the next few days were "make or break" for the company, with key decisions about Getir's future expected to be taken as early as the next fortnight.”
AlixPartners, the restructuring firm, is understood to be advising on the situation at Getir, which is backed by the likes of Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global.
It was valued at $11.8 billion when it raised more than $750 million in a funding round in 2022.
Getir did not respond to our request for comment.
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