Currys invests in the omnichannel fundamentals: 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 Cover Genius, Sona, Checkout.com, Paris Retail Week 2024, Ikea UK, Currys, Sensei, Laws of Motion, and Retail Technology Show 2024.
Last month, RTS delivered its biggest ever showcase, with almost 400 tech exhibitors on the show floor and 120+ industry luminaries and leaders speaking on its stages discussing the industry’s hottest topics.
As well as drawing an audience of 12,752 retail professionals to the two-day event at London Olympia, it continued to pull in a senior level audience in 2024, according to its latest Post Show Report.
82% of RTS attendees operate within C-suite, senior management or ‘head of’ roles within their respective retail organisations, with the number of C-level visitors growing by +2 percentage points compared to 2023.
This senior level of retail attendees also meant 83% of those retailers attending the RTS either influenced or authorised decisions on retail technology spend within their organisations, +1% higher than 2023.
65…Currys is investing in stores spread across the UK&I and adapting them to improve the customer experience.
65 stores will have around 90% of their existing space changed making them more navigable for the customer and enhanced layouts will enable them to showcase a wider range of the latest tech. The revamp will continue throughout 2025.
The first three stores undergoing this transformation are Aberdeen Garthdee, Bristol Winterstoke and Grantham. All will feature:
Increased ranges across many categories, including our TV and Computing ranges,
An enhanced space, designed to serve customers better,
A more efficient in-store mobile area,
Back of house improvements to support store colleagues.
The refit is underpinned by Currys’ Asset Reclaim Centre, The ARC, which stores and provides recovered fixtures and fittings for reuse. On this project, the team have reused relevant recycled fixtures and fittings from The ARC, giving the assets a second lease of life in a new and improved home.
“We're committed to our omnichannel offering, and know our customers love our stores and our tech experts,” says Matthew Speight, Director of Stores.
“Investing in our retail fundamentals is critical to delivering value for our customers, and in particular, improving our store layouts and growing in-store ranges really excites me.”
“I'm looking forward to seeing this transformation to come to life in Garthdee, Bristol Winterstoke and Grantham, as well as the 62 stores that follow, and would like to thank all the teams for all the work they've done so far.”
$80 million…Cover Genius, an InsurTech focused on embedded protection, has announced a $80 million Series E funding round.
This was led by Spark Capital, known for its successful bets on Twitter, Coinbase, Slack, with support from existing investors, including Dawn Capital, King River Capital and G Squared.
Cover Genius has raised $245 million in total to date.
“The display of trust from our investors highlights the resilience of our embedded business model and potential for growth, particularly as we strategically focus on key markets like travel, retail, ticketing, and logistics,” says Angus McDonald, CEO and Co-founder at Cover Genius.
“Our collaborations with well known brands, including Uber, Ryanair and eBay, demonstrate our unique ability to create customer centric protection solutions backed by technology, policy innovation, and industry expertise.”
$5 million…Provenance, a sustainability communications platform, has announced a $5 million funding round led by S4S Ventures, the investment firm co-founded by Sir Martin Sorrell, and Nordic Eye, alongside Alumni Ventures, Angel Academe and a grant from the UK government via Innovate UK.
Sanja Partalo, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of S4S Ventures, joins the board as part of the investment.
Provenance is a data platform that validates and amplifies sustainability claims for over 230 xonsumer packaged goods (CPG) brands and retailers such as Unilever, Estee Lauder, THG, Princes and Arla, across 18 markets globally.
This enables businesses to be transparent about sustainability and inform consumers about their social and environmental impact in a way that’s accurate, unambiguous and substantiated at the point of sale.
$5 million…Laws of Motion, a specialist in AI sizing technology for e-commerce brands and retailers, has raised $5 million in seed funding from Corazon Capital, with participation from The Scout Program at Sequoia Capital, Leadout Capital, and serial entrepreneurs in the consumer tech and fashion industry, including Raine Group Senior Consumer Advisor Eva Jeanbart-Lorenzotti and John Howard, Co-Managing Partner of Irving Place Capital and a board member of Good American, Skims, and Frame.
This funding will enable the company to expand beyond its direct-to-consumer business with the launch of an AI sizing technology licensing solution.
It will also support its expansion into new markets, as well as the growth of its engineering, R&D, and licensing operations teams.
$10 million…Purple Dot, an e-commerce pre-order and waitlist platform, has announced the closure of a $10 million Series A funding round.
This was led by European venture capital firm, OpenOcean.
Purple Dot's solution is used by hundreds of brands, including Oh Polly, Lando Norris, Goorin Bros, Astrid and Miyu, and Sachin & Babi, processing millions of dollars in transactions each month.
The Series A funding round also featured participation from Commerce Ventures and existing investors Unusual Ventures, Connect Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, and Paul Forster, former CEO and co-founder of Indeed.
The cash will enable Purple Dot to continue building its platform and expand its reach to more brands across various industries. The company has a team of 15 based in London, UK, and Charlotte, NC, USA.
$27.5 million…Sona, a workforce management platform for frontline employees, has raised $27.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Felicis.
The London-based company has also welcomed onboard Northzone along with participation from Gradient Ventures, Speedinvest, Antler and Black Angel Group.
Sona has raised $40 million+ to date and will use this fresh round of capital to expand its go-to-market function and build more advanced AI capabilities on its platform.
In a LinkedIn post, Steffen Wulff Petersen, Co-Founder at Sona, said: “This is a huge milestone for us - the entire team has been working incredibly hard on delivering a massive next-generation solution for our amazing early customers.”
7.4%…UK food-on-the-go retailer, Greggs, announced its first quarter results this week.
Like-for-like sales rose by 7.4%. There were 27 net new shop openings, with Greg now trading from 2,500 shops. Whilst full-year expectations were unchanged.
Charlie Huggins, Manager of the Quality Shares Portfolio at Wealth Club, comments: "Greggs has made a solid start to 2024. Like-for-like sales are growing nicely and with no change to cost inflation expectations, the group has reiterated its full year guidance.”
“Its brand continues to resonate strongly with the UK consumer, despite the weak economic backdrop. The roll out of new stores, extended opening hours and new menu items like pizza and pasta should all help to sustain this momentum.”
“That said, Greggs' shares are not as cheap as its pasties. This means it will need to maintain strong progress in order to keep investors happy."
658%…A new Checkout.com report highlights unprecedented growth in the MENA region's digital payment volumes, as the FinTech giant’s total processing value witnessed a 658% surge since the onset of 2020.
Notably, a 78% year-on-year growth between 2022 and 2023. This, according to Checkout.com, is a testament to the region's accelerated adoption of digital commerce, which continues to see a deepening consumer preference for online shopping.
Innovations such as AFT (Automated Funds Transfer) have played a pivotal role in facilitating this trend.
65%…As part of the tenth edition of Paris Retail Week, which will take place on 17th-19th September and whose theme this year honours all forms of retail intelligence including AI, the event has commissioned a study from OpinionWay on the relationship between the French and AI and its impact on their daily purchases.
It reveals a nation at a crossroads, torn between optimism and caution when faced with this brave new world.
Key findings of the study:
65% of French people identify at least one advantage brought by AI in their daily purchases.
Among them, 46% appreciate the increased speed, 37% the added convenience, and 29% the improved personalisation.
34% of respondents are optimistic about the improvement of their shopping experiences thanks to AI, while 32% express concerns.
55% see France as a future leader in AI in commerce, with 54% considering this goal realistic.
Young people are particularly enthusiastic: 57% of those under 35 are optimistic about the impact of AI on their purchases
£8.1 billion…Brits spent £8.1 billion online in April 2024, a modest 1.5% increase on the £8 billion splashed out in April 2023, according to research from Adobe, powered by Adobe Analytics.
While this is now the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year growth in online spending, that growth has slowed every month since February, which will be a cause of concern for many retailers.
Adobe’s analysis of online transactions in the month of April identified a surprising and significant 9.8% YoY rise in grocery prices, which put a squeeze on households’ discretionary spending and likely contributed to the overall slowdown in growth.
As they did for much of 2023, retailers across non-essential categories have turned to discounting in efforts to stimulate demand, with the steepest YoY price drops seen in electronics (-11.7%), apparel (-10.0%), and appliances (-5.5%).
These categories may also be feeling the effect of new entrants’ presence in the market, as retailers try to compete with the low prices offered by the likes of Temu, Shein and AliExpress.
18.9…London Marathon Events (LME) has partnered with the Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL), the trading arm of The Salvation Army, to collect discarded participant clothing at its recent event in London.
On 21st April, The Salvation Army collected a record 18.9 tonnes of clothing from the marathon.
Its volunteers and helpers supported to collect clothing discarded by participants prior to the start line. The clothing was transported to The Salvation Army’s processing centre in the East Midlands for sorting and distribution to be resold, reused or recycled.
The profits raised go to The Salvation Army to support the work they do across the UK. The charitable organisation has over 400 shops, an online presence, and 20+ donation centres.
7 and 4…Ikea UK reports that its Oxford Street city store will now be opening in spring 2025, as an extensive renovation project across all seven floors of the Grade II listed building continues.
It says that significant progress has been made throughout the project – led by Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group, the largest Ikea retailer – which involves creating a home for the Oxford Street city store and developing four floors of office space.
2..Sensei, a Portugal-based provider of autonomous store technology, has announced a deal in the Italian market with the opening of the country’s second autonomous supermarket.
Located in the historic centre of Trento, Conad’s new neighbourhood store TuDay Prendi & Vai promises a faster and more convenient shopping experience without the need to queue or scan products.
Sensei, which has autonomous stores across Europe and South America, has teamed up with the DAO cooperative that manages Conad in the provinces of Trento, Bolzano, Vicenza and Verona.
The opening comes six months after the launch of a first store, located in Verona, for the same client. This has so far pulled in more than 90,000 people.
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