Vista Technology Support buys SCT and wagamama gets soulful: RTIH rolls out the 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 Hasbro, EE, Trigo, REWE Group, The Perfume Shop, Scurri, Bambuser, Zara, and wagamama.

1. Toy and game big hitter Hasbro announces senior appointments focused on digital transformation and supply chain push

Hasbro has announced three senior appointments that aim to build on the company’s digital transformation and ongoing turnaround efforts.

Dan Shull will join as Chief Digital Information Officer, Stephanie Beal has been promoted to Chief Supply Chain Officer, and Dan Rawson is taking on an expanded role overseeing direct and e-commerce, as well as continuing as Global Play Lead for Dungeons and Dragons and RPGs.

Beal and Rawson’s new roles are effective immediately, and Shull will join on 15th July.

Shull brings 25 years of Fortune 500 industry experience to Hasbro, previously serving as Chief Technology Officer at REI. Prior to that, he held executive positions at Signet, Nike, and Borders.

In this newly created role, he will oversee Hasbro’s digital and IT strategy, using the latest technology to drive efficiency and improved ways of working.

The aim is to accelerate Hasbro’s efforts to become a platform first digital and information technology partner to entertainment and licensing counterparts.

"Dan’s retail background, sophisticated understanding of the digital landscape, and strong people leadership experience make him a welcome addition to the Hasbro team. I'm confident he’ll elevate Hasbro’s digital offerings to drive productivity and better serve our employees, partners, and fans,” says Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks.

2. 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards open for entries, winners announced at London event in November

The sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards is now open for entries.

The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, and Retail Technology Show 2025, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world, with winners being announced during a glittering ceremony at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on Thursday, 21st November.

Key 2024 dates

Friday, 25th October: Award entry deadline 

Tuesday, 29th October: 2024 shortlist revealed

30th October-6th November: Judging days

Thursday, 21st November: Winners announced at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, to be held at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ.

Entry forms can be downloaded both here

3. Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott added to e-commerce giant Shopify’s board of directors

Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott has joined Shopify’s board of directors.

Shopify President Harley Finkelstein, said: “Kevin is a titan of innovation. His fingerprints are all over the best teams in tech and some of the best products. He’s a leader in emerging tech and the future of AI.”

“He is a natural fit to help us make commerce better for everyone.Kevin has built a career mastering the art of taking the future, pulling it forward, and building technology that benefits everyone.”

Whilst CEO Tobi Lutke described Scott as “one of the most eminent thinkers in technology.”

In the below video, Scott speaks with Lutke about democratising tech, building teams, and why life’s too short for uninteresting pursuits.

4. EE opens Experience store in Westfield, Stratford City following launch of flagship Studio location in Westfield, White City

Actor, comedian and rapper, Michael Dapaah, aka Big Shaq, this week made a special appearance at the opening of EE’s latest Experience store in Westfield Stratford City.

Dapaah, who started out creating comedy on his phone, cut the ribbon and welcomed customers into the new space.

The Experience store is the next of its kind to open in London, following the launch of EE’s flagship Studio in Westfield London last June.    

It will showcase some of the latest and greatest immersive technology which has been specially designed to help guide customers through their connected lives across four key areas – home, work, learn and game – featured in dedicated Experience Zones and a Tech Home area.  

5. Trigo technology powered REWE Pick&Go store concept hits Romania with PENNY store in Bucharest

REWE has brought its Pick&Go store concept to Romania.

In a LinkedIn post, REWE digital said: “Shopping, packing directly and paying at the self-checkout without scanning now also works in the first fully automated PENNY store in Bucharest.”

“Our computer vision and AI technology supported by 500 cameras, 5,000 sensors and 200 image processing units makes it possible.”

It added: “After our hybrid test stores in Cologne, Berlin, Hamburg and Düsseldorf, a fully autonomous REWE Pick&Go in Munich and now five autonomous IKI Go stores in Lithuania, we are now bringing our innovative shopping technology to Romania on a trial basis with Trigo.”

6. Sweet smell of success: AS Watson Group's The Perfume Shop brings in Scurri as delivery management partner

Specialist fragrance retailer, The Perfume Shop (TPS), says that it has seen “out on time” shipment rates across the UK and Ireland hit 99.2% and also implemented “ship from store” following the appointment of Scurri as its delivery management partner.

TPS is the UK’s largest specialist fragrance retailer with 209 stores in UK&I as well as an e-commerce offering. It is part of health and beauty giant AS Watson Group.

Having invested £2.5 million in warehouse automation technology at its Dunstable warehouse, it appointed Scurri to optimise its delivery management. 

Prior to this, delivery management issues were escalated to management on a regular basis - forcing TPS personnel to step in and solve unwanted delivery problems. 

Additionally, lack of system reliability was also a challenge, particularly during Peak, and while TPS were able to shield customers from these issues, it often came at significant efficiency costs within the warehouse.

7. RTIH Innovation Awards winner Cart.com secures $105 million in debt refinancing from BlackRock

Cart.com, a provider of unified commerce and logistics solutions, has secured a $105 million term loan facility provided by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. The company says that the latest facility, among other things, consolidates its venture debt at competitive terms.

“Cart.com is one of the fastest growing providers of commerce and logistics solutions today and I’m excited to partner with BlackRock as we continue to aggressively invest to help our customers operate more efficiently,” says Founder and CEO Omair Tariq.

“This latest facility allows us to further expand into new markets while enhancing our innovative technology solutions, particularly our Constellation OMS offering. It also underscores our teams’ relentless work in driving operational excellence and profitability as we continue to partner with larger and larger customers across industries.”

Cart.com offers a suite of tech enabled logistics capabilities, enterprise grade channel and order management software and expert services.

It supports over 6,000 customers and 75 million orders per year and operates 14 omnichannel fulfilment centres across the US. The aforementioned capital follows the closing of a $25 million Series C extension round which brings the company’s Series C total to $85 million at a $1.2 billion valuation.

8. ‘A huge piece of retail technology innovation’: wagamama brings soul club loyalty programme to life

wagamama, a British restaurant chain, serving Asian food based on Japanese cuisine, has launched a new loyalty app called soul club.

Customers will earn a hanko stamp each time they visit a wagamama restaurant and spend £12. After three stamps, they receive a free side and after six stamps, a free main with no minimum spend.

When people first sign up, they will also get a free stamp and a free side of edamame beans. When it's their birthday, they get entered into a prize draw where they could win a £1,000 gift card.

It’s also possible to gain access to various extras on the app including recipes, cooking videos, secret menu items, and access to supper clubs.

After four visits in one year, users will receive invites to supper clubs to cooking classes with wagamama collaborators. After eight visits in one year, they get VIP Status, which includes the opportunity to win premium monthly merch drops, such as hoodies and cookbooks.

9. Bambuser partners with fashion retailer Zara for video commerce and live shopping push in Europe and US

Bambuser, a provider of interactive video streaming and live shopping solutions, has announced a partnership with Zara.

Bambuser's technology allows Zara to offer an interactive shopping experience, catering to evolving consumer behaviour when online, and including the immersive nature of social commerce and real-time interactions.

“We are thrilled to be the video streaming and live shopping provider for Zara,” says Maryam Ghahremani, CEO at Bambuser.

“This partnership underscores the growing importance of interactive and real-time experiences in the e-commerce landscape. We look forward to supporting Zara enhancing their customer engagement and achieving new levels of success.” 

10. Vista Technology Support acquires Irish retail technology support company Store Computer Technology (SCT)

Vista Technology Support has announced the acquisition of Store Computer Technology (SCT) for an undisclosed sum.

Vista says that the move further expands its retail and hospitality support capabilities in Ireland and Europe and will strengthen its position as a leading independent retail IT services provider.

SCT was established in 1994 by John Hogan.

It has grown substantially over three decades and now provides IT service desk, in-store technology maintenance and technology refresh projects to some of the most well known Irish and international retail and hospitality brands.

With its head office, service desk, staging centre and warehouses based in Dublin, forward stock locations and field service engineers located throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland, SCT is well established and provides a tried and trusted service support model to over 7,000 retail and hospitality locations throughout the country.

Vista’s M&A activity was led by Lucy Mayer, Vista’s Commercial Director. She has extensive experience in M&A and corporate finance, having previously held senior positions at PWC and Development Bank of Wales.