Farewell Asda, hello Voyado: these are our most read retail technology articles from last week

Check out the articles on this here website that caught your fancy last week, including Flagship, JD.com, Nedap, HEMA, HyperFinity, InPost, Yodel, SAP Emarsys, and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.

Swedish retail tech firm Voyado hires former SAP Emarsys exec Thomas Harris as CRO

Voyado, a Swedish customer experience platform built for retail, has appointed Thomas Harris as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). Based in the UK, Harris will lead the company’s expansion across the UK&I and Europe, building on its Nordic foundation.

As CRO at SAP Emarsys, he led the global revenue team, driving significant customer growth and strengthening the company’s position within SAP’s Customer Experience portfolio.

Erica Sandelin Ekelund, CEO at Voyado, says: “Bringing in someone with Thomas’s experience and strong focus on customer success gives us a real advantage. He knows what it takes to succeed in this space and is the right person to lead our next phase of international growth.

Most importantly, he’s aligned with our mission to make every retailer feel like a frontrunner. We’re delighted to have him on the team.”

Harris comments: “From the first conversation, it was clear Voyado had something special. The product delivers real value to brands people love, and the culture is strong, people led, and fuelled by momentum. There’s real clarity in the ambition- from Nordic leader to European player. Being purpose built for retail gives us the focus to move faster and help customers drive meaningful outcomes.”

"The whole industry is exploring what’s possible with AI and Voyado is doing so through a retail lens, grounded in real-world outcomes. It’s not about innovation without impact. It’s about helping customers achieve results grounded in their world, their challenges, and their growth goals.”

Rob Barnes departs Asda and CIO role after driving technology change across the business

Rob Barnes has left grocery giant Asda where, for the past 15 months, he held the position of Chief Information Officer.

In a LinkedIn post, Barnes, who joined Asda from Marks and Spencer, said: “Thanks for your messages this week folks! As some of you have seen, I've taken the decision to leave Asda. It's been an incredible 15 months, where we've landed so much technology change as a business across our stores; online; supply chain: and home office.”

He added: “We've also made a fundamental shift in our tech and data operating model to align us all more closely to our customers and colleagues, but I've been offered a great new opportunity that I'm really looking forward to starting later this year.  I look forward to sharing more details of my new role later in the year.”

Earlier this year, Asda was granted an extension to the timescale for an £80 million IT upgrade by its former owner Walmart, after it missed a crucial deadline target. This is required to fully separate Asda’s IT system from that of Walmart. Project Future, as it is known, had been set for completion by February.

Visual merchandising platform Flagship closes seed funding round and expands into US market

Flagship, creator of a digital visual merchandising platform, has announced its expansion into the US market with an unnamed performance apparel brand, in addition to several retail partnerships, including Mejuri, and Mad Happy.

The company also recently closed a $3.75 million seed funding round led by Coreline and Veridical Ventures, with participation from Tidal Ventures and Macdoch Ventures.

"Visual merchandising has historically relied on manual processes and instinct," says Simon Molnar, Founder and CEO at Flagship. "Our platform brings data driven decision-making to store optimisation, allowing retailers to maximise revenue while maintaining the creative elements that define physical retail."

Flagship's platform connects store design with precise data analysis, creating digital twins of each store location that enable retailers to optimise product placement while providing automated revenue mapping.

“As a global jewelry brand on a mission to redefine luxury at every touchpoint, Mejuri has partnered with Flagship to implement a technology-first approach across our 40+ stores,” says Kari Beiswanger, Senior Product Manager at Mejuri. “This collaboration empowers data driven decision-making and optimisation, while championing global best practices in visual merchandising. With Flagship’s expertise, we are elevating the in-store experience and driving efficiency and consistency as we scale."

Parcel lockers big hitter InPost lays claim to a bold leap forward in the UK market as it buys Yodel

Polish parcel locker company InPost has announced the acquisition of Yodel, a UK-based parcel delivery firm. It will buy 95.5% of Yodel parent Judge Logistics' share capital, with PayPoint retaining a minority stake of 4.5%.

The deal will see InPost UK's market share increase to about 8%, with 10,000 automated parcel machines and more than 18,000 out of home pick-up points. It positions the company as the third agnostic e-commerce logistics carrier in the UK, and follows the acquisition of Menzies Distribution in October 2024, which gave it full control over its entire logistics process in the UK.

It also builds on a tie up established between InPost and Yodel in October 2024, when the latter began providing last mile services through the latter’s locker to door service.

Rafał Brzoska, Founder, and CEO at InPost Group, comments: “This acquisition marks a pivotal milestone in InPost's journey to revolutionise the UK delivery market as well as the Group pan-European presence. We have just fast forwarded five years of organic expansion in the UK and it is a clear reflection of our long-term commitment to this market, a market where we see enormous opportunity for growth. Our logistics model has transformed delivery in other European markets, and with this acquisition, we are now well positioned to do the same here.”

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com builds on Ochama move in Europe as it gets ready to rumble in UK

JD.com has entered into recruitment mode as it works on an entry in to the UK market.

This follows an initial excursion under the Joybuy brand, with a soft launch beginning in the second half of 2024, and the platform running a closed beta among users in London.

In 2022, JD.com introduced a new offering in Europe under the Ochama brand, aiming to bring its omnichannel retail model - blending online and offline channels - into European countries. The UK moves marks its latest attempt to secure a foothold in a mature e-commerce space. As of 2024, the UK’s retail e-commerce market was valued at $160 billion, ranking third globally.

In a LinkedIn post, Matthew Nobbs, Chief Merchandise Officer, JD.com, said: "Getting ready to rumble in the UK for one of China’s biggest success stories. With global annual turnover of in excess of $157 billion last year- we are coming to the UK. Calling all category superstars. If you are a Category Manager or a seasoned expert Senior Category Manager- we are hiring right now in London.

He added: "We need passionate talent in: Small and Large Domestic Appliances; Consumer Electronics; Home and Living; World Foods; Toys; Baby; FMCG; Ambient Grocery; Fashion; Commercial Internships and the renowned TET graduate leadership programme."

Nedap connects with Dutch retailer HEMA for RFID roll-out at stores in Netherlands, Belgium, France

Nedap is implementing its iD Cloud RFID platform across more than 740 HEMA stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. Customers will be able to see exactly how many of their favourite items are available in a store via the app or website. Staff will also be able to track inventory faster and more accurately.

All HEMA stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, and Austria will be live with the RFID solution by mid-2026.

"This partnership is special: two Dutch companies with a rich history, innovative spirit, and strong customer focus are joining forces," says Hilbert Dijkstra, General Manager iD Cloud at Nedap. "We are proud to support HEMA on their RFID journey and look forward to the results we will achieve together."

HyperFinity bags Finance Yorkshire investment as it helps retailers make most of data via analytics and AI

HyperFinity, which specialises in data analytics and AI for the retail sector, has secured an undisclosed investment from Finance Yorkshire.

This will enable the Leeds-based company to build its sales and marketing function as well as support product development.

Co-investor River Capital has made an investment in HyperFinity from its fund:AI. Finance Yorkshire and River Capital join existing backer, Snowflake, a specialist in data and AI technology, completing a seven figure investment round.

HyperFinity was founded in 2019 by Pete Denby, Adam Barrowcliff, Damon Bryan and Tom Hill who have grown the business’s client base to include Asda, Costa Coffee, Card Factory and Toolstation.

Denby says: “HyperFinity helps retailers make the most of their data using analytics and AI. We’re already helping some of the best known retailers make profitable loyalty and pricing decisions through a combination of powerful software and expert services. We’re delighted to be working with Finance Yorkshire and River Capital whose investments will enable us to accelerate our growth plans.”

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield seeks Stateside success as it launches Westfield Rise in the US

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (UWR) has launched its Westfield Rise offering in the US, helping brands to connect with consumers through dynamic media, immersive experiential, Westfield events and strategic integrations.

“With Westfield Rise, we’re giving brands a global stage across the world’s most influential cities,” says Anne-Sophie Sancerre, Chief Customer and Retailer Officer at URW. “This expansion lets them reach nearly a billion visitors at our centres through one powerful platform. From Los Angeles to New York to Paris and beyond, we’re helping our partners to show up in high impact ways - all while creating standout experiences and stronger connections.”

URW previously launched customer experience platform Goodays Connect in summer 2022 to re-establish emotional bonds with customers after the Covid-19 pandemic, eventually rolling it out to 50 shopping centres across 11 countries.

Alongside the expansion of Westfield Rise, URW has also debuted its new IXD Network platform in the US, offering experiential, immersive media displays across 11 of its flagship shopping centres.