This Week in Retail and Consumer Goods: Retail acquisitions peak as key players leverage AI & Big Data to consolidate marketshare

Latest Industry Insights from Draup Braindesk

Companies are focused on delivering Virtual Showrooms, Digital assistants, and Store automation solutions.

On-demand Retail platform: Dada Group partnered with Unilever for data driven on-demand delivery and retail platform. It expands operations in lower-tier cities and intends to use Dada’s proprietary technology to enhance Unilever’s product management system.

Ecommerce platform: Louis Vuitton partnered with JD.com to expand e-commerce to provide a seamless shopping experience and enable increased high-quality consumers.

Virtual Shopping: Samsung partnered with Bambuser for Live Video Shopping, an interactive broadcast where consumers can interact directly with Samsung experts and purchase products in real-time

Doorstep Delivery: LG India launched direct-to-consumer delivery at the customer’s doorstep. Promotes consumers to go e-commerce platforms to buy appliances besides other products.

Visual Search Tool: E.Fundamentals partnered with PepsiCo to provide eCommerce analytics data to optimize their search positioning and product visibility.

Virtual Cooking Coach: Nestle launched a Virtual Human Cookie Coach. The “cookie coach” is a combination of AI and digital animation that lay the foundation for branded interactive virtual beings of all stripes

Latest Reports Published in Draup

3M Account Intelligence Report:
3M’s partnership focuses on developing Virtual Reality Safety Training software apps to create memorable, interactive learning opportunities and virtual assistant technology. Read More>>

Nike Account Intelligence Report: Nike focuses on leveraging numerous technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Sensors, Augmented Reality, and Machine Learning to give a digital purchase experience for their customers as well as an in-store experience. Read More>>

Key Funding Alert

Faire expands into Europe with a new funding round at USD 7 Bn
Faire intends to give local retailers the same tools enjoyed by big retailers – collective buying power for better prices, access to capital, free returns, and data on how products are selling across the country. The investment comes as Faire is expanding into Europe and tapping into the USD 1 Tn European market. Read More>>

Startup Spotlight

Company – Farmstand
HQ Location – London, United Kingdom
Total Funding – USD 2 Mn
About: Farmstand cooks and delivers fresh planet-friendly meals directly to customers and businesses. Farmstand promotes sustainable agriculture and improved nutrition while addressing 25 Mn customers in a £ 6 Bn UK Food delivery market that is projected to grow by 3x to £ 18 Bn market by 2027. Read More>>

Key Insights and Signals in Draup

Centre set up and Expansion
Amazon brings cashierless tech to the full-size grocery store
Amazon’s newest physical grocery store opening in the Seattle area will feature the company’s “Just Walk Out” cashierless technology. It’s the first time the tech has come to a full-size store and marks a milestone for Amazon, given the cost and complexity of implementing such a system. Read More>>
PepsiCo to spend big on expanding Texas Frito-Lay plant

The manufacturer said that the investment of USD 200 Mn in its US crisp-making subsidiary Frito-Lay’s Rosenberg site would add two manufacturing lines for Funyuns and Tortilla chips. PepsiCo added the project would increase capacity in its warehouse to enhance capabilities and enable future growth. Read More>>
Marico to dish out USD 25 Mn for 3rd factory in Bangabandhu SEZ

The factory will mainly produce cosmetics and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Around 99% of Marico’s current portfolio is produced locally in Bangladesh, having 36 brands across ten categories, mainly exported to South-Asian and Middle Eastern markets. Read More>>

Flipkart expands grocery supply chain infra with Patna fulfillment center

Located in Dankuni, the facility is the company’s second-largest fulfillment center in the state. Covering more than 220000ft² of space, the new center will serve Flipkart and Myntra customers and help thousands of sellers to offer larger selections and faster deliveries. Read More>>

Deals
Tactus Group extends international reach in deal with US retailer Best Buy
The deal will provide the Tactus group with a hugely valuable route into the thriving US Customer Electronics market and further help the company expand globally. Read More>>
Global Payments and Banco Carrefour sign new multi-year payments agreement
Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) announced that TSYS, its Issuer Solutions business, has signed a multi-year agreement with Banco Carrefour in Brazil.
Banco Carrefour is the financial services arm of Carrefour Brasil, the country’s leading supercentre retail chain. Read More>>
WeCool Toys inks license deal with Mattel
The company behind the Compound Kings and Activity Kings brands has entered into a licensing deal with Mattel, Inc. to develop a new line of compounds and activities for two incredibly evergreen brands of Barbie and Hot Wheels. Read More>>

Executive Movement
GameStop taps Amazon veterans as CEO, CFO in executive overhaul
The company said it tapped Matt Furlong as CEO, effective June 21, and Mike Recupero as CFO beginning July 12. Both of them have supervised growth operations for Amazon in the recent past. Furlong led the e-commerce giant’s Australia business while Recupero served as CFO of Amazon’s North American consumer business. Read More>>
Cole Haan hires Chief Digital Officer as it plots global expansion
With an eye toward Digital Expansion, Cole Haan has hired Stephen Henderson to serve as its Chief Digital Officer. As Cole Haan continues to build out its global presence, a chief digital officer will help by owning the company’s entire e-commerce presence and boosting DTC. Read More>>
Jennifer Olsen joins Caleres as Chief Marketing Officer
Olsen, who will begin on June 28, will oversee all brand marketing for Caleres, including consumer analytics, media, and creative. Read More>>
Amazon exec named Beyond Meat CFO
Phil Hardin, who served for 15 years in Finance and Investor relations at Amazon, recently joined Beyond Meat, a plant-based meat maker from Los Angeles. Former CFO Mark Nelson will provide consulting services to the brand for the next two years. Read More>>
Aryzta taps former Nestle exec as new CFO
Martin Huber has been named Chief Financial Officer at Aryzta AG, effective Aug. 1. Huber has been with Nestle for 20 years, most recently as CFO of Nespresso. Earlier, he was senior vice president and head of group control at Nestle SA. Read More>>

Partnerships
Flipkart, Ace Turtle JV to bring global toy giant Toys “R” Us products to India
eCommerce giant Flipkart announced that its wholesale entity in India has created a joint-venture with Ace Turtle, an omnichannel enablement platform, and have together secured licensing rights for Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us to introduce their products into the Indian market. Read More>>
Giant Eagle partners with Flipp to launch an enhanced digital circular experience
The next-generation digital circular offers an omnichannel digital experience, engaging video integrations, and an ‘add to cart feature that enhances convenience, better visibility, and on-demand access to items on sale. Read More>>
Burberry announces partnership with Mythical Games
The company has revealed its partnering with Mythical Games to launch a limited-edition game called Blankos Block Party. Read More>>
Al-Futtaim ”s Blue Rewards Program enters a strategic partnership with Commercial Bank of Dubai
Customers who open CBD Digi Accounts will receive a range of rewards such as cashback on all items, including sale products (online and offline), exclusive offers from retail and partner brands, and the flexibility to redeem across a wide range of options. Read More>>

Mergers and Acquisition
Kraft Heinz announces agreement to purchase Istanbul-based Assan Foods
The Kraft Heinz Company announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase Assan Foods from privately-held Turkish conglomerate Kibar Holding in a deal that values the enterprise at approximately USD 100 Mn. Assan Foods is a rapidly growing sauces-focused business and has been a certified production partner for Kraft Heinz since 2019. Read More>>
Tata takes on Reliance in online pharmacy battle with 1MG acquisition
Tata Digital, a unit of Tata Sons, on Thursday said it would acquire a majority stake in online healthcare marketplace ‘1MG’. The company has been on an aggressive acquisition spree as it recently made investments in online grocer BigBasket and fitness startup CureFit. Read More>>
Orkla completes acquisition of confectionery firm Nói-Siríus
Nói-Siríus HF is one of the leading manufacturers of chocolate and confectionery in Iceland. Orkla held a 20% shareholding in Nói-Siríus for a period of two years and has now acquired the rest of the company from several private investors. Read More>>
Lithia acquires two SoCal luxury stores, continuing busy buy-sell activity in auto
Lithia projects the stores will bring in USD 185 Mn in combined annualized revenues. The BMW Store is Lithia’s first in Southern California. Since announcing a five-year plan in 2020, Lithia is close to USD 7.1 Bn in total expected annualized revenues acquired. Read More>>

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