News
The UK’s second and third largest retailers Asda and Sainsbury’s, valued at £7.3b and £5.9b respectively, have announced plans for a merger.
Currently they each have around 16% of the market, whereas Tesco has nearly double at 28%. The CMA will have to consider whether to stop the merger, which would mean Tesco would continue its dominance as market leader, or to allow the merger whereby creating a near-duopoly and the top two retailers having 60% of the market between them.
If the deal goes ahead Mike Coupe, CEO of Sainsbury's, will take the helm and Asda’s owner Walmart will acquire a 42% stake in the combined business. It will also allow the two retailers to compete against competition from bigger and smaller companies, in particular by improving it's synergistic benefits - a potential £500m in cost savings.
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Fenwick, a department store which started in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1882 and expanded to 8 other stores, is considering centralising its operations and launching its first ever ecommerce platform.
Amongst the changes the retailer is thinking about moving its IT, finance and HR departments to its Newcastle flagship and has also appointed its first CEO outside the Fenwick family - former Argos commercial director Robbie Feather.
Last October the department store reported pre-tax profit drop of 31.2% to £30.4m for the year ending 27th January 2017. The majority of this drop has been attributed to investment towards launching an ecommerce platform, which would be the first in the company's history.
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In a unique move Barclays has revealed a new deal with Paypal. This partnership will allow customers to link their accounts with the two firms.
This move is in response to the challenge traditional banks are facing from new fintech companies, which are more agile and able to respond to changing customer requirements. It will also help Barclays to improve its digital offering, with the possibility for further digital collaboration at a later stage.
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Glownet, an event tech company, has succeeded in raising £2m Series A from London-based investors Downing Ventures.
This investment will help the company to grow, and bring its products to new markets and vertices, as well as increasing its commercial efforts and investing in its core technology.
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Technology within retail stores is experiencing some interesting developments as it tries to keep up with changing customer demands in terms of ease, personalization, gratification and experience.
One of the key technological advancements major brands are focusing on at the moment is scan-and-go, which allows customers to avoid the hassle of long queues via mobile checkout. Although this does raise security issues and some customers will still need store staff in order to remove security tags and check receipts.
Another level up from this is the walk-out option, where AI and facial recognition is the new form of paying, so customers don't even need their phones to pay. However a lot of cameras would be required and this could be difficult for companies to retrofit into their stores. Currently only Amazon Go and Standard Cognition are exploring this option.
Beyond these two options is the possibility of upgrading AI and facial recognition from just a form of paying to a way of further personalising a shoppers experience. For example store associates could be fed information on a customer such as their name and preferred purchases and can then approach the shopper by name and make similar suggestions in line with what they have previously bought.
With all these possibilities retailers will only be limited by their imagination and available funds for further technological improvement of the customer's experience.
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OnCare, a software company that can store digital files on patients, as well as send alerts and text message updates, has closed a £550k Seed, with investors including Founders Factory and Angel investors Alex Chesterman (founder and CEO of ZPG Plc) and Simon Franks (founder of LoveFilm and Redbus Group).
The company, which was founded in 2017, will use the funds to develop their software and expand internationally and within the UK.
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Mercia Fund Managers has been awarded the £27m Venture Fund to support businesses across the region as part of the £120m North East Fund as they seek to address the current imbalance in available capital across the UK.
Mercia will be opening a new office in Newcastle, which will be its ninth office in the UK, and the fund will be available to SMEs across Durham, Northumberland and the Tyne and Wear area.
The Venture Fund will be investing in rounds up to £1m and will be targeted at businesses at any stage of their development.
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Yupmingo, a food intelligence platform, has raised £1m in a Seed round led by Formula One boss Ross Brawn.
The London-based company was founded by Gary Goodman in 2016. Yupmingo focuses on gathering feedback and reviews from diners when they pay, to allow restaurants to better tailor themselves to their customers.
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Aula, an EdTech communication platform, has secured £2.93m in Seed funding, led by investors Project A, Brighteye Ventures, and Sunstone with participation from existing investors including Nordic Makers.
The company was founded in 2016 by Oxford University students Anders Krohn, Adrian Franklin and Oliver Nicolini, who had the idea after they were dissatisfied with their own experiences as students.
Aula provides a communication platform that replaces emails and Learning Management Systems and thereby allows better teaching and greater student engagement.
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Natalie Massenet, founder of Net-a-Porter, has teamed up with venture capitalist Nick Brown to launch a £52.2m fund for retail businesses.
The fund is called Imaginary Ventures and will invest in early stage businesses at the intersection between retail and technology.
The fund is initially investing in Farfetch, of which Massenet is co-chair, cult beauty brand Glossier, Khloe Kardashian's denim line Good American and pop-up shop marketplace Appear Here, among others.
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