At Univers Retail, we like to keep a close eye on innovation. In this series of articles, each week we'll take a look at a major retail company and its strategy for collaborating with start-ups in a spirit of open innovation.
What are the challenges facing Carrefour?
To continue to grow in the ultra-competitive retail sector, Carrefour needs to constantly diversify its online and offline product offerings and introduce innovative in-store services. All this has to be done in anomnichannel context , so as to be able to identify the customer with each purchase, and has to be supported by complex logistics that maintain standards of delivery and preservation of fresh produce. To meet these challenges, Carrefour is collaborating with some forty start-ups who are benefiting from a gigantic field of experimentation.
What areas of innovation are addressed by our partner start-ups?
DIVERSIFICATION OF ONLINE OFFERING
> Quitoque
Choice and delivery of ready-to-eat meal baskets with subscription
> Glovo
30-minute grocery delivery service
> Greenweez
Number 1 in online sales of organic products
> Croquetteland
Complete range of pet products online
IN-STORE SERVICES
> Critizr
Solution for collecting, analyzing and responding to customer feedback
> Fitle
Size recommendation tool and connected cabins
> Zero waste
Markdown management for products with short use-by dates
> Neos
Mobile payment system
LOGISTICS
> Exotec
Fleet of goods-to-man robots for moving products in warehouses and storerooms
> Bluelog
Cold chain control from truck to warehouse
> Visible.digital & Ownwest
Two blockchain-based product traceability solutions
How do we work together?
Since 2015, Carrefour has professionalized its collaborations with start-ups, with the group participating in Galeries Lafayette's Plug & Play start-up gas pedal and Showroom privé's Look Forward incubator with support valued at €100,000 per winning project. The group also invests in Partech, an investment fund for high-growth tech companies. In cases where Carrefour acquires online specialists such as Greenweez or Croquetteland, for example, it nevertheless maintains freedom of action for entrepreneurs. As a final sign of its commitment to open innovation, Carrefour is collaborating with Early Metrics, a start-up that evaluates the potential of start-ups.