Demo Day: New impetus for retail
19 July 2018Download
A new generation of start-ups has worked on promising digital solutions for the retail sector for the past 3 months. Today, these 9 international founder teams from 5 countries presented their innovative business models to a panel of some 400 investors, experts and multipliers. The Demo Day at the same time also marks the closing event of the 2nd round of the METRO Accelerator for Retail. The start-ups offer a broad spectrum of solutions ranging from data analyses for more efficient business models to augmented reality for a personalised shopping experience all the way to smart illumination systems and data-driven campaigns for small businesses.
"The retail sector is undergoing fundamental change. In this process, we must always focus on our customers' wishes and demands. It is not without reason that, in the framework of the Accelerator programme, we give our start-ups access to our market expertise and to our vast customer and supplier network," said Sylvia Dudek, Programme Director of the METRO Accelerator. "With their connected technologies and analytical applications, the start-up teams give new impetus to the sector. The high level of interest in our Demo Day shows that a mutual exchange between innovators, investors and partners is indispensable."
9 selected start-ups from Germany, India, Israel, Spain and Great Britain convened in Berlin in April 2018 and worked for 3 months to hone their tech solutions for the retail sector. In this process, they received support from around 100 mentors and industry experts as well as funding of up to €120,000 each and access to the infrastructure, network and knowhow of METRO.
"We invested in 9 Retail and Enterprise technology start-ups in April, and 3 months later, they've grown by leaps and bounds. Our accelerator promised to help them unlock at least 18 months worth of growth in just 12 weeks, and the results announced at this Demo Day proves it," said Jag Singh, Managing Director des METRO Accelerators powered by Techstars. "The 9 start-ups will soon go on to close further fundraising rounds, and we will continue backing these companies in the months and years to come."
METRO is a leading international specialist in wholesale and food retail. The company operates in 35 countries and employs more than 150,000 people worldwide. In financial year 2016/17, METRO generated sales of around €37 billion. The company provides custom solutions to meet the regional and international needs of its wholesale and retail customers. With its sales brands METRO/MAKRO Cash & Carry and Real as well as delivery services and digitalisation initiatives METRO sets the standards for tomorrow: for customer focus, digital solutions and sustainable business models.
HOSPITALITY.digital was established in 2015 and actively contributes to the digitisation of the hospitality sector. An international team of experts implements a variety of digital solutions and innovations for hotels, restaurants, caterers and trader businesses. To this effect, the company relies on self-developed solutions as well as on solutions from start-ups promoted in the framework of the METRO Accelerator programs, and on solutions from other partners. These digital solutions reach small and medium-sized restaurants, hotel and catering businesses through the sales channels of the METRO/MAKRO countries. In addition, the company invests into start-ups from the fields of hospitality tech, retail tech, food tech and food innovation and monitors the trends in the hospitality industry. HOSPITALITY.digital is a wholly owned subsidiary of METRO. More information is available at hd.digital.
The METRO Accelerator operates under HOSPITALITY.digital, a daughter company of METRO AG, who's mission is focused on bringing digital solutions to the horeca and independent trader sectors, and to build a platform of innovators, founders and own business owners. The purpose of the METRO Accelerator is to recruit those start-ups with tech solutions that help optimize stand-alone businesses. In order to cater to the two target groups of METRO AG, two METRO Accelerator programmes exist; hospitality which focuses on solutions for the hotel, restaurant and catering sector and retail which focuses on the retail, wholesale and trade sector. The METRO Accelerator powered by Techstars for hospitality was launched in 2015, whilst the Accelerator for Retail had its first programme in 2017. Since its first programme the METRO Accelerator now has approximately 50 start-ups in its portfolio. More information available at metroaccelerator.com.
Techstars is a global ecosystem that empowers entrepreneurs to bring new technologies to market wherever they choose to live. With dozens of mentorshipdriven accelerator programs and thousands of start-up programs worldwide, Techstars exists to support the world's most promising entrepreneurs throughout their lifelong journey, from inspiration to IPO. Techstars provides access to tens of thousands of community leaders, founders, mentors, investors and corporate partners, allowing entrepreneurs to accelerate the pace of innovation and Do More Faster™. Techstars supports every stage of the entrepreneurial journey - from the idea to venture capital investments to M&A and IPO. For more information visit www.techstars.com.
