ISTRIBUTOR ETAILER

NDUSTRY NNOVATION

ODELS

DRIIM

WHAT’S

HOT in

Retail and

CPG?

September

– October

2018

THE HOTTEST TOPICS

FROM THE MOST

IMPORTANT BUSINESS

MAGAZINES and

MANAGEMENT JOURNALS

WHAT’S

HOT?

INTERNATIONAL

PRESS

September

– October

2018

The Amazon’s “walk out” technology automatically

detects when products are taken off (or returned) to

the shelves, and keeps track of them in a virtual cart.

Shortly after, they receive a digital receipt and their

Amazon account is also charged for the order,

according to Amazon’s website.

Link to the article

September

2018,

CSA,

D. M. Amato-

McoyAMAZON

BARELY A WEEK AFTER ITS SECOND

LOCATION OPENED ITS DOORS, AMAZON

GO HAS INTRODUCED ITS THIRD STORE

— AND ITS BIGGEST TO DATE.

The design studio/research lab came up with designs

for autonomous vehicles that would be extensions of

our homes, offices, and local institutions. The

designs are useful for sparking conversations about

the ways autonomous vehicles could transform

everyday life.

Link to the article

September

2018,

MIT Technology

Review,

E. WoykeIKEA

IKEA DESIGNS FUTURE

AUTONOMOUS CARS THAT WORK AS

HOTELS, STORES, AND MEETING

ROOMS

From a convenience perspective, the company is pushing its

mobile app as a catch-all of services for everything from

reserving products to loyalty points and product information.

Those functions in and of themselves aren't particularly

innovative, but Nike is encouraging its customers to use the

app at home and in stores.

Link to the article

September

2018,

Retail Dive,

C. SalpiniNIKE & REI/part 1

NIKE LIVE CONCEPT IN LOS ANGELES

COMBINES AN IN-STORE, PHYSICAL

EXPERIENCE, WITH AN APPROACH THAT

RUNS ON DATA AND DRAWS ON MOBILE TO

MAKE THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE MORE

CONVENIENT AND STREAMLINED.

This is evidently the logic behind REI's host of outdoor

experiences, from local hiking and camping trips to

international and domestic Adventures, which REI members

(and non-members) can pay to attend. The outdoorsy trips that

REI leads target the typical REI customer: one who is probably

interested in the environment, a la the company's commitment

to rewilding efforts, and likely sustainability as well.

Link to the article

September

2018,

Retail Dive,

C. SalpiniNIKE & REI/part 2

REI'S APPROACH TO IN-STORE

EXPERIENCE — ASIDE FROM HAVING

TRIAL AREAS FOR CUSTOMERS TO TEST

OUT HIKING BOOTS AND OTHER GEAR —

HAS BEEN TO ABANDON THE STORE

ALTOGETHER.

Target, which has been steadily remodeling stores

and revamping many of its private labels, boosting

sales and traffic in the process, said it would also

make both its brick-and-mortar and online toys

destinations more enticing.

Link to the article

September

2018,

Retail Dive,

D. HowlandTARGET

TARGET IS POSITIONING ITSELF TO TAKE

ADVANTAGE OF THE DEMISE OF TOYS R

US. THE RETAILER PLANS NEARLY

DOUBLE ITS OFFERING OF NEW AND

EXCLUSIVE TOYS TO MORE THAN 2,500.

Costa Coffee has 450 stores in China already. Add

Coca-Cola’s long presence there and deep pockets,

and China could see the pace of new store openings

by Costa Coffee speed up.

Link to the article

September 2018,

Forbes,

P. MourdoukoutasCOCA-COLA

COCA-COLA’S PURCHASE OF THE U.K.-

BASED COFFEE CHAIN COSTA COFFEE

COULD SLOW DOWN STARBUCKS

MOMENTUM IN ITS HOTTEST MARKET:

CHINA.

Ikea was forced to rethink its product lineup and store

operations:

1. Given India’s lower income levelsmany products are priced at

less than 100 rupees.;

2. Ikea employees also visited about 1,000 homes in various

cities to understand how people lived and what they needed;

3. Lower heights for cabinets and counters because Indian

women are shorter.

Link to the article

September

2018,

Independent,

V. GoelIKEA

IKEA’S OPENING IN INDIA – AND ITS

SUBSEQUENT SUCCESS OR FAILURE – IS

LIKELY TO BECOME A CASE STUDY FOR

OTHER INTERNATIONAL RETAILERS.

The fast-food chain announced that it has cut

artificial preservatives and flavors, as well as artificial

added colors, from all of its classic burgers. In

addition to that, McDonald's has been remodeling

restaurants, adding table service, and installing

kiosks.

Link to the article

September

2018,

Business

Insider,

K. TaylorMcDONALD’s

MCDONALD'S PRESIDENT REVEALS HOW

THE CHAIN IS MANAGING A POTENTIAL

FAST-FOOD IDENTITY CRISIS

Growing a brick-and-mortar presence seems to be of

particular importance to certain types of companies:

1. »Clicks-to-bricks» retailers are apparel and accessories

companies, enabling customers to try before they buy

2. Half of these e-tailers are luxury brands, which lets

customers see expensive purchases before buying.

Link to the article

October 2018,

Business

Insider,

G. MaganaE-tailers

DIGITALLY NATIVE BRANDS ARE

EXPANDING THEIR BRICK-AND-MORTAR

PRESENCES AND PLAN TO ESTABLISH

850 STORES ACROSS THE US OVER THE

NEXT FIVE YEARS.

Link to the article

October 2018,

MIT,

E. Winick WALMART

WALMART WILL USE VR HEADSETS TO

TRAIN ALL ITS US EMPLOYEES. BY THE

END OF THE YEAR, IT PLANS TO HAVE

MORE THAN 17,000 OCULUS GO

HEADSETS IN USE TO HELP TRAIN

WORKERS.

The headsets will train associates in everything from operating

new technology on the shop floor to soft skills like empathy and

customer service.The actual teaching content has been designed

for the retailer by startup Strivr . Walmart is a rare success story

for VR. The retailer is investing in something virtual reality has

struggled with: scale. This deployment of thousands of Oculus

Go headsets for training could act as a proof of concept for other

big corporations.

Walmart said that identifying the original destination

of food traditionally takes about a week — largely

because of the expensive and time-consuming

amount of paperwork required — but it'll only take

2.2 seconds to do the same with blockchain.

Link to the article

September

2018,

Business

Insider,

N. ShieldsWALMART

THE COMPANY WILL MAKE ITS

SUPPLIERS UPLOAD LOCATION AND

STATUS INFORMATION ON GROCERIES ON

ITS FOOD TRACKING BLOCKCHAIN,

ULTIMATELY SAVING TIME AND MONEY.

For upcoming brands that operate in one of

WeWork's workspaces, selling in WeMRKTs can help

them build recognition. Coworking spaces have

unique potential to create traffic for brands and

retailers.

Link to the article

October 2018,

Business

Insider,

D. KeyesWeWork

WORKSPACE PROVIDER WEWORK IS

PLANNING TO OPEN 500 NEW WEMRKTS,

ITS IN-BUILDING STORE CONCEPT, AS

WELL AS AN E-COMMERCE STORE OVER

THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.

Walmart's part to automate store associate tasks:

1. Bring autonomous inventory management robots to

more stores;

2. Adding conveyor belts that sort products from trucks

when they're unloaded

3. Automatically collects grocery orders;

Link to the article

October 2018,

Business

Insider,

D. KeyesWALMART

WALMART IS BRINGING AN AUTONOMOUS

VEHICLE TO ITS STORES TO FREE UP

EMPLOYEES' TIME AND IMPROVE ITS

STORES' EFFICIENCY; IN FACT, EACH

EMPLOYEE SPENDS 2 HOURS a DAY

PERFORMING THE SAME TASK.

As sales have tumbled from $53 billion in 2006 to less than

$17 billion last year, sears has closed hundreds of stores,

reducing its total locations to 866 stores as of september 13,

down from 1,980 stores in 2013.

Analysts are skeptical that the company can make a

comeback following years of underinvestment in stores.

Link to the article

October 2018,

Business

Insider,

H. PetersonSEARS

SEARS, ONCE AMERICA'S MOST ICONIC

RETAILER, FILED FOR CHAPTER 11

BANKRUPTCY .

Link to the article

October 2018,

Bloomberg

R. CHANGALIBABA

ALIBABA IS OFFERING TO HELP

BY VACUUMING DATA UP FROM THE LEGIONS

OF PEOPLE SHOPPING, SEARCHING AND

SHARING ON ITS VARIOUS PLATFORMS AND

PROVIDING IT TO COMPANIES EAGER TO

CREATE PRODUCTS THAT WILL RESONATE

WITH CHINESE CONSUMERS.

Alibaba has helped Mars Inc. create a candy bar

and given Unilever NV valuable data for a new line of

pollution-fighting cosmetics; then the e-commerce giant

advised both companies how to market the products.

Link to the article

October 2018,

Business

Insider,

D. Keyes

IN STORE

PERSONALIZATION

REPORT

CONSUMERS SAY THAT A PERSONALIZED

SHOPPING EXPERIENCE CAN INSPIRE LOYALTY

AND INCREASES IN SPENDING. NEARLY HALF

(44%) OF CONSUMERS SAID THAT THEY'RE

MORE LIKELY TO MAKE A REPEAT PURCHASE

AFTER A PERSONALIZED SHOPPING

EXPERIENCE

However, brick-and-mortar retailers aren't meeting

consumers’ in-store personalization expectations. Physical

retailers can close the gap in personalization by identifying

consumers when they enter, tracking them throughout their

journey, and then using that information to inform

individualized offerings.

WHAT’S

HOT?

September

-October

2018

NATIONAL

PRESS

In fact, everyone can interact with Esselunga app by using

any device just by saying “Ok Google, talk to Esselunga” and

Google Assistant will start taking notes. Shopping lists are

available on the Esselungaacasa.it website or on Esselunga

app and they are ready to be checked while doing the

shopping either in store or through e-commerce.

Link to the article

September

2018,

GDOWEEK,

C. BertolettiESSELUNGA

ESSELUNGA HAS SET UP A PARTNERSHIP WITH

GOOGLE ASSISTANT TO OFFER CLIENTS A

NEW SERVICE FOR SMART SHOPPING. CLIENTS

CAN NOW WRITE, MODIFY AND INTERACT WITH

THEIR SHOPPING LIST ONLINE THANKS TO THE

VIRTUAL ASSISTANT OF GOOGLE.

The service entails:

• Click and Collect

• Buy online, return in store

• Concierge service

• Nike shopping with

• Bra fitting

• Jersey customisation

Link to the article

September

2018,

GDOWEEK,

A. BonaccorsiNIKE

THE MOST INNOVATIVE STORE IS NOW IN MILANO

AND IT HAS BEEN REALIZED IN CORSO VITTORIO

EMANUELE II. THE STORE COVERS 1,342 MQ2 ON 3LEVELS PROVIDIDING A WIDE RANGE OF INNOVATIVE

PRODUCTS AND OFFERING A HIGH DIGITAL CONTENT

IN ORDER TO ENSURE SPEED AND COMFORT TO ITS

CLIENTS

Aldi’s E-truck, converted into electric from a previously diesel

engine powered truck, allows transport without emissions

and CO2, as well as ensuring silent operations. Moreover,

also the refrigeration unit works with electricity, providing an

integrated refrigeration system that creates areas at different

temperatures in the hold.

Link to the article

September

2018,

GDOWEEK,

L. MaroniALDI

ALDI EXPERIENCES ELECTRIC ZERO-

EMISSION VEHICLES

As in the first selling point in Seattle, Amazon's smartphone

app will be used to purchase items without paying. When

customers leave the store, a «JUST WALK OUT» technology

automatically charges the amount of items purchased to their

Amazon account and then sends a receipt to the their app.

Link to the article

September

2018,

GDOWEEK,

A. BonaccorsiAMAZON

“AMAZON GO” GROWS AND LANDS IN

NEW YORK. MOREOVER, TWO OTHER

OPENINGS ARE PLANNED IN CHICAGO

AND SAN FRANCISCO IN THE NEXT

MONTHS.

ISTRIBUTOR ETAILER

NDUSTRY NNOVATION

ODELS

DRIIM