Dixy creates accelerator to invest in retail startups
MOSCOW. June 8 (Interfax) - The Dixy Group has announced that it has created an accelerator to invest in Russian startups.
The retailer is planning to invest in and get involved in retail projects in mass consumer goods, store services and technologies that improve the efficiency of processes and customer service as well as technologies to optimize logistics and other channels for delivering goods.
On June 8 Dixy launched its business accelerator which is open for entrepreneurs, software developers and technologies in the retail sector. Priority will be given to projects that require less than six month for implementation.
Projects that pass the selection process will be offered partnership with a Dixy equity participation in the project of 1 million rubles.
The retailer has not revealed the total budget. It will depend on the number of selected applicants among other factors.
"The company has always been open to new ideas and actively makes use of a number of modern systems and solutions. We are ready to further develop in this field and we will not only involve major tech suppliers, but also help talented specialists and entrepreneurs who are starting out to implement their ideas and develop them at every stage: from idea to integration in Dixy's business processes," company CEO Sergei Belyakov said.
Dixy specialists will share their expertise and methodologies for managing business processes with the participants of the program. The company will provide promising startups with spaces for working, testing, piloting and launching finished market solutions.
The retailer is currently implementing a facial recognition system to detail and categorize shoppers' profiles whilst on the shop floor. This information was earlier collected from shoppers through surveys and questionnaires on the shop floor. The system gathers data automatically; identifying the gender and age of customers as well as determining the time and day of the week certain group visit the shop.
Owing to the analysis of profiles, Dixy has been able to more precisely plan its product range, correct its marketing campaigns and choose effective channels of communication.
The data profiles formed the basis of an updated Dixie marketing campaign which was launched in April. Its main goal is to "rejuvenate" the audience, to make Dixy shops more attractive to young families with children and middle-upper middle incomes.