Cloudpick smart retail solutions powerhouse attracts investment to scale operations and expand workforce.
“Although physical retail stores are still primarily operated by humans, we still strongly believe that it has become an irreversible trend to use AI and other digital technologies to empower offline physical businesses…“– Jeff Fengfounder and CEO of Cloudpick.
NEW YORK, March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Leading smart retail solutions provider Cloudpick has secured additional investment from investors that it will use to grow its workforce, drive local market development of smart retail stores and expand its activities.
The latest funding round is another win for Cloudpick after the company recently secured investment from Intel Capital and Cathay Innovation.
The most recent investment emerged from a recent financing round led by a CVC fund, jointly operated by renowned Japanese company Seiko Epson Corporation and from Japan leading venture capital institution Global Brain, as well as Uzabase’s venture capital arm, UB Ventures.
The capital injection could not have come at a better time to VSHeavy as it continues to see growth in the third year of the pandemic.
Founded in 2017, the company’s vision is to improve consumer and employee happiness through its multidimensional perception of space and digital twin technology. The company is committed to leading the technological breakthrough of artificial intelligence basic knowledge and creating an affordable and market-ready solution in the retail industry.
The company has an impressive track record of market success. To date, it has launched more than 250 stores worldwide, among which the total number of registered users exceeds 5 million. The number of orders rose to more than 15 million. The Gross Goods Value (GMV) generated by the transparent payment system is complete 32 million US dollars. They have more than 100 customers, including leading retailers, brands, information systems integrators, airports and renowned universities.
peak cloudk’s solution offers proven accuracy while simultaneously reducing computational costs. Cutting edge technology allows stand-alone stores to take advantage of higher computing power devices with lesss, and lower material costs to casth.
Founder and CEO of Cloudpick Jeff Fengsaid, “The store deployment cycle is less than a week, which puts us three years ahead of our peers, especially with a high accuracy rate for payment.”
It is reported that the speed of its self-checkout can reach three to five times that of a traditional manual cash register, to help retailers save about 80% labor costs per store.
Meanwhile, a stand-alone store can process 800 customer inquiries per hour, 15,000 orders per day, and reduce theft or damage by $1,000. monly.
Based on out-of-stock reminders and restocking control, product turnover increases by 11% while scrap quantity decreases by 50%. Additionally, based on added value, such as shopping behavior analytics, precision marketing, and omnichannel commerce, a smart retail solution can increase sales by up to 200%.
Feng sees the standalone store as a digital reimagining of traditional physical stores and says these stores can be customized to fit and enhance many environments, including offices, hotels, sports stadiums, and more.
The Cloudpick executive believes there is potential in unattended or underserved markets and communities where labor costs are rising and millennials are unwilling to handle repetitive tasks.
He said, “Today, various factors are driving the rapid development of the traditional retail industry, including the impact of e-commerce and the increased demands of Gen Z for convenience at the over the past two years. The emergence of automated stores has become an irreversible trend to use smart technologies to empower physical stores.”
Investors
Epson X Investment Corporation (EXI) is a venture capital company (CVC). It is 100% owned by Seiko Epson Corporation, a manufacturer of computer equipment and precision products.
Epson has teamed up with its general partner Global Brain Corporation, an independent venture capital firm specializing in HVAC management, to form a fund (EP-GB Investment Limited Partnership) and conduct investment activities.
world brain is a venture capital firm that invests in companies ranging from start-ups to pre-IPO start-ups. As one of from Japan largest venture capital firms, Global Brain has invested in Japanese unicorn company Mercari, which is the largest C2C online marketplace in Japan.
Yasuhiko Yurimoto, President and CEO of Global Brain Corporation, said, “We highly recognize his leadership team with strong business and academic background, market leading solution and expanding retail x AI market. . Through this investment, Global Brain and Epson X Investment Corporation will support further development of the solution and business expansion with Cloudpick.”
Founded in 2018, UB Ventures specializes in SaaS, Metaverse and AIoT domains. Leveraging its extensive experience in building B2B and B2C subscription businesses, UB Ventures provides support to B2B/SaaS and digital media start-ups to foster lasting relationships with their users through subscriptions. , helping them grow alongside their users.
Based on this funding and the approval of these well-known investors, Cloudpick will accelerate the development of the global market with a focus on the Japanese market.
from Japan retail revolution
Convenience stores are located almost everywhere in Japan and operate 24 hours. There are more than 10,000 convenience stores in Tokyo city and more than 51,000 nationwide today according to Medium’s report[1].
Cloudpick points to from Japan strong convenience store culture and the fact that the country takes product quality control seriously. from Japan Growing labor shortages threaten the nation’s ubiquitous convenience stores, whose business model relies on an army of part-time workers packing bento boxes, manning cash registers and delivering goods 24/7 out of 7.
The industry hopes technology can fill the gap.
Last year, Cloudpick and NTT Data jointly launched the largest standalone Catch & Go store for Daiei (a subsidiary of AEON Group) in Japan.
Feng added, “Cloudpick has great appeal to several blue-chip Japanese companies for the needs and pain points of the Japanese convenience industry in which labor shortages and rising labor costs labor caused by a rapidly aging population.
Cloud Japan use case
Daiwa Tsushin Group Opening from Japan first unstaffed anti-epidemic store powered by Cloudpick, adapting to the next standard in retail. Automated payment meets the ever-changing customer experience requirements for contactless shopping in the post-epidemic era.
Stationery giant PLUS Corporation launched cloudpick-powered digital shelves in Japan to create a personalized and immersive shopping experience for its customers. According to Plus, sales of the product increased and were ten times higher than the store’s previous performance.
VSHiamin Lai, Managing Partner, UB Ventures, said, “The labor shortage and slowing industry growth caused by declining birth rate and aging are becoming increasingly severe. It is essential to use technology to improve operational efficiency, that is, to fundamentally innovate in the way of operating physical stores. The standalone retail solution created by Cloudpick will drive the digital upgrade of physical retail and contribute significantly to the retail industry. »
Japan is not the only country facing the problem of an aging population. According to the United Nations, people aged 65 represent 7% of the total world population.
To date, 91 countries including Germany, France, Hungary, Singaporethe UKand United States entered an aging society, more and more countries are constrained by the repeated “contraction” of the working population and the corresponding increase in the cost of labor.
At the same time, the world’s population is more concentrated in megacities, which also makes it difficult to recruit workers for retailers in certain locations.
“Although physical retail stores are still primarily operated by humans, we still strongly believe that it has become an irreversible trend to use AI and other digital technologies to empower offline physical businesses,” said Feng said, “We have already discovered this trend in many countries and regions with our customers.”
Looking ahead, Cloudpick will contribute to the smart retail revolution through the support of funds and resources with the new funding round. Except stand-alone stores, Cloudpick will scale other products, such as smart management systems, digital shelves, AI vending machines, Moby-Martand delivery robots. The evolution of digital technology allows retailers to adapt to changes with a smarter and more efficient business model.
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SOURCE Cloudpick
