X5 Retail Group, a leading Russian food retailer, Beeline, a leading mobile operator, M.Video-Eldorado Group, the largest Russian consumer electronic retail chain, and Hoff announce the creation of a joint project to scout and adopt innovations, X5’s website reports.
The project, called Retail Innovation Tech Alliance (RITA), is going to look for new technology solutions both in Russia and on major global start-up platforms. The partners will finance the project on equal terms.
RITA’s Committee will select a Russian operator that will coordinate activities of the partners and arrange for the search and selection of promising solutions in Russia. The partners also plan to openly share their best practices and case studies on start-ups.
Leading international accelerator Lafayette Plug and Play is being considered as a project partner for innovation scouting in Europe, while Axis, another market leader, may be engaged to look for start-ups in Israel.
“Today, ideas no longer provide a competitive edge as information spreads very quickly. What really constitutes a competitive edge is the company’s ability to swiftly bring an idea to the market. We believe that openness and partnership with other market players to search for innovative business ideas create new opportunities. We are ready for such partnerships and grateful to our partners for sharing our views. Our tech alliance will become a platform of opportunities for Russian and international start-ups, as well as a retail innovation hub,” Vladimir Salakhutdinov, Director of Strategy at X5 Retail Group, commented on the launch of RITA. – “Earlier, X5 Retail Group was the first Russian company to become an anchor partner of Lafayette Plug and Play in Europe. The three-year agreement provides for joint innovation scouting all over the world”.
RITA partners will consider technology solutions in different business areas, including e-commerce, transport and logistics, consumer experience, quality of goods, point-of-sale operations, back office automation, marketing, digital entertainment, Internet of things and others. The plan for this year is to organise five joint selection rounds both domestically and abroad.