Jun 16, 2017 - Lafayette Plug and Play is currently closing its second startup batch, with a ... new call for applicatio
PRESS RELEASE Lafayette Plug and Play and Carrefour France become partners to accelerate open innovation in retail
Paris, June 16th, 2017 The Lafayette Plug and Play innovation platform - an accelerator dedicated to retail and fashion created by the partnership between the Galeries Lafayette Group and Plug and Play Tech Center - and Carrefour France - the French largest food retailer - announce the signature of a new partnership with the aim of uniting their expertise and strengthening open innovation in retail. With this collaboration, Carrefour will accelerate its open innovation approach, already well established within its businesses, thanks to the accelerator’s best French and international startups specialized in retail. Carrefour will benefit from close relationships with startups and the setting up of pilots addressing various topics of robotics, supply chain and digital in order to support the French retailer’s e-commerce projects. Lafayette Plug and Play will enable the acceleration of Carrefour’s open innovation initiatives thanks to various assets; for example, by setting up meetings on specific issues such as the analysis and use of data in the store. The Carrefour Innovation Department will also be involved in the entire selection process of Lafayette Plug and Play startups. Lafayette Plug and Play’s startups will benefit from the sharing of experiences and an expanded network within the Carrefour Group. Commenting on the announcement, Edoardo Manitto, Director of Innovation and Development at the Galeries Lafayette Group, declared: "We are very pleased to welcome Carrefour as one of our corporate partners - alongside Maus Frères (Lacoste, Gant, Aigle, Manor) Up and C&A - and to benefit from the accelerated startups’ network and experiences developed since the launch of Lafayette Plug and Play. This partnership perfectly matches Lafayette Plug and Play's vocation: to create an innovation ecosystem around our businesses in order to transform the retail sector together, start-ups and major companies." Arnault Gournac, Director of Innovation of Carrefour France, also declared: "Startups allow us to innovate in all the retail businesses, from upstream to downstream, and particularly to offer our customers a better experience of multichannel shopping. With this partnership, we pursue our open innovation approach, with a new dynamic that brings us closer to the best startups and makes our activities evolve".
Lafayette Plug and Play is currently closing its second startup batch, with a Demo Day on June 20th. A new call for applications for the third programme is available until June 30th on www.lafayetteplugandplay.com for a Selection day that will be held on July 26th, 2017.
Press Contacts Alexandra van Weddingen Corporate Communications VP - Galeries Lafayette group
[email protected] +33 1 45 96 68 44 Dounia Agharbi Head of Marketing and Communications - Lafayette Plug and Play
[email protected] France Plasse Head of External Communications & PR - Carrefour France
[email protected] Carrefour France – Press Service
[email protected] +33 1 58 47 88 80
About Lafayette Plug and Play As the first innovative platform fully dedicated to retail and fashion industries, Lafayette Plug and Play is a startups accelerator created by the Galeries Lafayette group in partnership with Plug and Play Tech Center. Located at the heart of Paris, Lafayette Plug and Play aims to support the development of French and international startups disrupting retail and fashion, by creating an innovative ecosystem around these industries. As part of its two annual classes, Lafayette Plug and Play offers entrepreneurs a tailored and supervised threemonth programme. More information on lafayetteplugandplay.com About Carrefour France Carrefour has over 5,600 stores in France operating in four formats (hypermarket, supermarket, convenience and cash & carry). For over fifty years, Carrefour has been a partner in the daily lives of millions of customers, offering them a wide range of products and services at the lowest prices. So as to keep pace with new consumer modes and make shopping easier for its customers, Carrefour has developed a number of multichannel solutions (e-commerce, Drive, Click and Collect, express delivery and mobile applications). Carrefour is the world's second largest retailer and the largest in France. It employs 115,000 people and welcomes more than three million customers every day throughout the country. Carrefour is committed to a more sustainable and responsible form of trade through its daily initiatives. The Group’s global approach to CSR is based on three pillars: combating all forms of waste, protecting biodiversity and supporting its partners. For more information, visit: www.carrefour.com (press area), www.carrefour.fr or follow us on Twitter: @CarrefourFrance, @GroupeCarrefour
