At lightning speed, Wundermart is opening unmanned stores in hotels, offices and other locations. The underlying technology platform allows these stores to run virtually autonomously. For installation and management of the self-checkouts, cameras and digital shelf labels, Wundermart engaged Simac. Co-founder Laurens de Kleine says, "Simac was willing to think along with us in our growth model."
"We enable our customers to do retail at their locations without having to learn all the retail lessons themselves. We do that with our platform that we built ourselves based on our own insights and observations of the retail market."
The wonder of Wundermart lies in its unique technology platform that autonomously controls a store, from ordering and controlling suppliers to shelf layout, price management and promotion.
Four years ago, De Kleine and co-founder Patrick Dekker first showed their concept to the outside world. Their story caught on, especially in the hotel and office market. Stores have since been set up in hotels owned by NH, Marriott, Radisson, Hilton and Accor. This fall, Wundermart signed an agreement with global office rental company IGW, which plans to open stores in Regus offices, among others. "We are now active in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom," explains De Kleine.
Own formula
Above the first stores the name Wundermart still appeared, but it has since disappeared. Wundermart has no ambition to establish its own retail formula.
"The data our platform collects shows that each hotel chain is unique. Then it is better to develop a formula that optimally matches that chain's brand. Together with that chain, we look at their guests and at our data. What do their guests need? What does and doesn't sell well? We help them put together their own unique retail formula."
Wundermart then takes care of setting up the store, compiling the assortment and selecting suppliers. De Kleine: "In this area, we relieve them of all their worries. We are constantly working to further develop our technology platform with the goal of automating as many operations as possible."
24 hours a day
Once the store is up and running, the game only begins. Based on the data collected, using machine learning, the platform generates insights and advice that customers can use to increase the efficiency of their stores. Perhaps it would be useful to increase the shelf size of Coke or change the delivery frequency. "The platform often knows this much better than the customers themselves. They get real-time insight into the data and advice via a dashboard and can make adjustments remotely if necessary. They don't have to worry about the technology. The platform automatically undergoes updates and upgrades, so that the store is constantly improving. And the hotel can focus on things in which it is good and distinctive."
De Kleine also points to the tight labor market. The stores feature self-checkouts, allowing guests to store 24 hours a day without anyone having to be present. "The platform takes over 95 percent of the work. No additional people are needed to run a store."
'Pick your battle'
With the number of stores growing rapidly, Wundermart has found a partner in Simac to install and manage the hardware. That includes the self-developed payment terminals, camera systems and digital shelf labels.
"We ask hotels to focus on their core business and leave retail to us. That same idea is the basis for the cooperation with Simac. We are good at building a platform and developing retail formulas, but don't want to be the best at installation and management. So pick your battle and embrace parties that are good at things in which you don't want to be the best yourself. Simac is one of those parties."
Response time
Contact with Simac came about through an investor in Wundermart. It clicked well between the scale-up and the IT service provider that had just celebrated its 50th anniversary. "We also talked to other parties, but Simac has the knowledge and network and offers a good response time. Moreover, Simac was willing to think along with us in our growth model and charge an attractive rate. If we had had to pay the main price now, we would not have been able to fulfill the scenario leading to a future with perhaps a thousand or ten thousand autonomous stores."
"We are still in the knowledge transfer phase, but the first experiences are good," De Kleine confirms. "The installation of the hardware is not the most complicated. We make those plug-and-play as much as possible. The big challenge is management. What if a store a few hours' flight away is down? We don't want to put a hotel with a thousand rooms in the position where guests can no longer buy stuff."
10.5 million euros
Wundermart has big ambitions. The 10.5 million euros raised in an investment round this summer will help make those ambitions a reality. One of the biggest investors is Kees Koolen, the man who made Booking.com a big succes.
"It's going fast now. We are expanding to more countries in Europe, as well as starting in new channels. We are even partnering with retailers. Those themselves don't have the technology and competencies to run unmanned stores autonomously. They will use our platform to reopen stores in locations where they had previously moved away. We have drawn up a five-year plan, but are now accelerating it."
