It’s Friday, it’s almost the weekend, so let’s sit back and think about another busy week for the retail systems space. Here is your briefing on the most important stories of the past few days.
1. Amazon apologizes to Mark Pocan for the employee tweet with peer bottles
Amazon apologized for a tweet it sent to a U.S. Congressman who denies its delivery staff are peeing in bottles due to pressure to meet quotas.
Wisconsin representative Mark Pocan reported the issue in response to Amazon claims the company was a progressive place to work.
2. Trax announces a $ 640 million financing round
Computer vision startup Trax has secured $ 640 million in a Series E funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 21 and BlackRock.
The round, the largest in Trax history, also included new investors such as Canadian pension fund Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and VC company Sony Innovation Fund.
3. EE predicts a huge surge in demand when UK stores reopen on April 12th
Ahead of reopening 480 stores in England on Monday April 12th, EE predicts a 50% increase in demand for personal tech support after months of coronavirus lockdown.
EE’s online service is now open to customers who want to start booking local business appointments. This is linked to the company’s virtual queuing system.
Some of its stores will also be open longer to meet pent-up demand.
4. Ocado is slowly making its mobile app available to its customers
Ocado is bringing its mobile app back online as demand for its service increases during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The online grocer has released an app update that allows a small number of customers to shop on the go “to ensure we have the best possible experience”.
5. Asos Announces Record Results as Covid-19 Boosts Online Demand
Asos reports that adjusted profit before tax for the six months ended February 28 reached £ 112.9 million, an increase of £ 82.8 million over the previous half year.
As the coronavirus lockdown continued to shut down non-essential retailers, increasing online shopping space, sales rose 25% to £ 1.98 billion.
The fast fashion pureplay added an additional 1.5 million new active customers and increased its total base to 24.9 million.
