Target

Walmart

Kroger

Tesco

Costco

Albertsons

Technology to customize and procure furniture

Furniture Tech

<div>
 
 Casper is a sleep startup company that produces and sells mattresses and other sleep products directly to customers, toward eliminating commission-driven prices. The types of mattresses that it sells include Original, Original Hybrid, Nova Hybrid, Wave Hybrid, and Wave Hybrid Snow. The company also sells pillows, bedding, bed frames, adjustable bed frames, sheets, duvets, weighted blankets, glow lights, and dog beds. It has introduced new ways to shop across select Casper retail stores, including Virtual Appointments, E-Zzz Pickup, and Private Shopping. Casper is a public company.
 
</div>

Creating affordable content for the digital age

Content Creation Tools

StoryXpress is a video marketing platform that enables users to create, edit, host, and share professional-quality videos for various purposes such as sales, tutorials, and explanations. The platform offers features like screen recording, video editing tools, custom branding options, video embedding, playlist creation, and video analytics. StoryXpress Recorder allows users to record their screen, face, and audio simultaneously, making it a versatile tool for communicating with teams or personal use. The platform also provides video landing pages with call-to-action buttons and the ability to check video analytics.

Empowering efficiency, visibility and collaboration throughout supply networks

Supply Chain Tech

<div>
 
 Inspectorio provides a supply chain management platform aimed at enhancing the efficiency, transparency, and sustainability of the production chain operations across a range of industries. The company leverages technology to address the challenges in quality assurance, responsible sourcing, production management, traceability, and supplier relationship management. 
 
 
 
 
 Inspectorio&rsquo;s platform is AI-powered, providing dynamic and intelligent solutions across various operational needs. It also helps organizations collaborate with their global supply chains, thereby streamlining operations and preventing potential issues. 
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 Inspectorio serves a broad spectrum of industries such as apparel and footwear, food and beverage, home and furniture, multi-category retail, and outdoor and sports, providing solutions tailored to the needs of brands and retailers, suppliers, and factories. As of April 2023, the company served over 8,000 customers worldwide. In January 2022, the company&rsquo;s clientele included renowned brands and retailers such as Target, Crocs, and Carter's. 
 
 
 
 
 In June 2022, Inspectorio entered a global sales, marketing, and product partnership with CGS, a provider of business applications and outsourcing services. The collaboration integrated CGS's Shop Floor Control technology with Inspectorio's Sight quality management system, offering enhanced visibility into manufacturing and supply chain processes. The combined solution was expected to yield robust AI algorithms, powerful analytics, and real-time insights into every phase of the manufacturing process.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 In January 2022, Inspectorio raised USD 50 million in a Series B funding round led by Insight Partners, a New York-based private equity and venture capital firm. Other investors such as Techstars, Flexport, Ecolab, and Matchstick Ventures also participated in the round. The new funding was expected to be channeled towards research and development initiatives, as well as enhancing its product development, go-to-market teams, and overall expansion. 
 
</div>

Casper is a sleep startup that launches a comfortable mattress sold directly to consumers, eliminating commission ­driven, inflated prices. Casper's mattresses are developed in-house by a team of product engineers with experience from IDEO.  The company developed a line of core sleep products, including the Casper pillow, sheets, foundation, bed frame, duvet, and a dog mattress. The startup was founded in 2014 and is based in New York, United States.

Inspectorio is the leading AI-powered supply chain platform optimizing performance, building resilience, and providing intelligence across production chains for global brands, retailers, and their multi-tier suppliers. Our innovative platform seamlessly connects and digitizes supply chain processes to optimize decision-making, while providing real-time visibility and control over production chain operations.

StoryXpress is an end-to-end video marketing platform that enables brands and retailers to convert their e-commerce product catalogs into videos at a fraction of the cost and time. The cloud-based startup has its headquarters in New Delhi and also offers video personalization, hosting, and analytics to help enterprises boost sales.

Spruce offers personalized style consulting, barber services, and contemporary clothing and accessories. The company's mission is to empower men so they feel great & look great from head to toe. Spruce achieves it by providing a high education / low judgment atmosphere, offering an array of classy, stylish casual footwear, as well as hair, beard, and other grooming products.

It's By U is a do-it-yourself arrangement kit with farm-fresh blooms, by subscription. It's By U kits provide you with pro-quality tools and everything you need to learn how to perfectly arrange the blossoms in gorgeous artisan-made vases. Plus, It's By U also donates a percentage of each sale to Random Acts of Flowers, a charity that up-cycles flowers and distributes them to patients in hospitals and nursing homes.

Nexosis is a software company that provides a machine learning API for developers. Its API allows developers to quickly and easily build applications that leverage machine learning.  The company was acquired by DataRobot, an automated machine learning platform that helps build and deploy predictive models. It was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Expect the Best. At Target, we have a vision: to become the best: the best culture and brand, the best place for growth and the company with the best reputation. We offer an inclusive, collaborative and energetic work environment that rewards those who perform. We deliver engaging, innovative and on-trend experiences for our team members and our guests. We invest in our team members' futures by developing leaders and providing a breadth of opportunities for professional development. It takes the best to become the best, and we are committed to building a team that does the right thing for our guests, shareholders, team members and communities.   Minneapolis-based Target Corporation serves guests at stores nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education®.

<div> Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is an American general merchandise retailer that operates in all US states. As of January 2023, Target operated 1,948 stores across the country and had over 45 owned brands. Products can be purchased either in-store or online, with the former accounting for ~19.0% of total revenue in FY2022. Target held a <a href="https://csimarket.com/stocks/competitionSEG2.php?code=TGT"> 5.9% share </a> in the US retail sector as of March 2023, generating USD 109.1 billion in revenue in FY2022 (year ending January 28, 2023). Target&rsquo;s products can be categorized into five segments: Beauty &amp; Household Essentials (~27% of total revenue in FY2022), Food &amp; Beverage (~21%), Home Furnishings &amp; Decor (~18%), Hardlines (~16%), and Apparel &amp; Accessories (~16%).&nbsp; All of Target&rsquo;s revenue is generated in the US. The company plans to invest up to USD 4 billion&ndash;5 billion in FY2023, focusing on opening new stores and locations, upgrading existing ones, and expanding its portfolio of owned brands. A plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2040 has also been announced. </div>

Is Target's ban the beginning of the end for checks?

Providing a seamless consumer experience is one hope for bringing back brick and mortar retail, automated stores are being built to do just that.

Automated Stores

Companies providing smart shelves (hardware and software systems, including vision-based systems) and stock tagging systems (including radio frequency identification [RFID]) to track items inside a store

Companies providing shopping carts enhanced with cameras, sensors, and AI to enable automatic checkout

Includes self-checkout kiosks (typically cameras and weight sensors) and mobile app-based scanning solutions (commonly leveraging barcodes and QR codes) that enable users to carry out the checkout process themselves

Companies providing hardware and software solutions (including cameras, sensors, and AI computer vision solutions for stores) to enable customers to completely avoid the checkout process (allowing them to enter a store, pick up an item, and exit the store)

Marketplaces and related solutions for selling goods and services online

Ecommerce Platforms

C2C and B2C ecommerce platforms that enable users to sell a range of goods and services via their online marketplace (e.g., eBay, Amazon).

B2B ecommerce platforms that enable businesses to sell a range of goods and services aimed mainly at other businesses. These companies mostly provide wholesale/bulk purchases (e.g., DHgate, Lightinthebox).

B2C ecommerce platforms that enable businesses to sell specialized product categories (including electronics, fast fashion, or books) via their online marketplace (e.g., Trendyol, Asos, Bookshop).

Ecommerce solutions providers that offer software for customizable ecommerce and other websites or specific modules embedded in websites such as digital experience intelligence and ecommerce management support (e.g., Shopify, CommerceIQ).

Companies that buy and grow ecommerce brands on ecommerce marketplaces (e.g., Thrasio, OpenStore, Moonshot Brands).

Digital Wallets

These enable users to utilize their wallets for various transactions at virtually any merchant that accepts digital wallet payments without any restrictions on usage.

These enable users to carry out transactions at a selected list of merchants and locations. Merchants may need to set up predefined agreements with digital wallet issuers to accept payments from the wallet.

These are typically developed by merchants themselves and allow customers to use their wallets to make payments at the merchants’ own stores. Users are unable to use these wallets for transactions outside the issuing merchant.

Companies that offer white-label solutions for businesses and fintechs to set up their own digital wallet offering.

Includes companies that offer furniture for a monthly rental, offered on a subscription basis or rent-to-own basis

Companies that develop customized furniture based on specifications (material, color, design, etc.) selected on the website by the customer

Companies that develop IoT-enabled furniture, usually controlled via a mobile app (e.g., an app-controlled bed that allows users to customize bed settings, create lighting scenarios, open safe drawers, etc.)

Companies that provide an online marketplace for P2P and B2B2C buying and selling for both used and new furniture

Companies that offer ready-made furniture sold directly through the website

Companies that offer virtual interior design solutions to design spaces, including furniture. These companies also typically offer furniture sourcing, installation, and coordination activities

Companies that develop lego-like and modular furniture systems that are easy to assemble and disassemble. Also includes space-saving expandable furniture systems

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 FibreTrace, a Singapore-based company specialising in traceability technology for the textile industry, has partnered with Target Corp. and Cargill to develop a method of real-time verification for US and Brazilian cotton. The process involves the use of luminescent pigments for easy tracking and identification throughout the supply chain.
 These luminescent pigments will be incorporated into raw cotton during the initial processing stage to create a unique marking. This marking can then be tracked globally, enabling Target Corp. to verify the cotton's origin in real time. This aligns with the company's sustainability goals. Starting November 2023, the goal is to mark 50,000 metric tons of US and Brazilian raw cotton in the initial year.
 FibreTrace uses non-toxic luminescent pigments, embedded into fibers at the raw material stage to offer real-time tracking and verification with the help of blockchain technology. Their key solutions, FibreTrace MAPPED and FibreTrace VERIFIED, provide a blend of digital and physical traceability to guarantee authenticity and sustainability of products from their origin to the store.

</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Over the years, origin tracing has expanded beyond traditional industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, and automotive. Nowadays, with companies focused on building sustainable and transparent supply networks, origin tracing has become an important feature of supply chain operations. In April 2024, Boll &amp; Branch <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/28696"> launched </a> Origin Track to trace bedding manufacturing processes.

FibreTrace collaborates with Target Corp. and Cargill for real-time cotton verification

Digital Health (Q2 2024): GenAI propels activity; funding skyrockets as AI Drug Discovery regains spotlight

Beyond the shelves: A deep dive into retailers' innovations

Target, Safeway, and Walmart to remove self-checkout kiosks at select locations

Digital Wellness

Oura partners with Target to sell smart rings in-store and online

Longevity Tech

Target rolls out express self-checkout at nearly 2,000 stores nationwide

Beauty Tech

Geologie launches gender-neutral Clear System skincare collection at Target

Starbucks

Target have made Starbucks handcrafted beverages and food to be delivered along with the rest of their Drive Up order straight to their car through our free curbside service.

Adidas

To explore sustainable recycling technologies and infrastructures, with Fast Feet Grinded playing a key role in converting pre- and post-consumer footwear into new material granulates for repurposed use.

Reinforcing recycling, rerouting refuse, and reducing wasteflows

Waste Recovery & Management Tech

Startups using proprietary technologies to recycle waste (besides plastic, textile, and electronic waste) into harmless waste materials or into materials that can be used to make household goods, furniture, and construction material.

Levi Strauss & Co.

Target and Levi Strauss & Co. expand distribution of Red Tab products from approximately 500 Target stores to approximately 800

Visa

Shipt, a subsidiary of Target Corp., has struck a deal with Visa Inc. that will provide free Shipt memberships, for a limited period of time, as a benefit for millions of Visa cardholders in the U.S.

Apple

Apple has teamed up with retail giant Target to offer Circle members free iCloud storage, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and Apple Music for 6 months.

Target expanded its partnership with Levi for a limited-edition collection featuring an assortment of home and lifestyle items available on Target.com and in most Target stores.

Walgreens Boots Alliance

Teaming up with other major retailers and with non-profit organizations in the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag, Walgreens is committed to being part of the solution to the waste and recycling issues associated with the use of more than 100 billion retail plastic bags every year in the U.S.

Comcast

Comcast's sub unit  NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, is entering the streaming space with advertising partners including retail corporation, Target

Using AI to automate, enhance and optimize marketing activities

Marketing Automation

Startups offering tools for finding and attracting potential customers with targeted ads.

The Walt Disney Company

Target’s in-house media company Roundel is partnering with Disney Advertising Sales on a new offering designed to arm Disney’s TV advertisers with data about Target shopper behavior.

Startups providing tools for gathering, cleaning and enhancing customer data to provide deep analytics.

The Walt Disney Company and Target Corporation enters into a creative retail collaboration to help bring the magic of Disney to the joy of shopping at Target.

Target

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