Retail company Yo-ren eyes Thailand and Malaysia
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Hong Kong-headquartered retail technology company Yo-ren has secured US$11 million in a funding round it plans to use to expand into Thailand and Malaysia.
Yo-ren designs, develops, and operates smart phone-based customer management programs and provides retailers with social network services, e-commerce website planning and operations, collects user data and performs data analysis, as well as developing market strategies based on user characteristics.
The company’s current clients include Japanese convenience store chain Lawson.
Yo-ren is also investing in AI technology as part of an agenda to merge digital and physical store spaces, possibly extending as far as allowing consumers to buy clothing in unstaffed stores, in similar fashion to Amazon Go.
“We foresee the optimal use of digital environments as a service, and big data gathered from increasingly connected networks as critical up-and-coming managerial problems,” Yo-ren wrote in a statement.
Investors in the latest Yo-ren funding round included Lawson and T-Gaia Corporation.
Questions & Answers
Q.What kind of services does Yo-ren offer to retailers?
What kind of services does Yo-ren offer to retailers?
Yo-ren provides smartphone-based customer management programs, social network services, e-commerce planning, and data collection and analysis. They also develop market strategies tailored to user characteristics.
Q.Which existing retail client does Yo-ren have?
Which existing retail client does Yo-ren have?
Yo-ren currently counts the Japanese convenience store chain Lawson among its clients. This relationship also extends to Lawson investing in Yo-ren's latest funding round.
Q.How does Yo-ren plan to use its new funding?
How does Yo-ren plan to use its new funding?
The US$11 million secured in the funding round is earmarked for the company's expansion into the new markets of Thailand and Malaysia, furthering its retail technology reach.
Q.What is Yo-ren's vision for the future of retail technology?
What is Yo-ren's vision for the future of retail technology?
Yo-ren aims to integrate digital and physical store experiences, using AI technology to merge them. This could include allowing customers to make purchases in unstaffed retail outlets, similar to Amazon Go.
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