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BFD Expert Voices - Retail Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Pollen Returns, an Atlanta-based retail returns pickup technology platform, aims to raise $5 million to invest in its technology team, CEO Spencer Kieboom tells Richard exclusively.

Why it matters: Globally, product returns are about a $600 billion annual problem the retail industry has been trying to solve since the dawn of e-commerce.

Kieboom says the cost is due to liquidation of returned products, fraud, shrinkage, shipping and labelling issues.

Details: Pollen Returns offers retailers the ability to automatically process product returns and exchanges by digitally transmitting to a pickup agent the initiation of a return and the corresponding drop-off location.

The condition of the product is then audited, and retailers can also track the custodianship of the product via photographs.

How it works: Pollen Returns recently secured a patent for tech that uses the photo of a product that's been picked up as the barcode for the return process.

The photograph serves as a unique identifier to which information about the return can be attached.

Having another set of eyes, so to speak, on the returned product also helps retailers reduce fraud.

Retailers can theoretically issue a refund more quickly to the shopper, which improves the customer experience.

What's next: Pollen Returns is working on additional patent-pending features to streamline the return process and further cut costs.

The company, for example, is developing an AI that identifies an item with improved accuracy, and aids in rating the product's condition.

Kieboom says only 20% of returned items are rated grade A and placed back on the shelf for purchase, even though up to 75% qualify for that designation.

Pollen Returns hopes to reduce the number of items that end up either liquidated or in a landfill.

By the numbers: The company says it can save retailers more than $4 per return.

Of note: Kieboom is a former catcher for the Washington Nationals.

1 big thing: Pollen Returns seeks $5M fundraise

Illustration of a shopping cart overloaded with boxes

FreshToHome, an Indian fresh fish and meat startup, is targeting an IPO in the next three years as it penetrates new markets, CEO Shan Kadavil tells Kimberly.

Why it matters: India's e-commerce industry is poised to reach over $100 billion this year, a market that is projected to steadily grow.

Driving the news: The company raised $104 million in a late-stage round last month, led by Amazon's Indian-focused Smbhav Venture Fund.

FreshToHome also counts the development arm of the U.S.  government and the government of Dubai as investors.

How it works: FreshToHome has digitized the entire meat- and fish-buying process, employing technologies such as computer vision.

India’s consumers typically either go to the wet markets to buy their fish and meat or they go online, bypassing the “whole supermarket generation,” Kadavil says.

FreshToHome’s online platform allows users to buy fresh meat and fish and even execute a reverse auction, Kadavil says.

The company has food processing facilities, collection centers, and cold chain infrastructures required to complete deliveries across hundreds of cities in India, the United Arab Emirates, Dubai and other nations.

FreshToHome goes directly to fisherman and farmers, cutting out middlemen in the supply chain who can often exploit those workers or extend shipping and transport time of products, reducing the quality.

What they’re saying: “What we do has got a huge amount of impact from a food security standpoint, from essentially providing better prices for fishermen and farmers to reducing food wastage,” Kadavil says.

Fisherman and farmers don’t traditionally have access to the kind of technology FreshToHome provides in an organized way that’s scalable, he adds.

Amazon's Smbhav fund was drawn to FreshToHome's supply chain management capabilities, Kadavil says.

“Amazon in the emerging markets does not have as intricate of a cold chain that we do, so they really appreciate how we built that up,” he says.

What's next: The company is eyeing expansion into Saudi Arabia, which is highly dependent on food imports from India.

“We took some time to perfect the playbook on how that market would receive us by launching in Dubai,” Kadavil says.

The company also plans to go deeper into the 100-plus cities it’s in, adding products.

The intrigue: FreshToHome does not eschew brick-and-mortar, with plans to open 100 to 250 stores in the next 12 months.

The company already has about 30 stores set up, which it hopes will drive traffic back to its online platform.

To shift “people's consumption habits from a wet market to online, you really need an intermediary experience,” Kadavil says.

2. The BFD: FreshToHome eyes IPO in three years

Illustration of a scooter with a delivery box on the back made from a $100 bill.

👀 Instacart may be reviving its long-awaited IPO plans.

The grocery-delivery company said its revenue increased over 50% in the fourth quarter and gross profits jumped more than 80%, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Instacart slashed its valuation several times last year before tabling its IPO plans, citing turbulent market conditions, but now executives are saying they’re just waiting on more cooperative markets.

As Axios has reported, industry insiders expect the IPO market to open up in the fourth quarter.

👟 Foot Locker expects to close 400 low-performing stores by 2026 and 125 of its Champs Sports locations this year as part of its plan to focus on its higher-performing locations, Axios’ Kelly Tyko writes.

🛒 Food-as-medicine is being embraced as a new appetizer on the menu of holistic care, but measuring data and getting insurers on board are the most immediate obstacles, our Health Tech colleagues write.

Retail has a role to play in this as well, they write, with retail's penetration into health care having gone through a long journey, with groceries, pharmacies and e-commerce all taking their respective shares of the pie.

📹 Mood Media has acquired Vibenomics to expand its in-store marketing business, part of a broader trend of market companies investing in the rapidly growing sector of retail media, company executives tell our Media Deals colleague Kerry Flynn.

The company works with more than 850 enterprise brands including Nike, McDonald's, Marriott, CVS Pharmacy and Whole Foods.

3. Retail therapy

Illustration of a Rorschach inkblot showing shopping carts reflected on either side.

• Ziyad Brothers, a Cicero, Ill.-based portfolio company of Peak Rock Capital, Ares Management and Barings, acquired Vintage Food, a distributor of branded Turkish, Middle Eastern and Eastern European foods. http://www.ziyad.com/

• Pernod Ricard (Paris: RI) agreed to buy a majority stake in Skrewball, a San Marcos, Calif.-based company that adds peanut butter flavoring to whiskey. https://axios.link/3JUVgZz

4. Retail transactions

• Moschino, the Italian luxury house, said creative director Jeremy Scott is stepping down. https://axios.link/4023yok

• CKE Restaurant Holdings, the parent company of quick service chains Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, named former Papa John’s COO Max Wetzel CEO, replacing Ned Lyerly. https://axios.link/3yOW8c0

• McDonald’s named former Chipotle executive Tabassum Zalotrawala chief development officer and senior vice president of the fast-food chain, effective April 24. https://axios.link/3lzxIA6

• Grubhub, the online food delivery platform, appointed Howard Migdal,  currently the CEO of SkipTheDishes, Just Eat Takeaway.com's Canadian subsidiary, as executive vice president of North America and CEO, succeeding Adam DeWitt. Steve Puchala, senior vice president, growth and restaurant success, was named interim CEO for SkipTheDishes.  https://axios.link/3luJ7RV

• REI named Apple Musni chief people officer. It has also promoted Chris Speyer to CMO and Isabelle Portilla to vice president of co-op brands. https://axios.link/3JyIZZw

•  Christian Dior promoted longtime communications executive Olivier Bialobos to deputy managing director of global communication and image, WWD reports. https://axios.link/42qyOPd

• Claudia Levan joined Lightspeed Venture Partners as VP of fundraising. She previously was with General Atlantic. http://www.lsvp.com/

• Picus Capital promoted Sebastian Schäfer to partner. http://www.picuscap.com

5. It's Personnel

Happy Retail Tech Tuesday  — Retail Deals' new column dedicated to the technology driving the next phase of the retail experience.

⛔ Situational awareness: Nordstrom will start liquidating its Canadian stores after securing permission from an Ontario court to start selling off merchandise. 

🤝 In-person networking thing: Join us tomorrow at RPM Seafood in Chicago for a subscriber-exclusive happy hour featuring Emily Wildes, managing director at Lincoln International LLC. RSVP here

🙏 Many thanks to newsletter editor Claire Rychlewski and copy editor Brad Bonhall for today's edits.

March 21, 2023

1 big thing: Pollen Returns seeks $5M fundraise