I-mall: New player with the first supermarket – robot in Greece

By George Lampiris

A new model of robotic supermarket enters the Greek market of supermarket products. The main shareholder is the head of the company DK Consultants Group, Dimitris Karavasilis, who maintains a percentage, while Giannis Doxaras, known from the technology company Warply, also participates, as well as some other shareholders with smaller percentages. The first robotic supermarket is located in Nea Smyrni. As D. Karavasilis reports in Capital.gr, the total initial investment for the software, the machines and the start of the business effort amounted to 3.5 million euros. The plan is to expand in Greece with up to 80 stores within the next three years, but also abroad through the parent company I-mall holding and more specifically in France, Germany, Italy and Romania. The next points in Greece will be located in the whole of Attica, Crete, Thessaly, Peloponnese and Central Macedonia.

The Nea Smyrni store is corporate, while the development model will be based on the franchise. According to Mr. Karavasilis, the average payback period of the investment is three years, while the space required is 50 square meters with an opening in the facade of about 5 meters. In the field of logistics and product supply there is cooperation with the Metro group of the Panteliadis family.

Strategic collaborations with skroutz and Panic Records

I-Mall maintains a strategic partnership with skroutz, which will install lockers to receive the products it distributes from its customers. There is also a strategic collaboration with Panic Records of Paris Kasidokostas and Giorgos Arsenakos, where video clips of the record company are shown on the screens of the store, while joint events with the presence of artists and singers will be held at the opening of the new stores. In addition, when someone collects loyalty points, he will have the opportunity to choose which songs will be played in the store, but also to change the color of the lighting.

As Dimitris Karavasilis says in Capital.gr, the whole operation is fully digitized, with the result that all the promotional actions that are carried out, are personalized depending on the customer and the products that he usually consumes. The stores are open 365 days a year, on a 24-hour basis.

The focus is on the Gene Z and Alpha generations

“What we did was to investigate consumer behaviors. Our aim was to serve people aged 12 and over, who belong to the Gen Z and Alpha age groups and frequent outdoors such as parks and squares, while visiting open space of course. “In essence, the market has remained in a specific model of operation, leaving in many cases outside the specific ages”, points out Mr. Karavasilis.

Physical and digital store together

It is a hybrid mode of operation Physi-Digital, which combines natural and digital way of sales. On the one hand, the store operates with contactless transactions by attending it. On the other hand, after the release of the electronic application next month, one will be able to order the time that goes to the store, will receive a QR Code, which will be scanned upon arrival at the point of sale and then will pay the relevant price, receiving ready his order. From the moment of the online order, the products will be blocked for 10 minutes on his behalf, without the customer being charged before coming to the store. Payment is made on the spot with google pay, apple pay, nfc, visa, mastercard, orders. “A parent will also be able to buy i-mall coins, creating an I-mall wallet, which is an electronic wallet. At the same time, he will be able to control the quantities of each product that his child consumes.”

The payment system was created by Cardlink, Eurobank, Warlply and I-mall executives to operate the first electronic cash on delivery system. “So, before the door opens for the receipt of the products, the robotic seller measures what exactly he delivers to the products and at the same time the charge is made, in order to avoid the credits, which arise in case of debiting the orders in advance. “Most young people do not trust the pre-purchases from stores that are not branded and especially from small retail stores”, explains D. Karavasilis.

The operation is based on robotic machines, which resemble vending machines, and is supported by software that serves the execution of orders and the wider operation. “Robotics means that the products exist in a large device – a vending machine, which has sensors and systems, which at all times inform the owner’s mobile phone about the product stock, the temperature of the refrigerators, what a customer bought, monitoring whenever “The operating system is based on IoT technology for robotic systems – vendors, who maintain software specially designed for the needs of the I-mall”.