Retail

Colruyt Group partners with Innovend on 'smart fridge'

Image provided by Colruyt Group.

March 3, 2023

Colruyt Group, a Belgium based retail technology provider, has teamed with Innovend, a Netherlands based provider of unmanned sales solutions under the brand name Zuply, to introduce a "Smart Fridge," according to a press release.

The Smart Fridge, called "Linx," does not use individual lockers, but one or more larger areas.

The customer unlocks the door by registering his or her bank card at the payment display. Once the customer has collected all the products, he or she closes the door. The Linx display shows which purchases have been made and the customer can pay immediately. Built-in sensors register what and how many products a customer takes.

"We want to continue focusing on projects modelled on that automated store in the coming period," Kim Vancauwenberghe, managing director of Smart Technics, Colruyt Group's innovation division, said in the press release. "Some things are just better done together than alone. Accordingly, we entered into structural discussions with a player who is very complementary to us to share knowledge in order to achieve a perfect product."

Colruyt Group has already deployed stand-alone smart pantries at Jims fitness chain in Belgium and Luxembourg and has also introduced automated self-service concepts for company canteens under the brand name "Spar For You."

Colruyt Group has also introduced a self-serve, free-standing convenience store in Belgium under the name "Okay Direct" that offers about 200 products, focusing on fresh, on-the-go meals.