John Lewis announced over the weekend it is to launch a £100,000 technology start-up incubator, JLab, in a bid to find the next big idea in retail.
John Lewis says it is looking for the next click-and-collect – a good example of a simple idea that uses IT to make things convenient for shoppers – and has tasked start-ups with doing so.
IT director Paul Coby says retailers need to work more closely with start-ups. “We don’t have a monopoly on all the good ideas. One of the great things in the UK is this fantastic ecosystem of people who are all thinking about how you can use technology. Structuring that and giving companies the chance to contribute is something that will benefit everyone.”
John Lewis’ incubator competition is split into four categories: customer data, improving retail experience, the internet of things, and a category called ‘surprise us’ for brilliant ideas that don’t fit elsewhere.
The winner of the process will receive £100,000 investment and the chance to further develop their technology with the John Lewis team.
The closing date for applications is April 17, and 30 businesses will be selected to pitch to the JLab panel in May. The final five will then be announced and will spend the next 15 weeks working with John Lewis mentors to develop their ideas.
The final pitch day will take place in September with the winner announced at the end of the month.
John Lewis is one of a few big retailers embracing the start-up community – Tesco is working closely with the Rainmakers Loft start-up community and Marks & Spencer has opened an office in east London in a bid to be close to the action.
John Lewis is working with entrepreneur Steven Marks, who says the incubator has large-scale benefits for start-ups as well. “There are lot of incubators around, setting one up is nothing new. But what we are seeking to do is keep this very John Lewis focused.
“One of the big problems with start-ups is when you are developing product in isolation - when you get it in front of the customer it’s sometimes too late. Some things you only know once it’s customer facing.”
He adds the products developed as a result of this particular process will be interesting. “Here the companies will be working to a very specific brief – the end product that comes out even if they don’t win will have considerable value to John Lewis and other retailers. “
He adds projects such as this, which meld start-up creativity with the structure and know-how of a big retailer, are a great idea. “Because of their size big retailers can’t always be agile and nimble in terms of finding and developing systems.
“This fantastic idea of matching the enthusiasm and ability of the start-up community with the structure that John Lewis brings – when you bring those together you get the right start-ups with the right mentality to embrace that, they will be some of the new leading lights in retail technology.”
Coby adds that balancing the management of innovative ideas and clunky but crucial legacy systems is one of the biggest challenges for retail technology bosses today.
He says the job is like a “three-lane motorway” – the slow lane includes large-scale legacy systems that keep everything going, and the middle lane is large business improvement projects such as the My John Lewis loyalty scheme launched last year.
The fast lane, he adds, is where the innovation takes place. “The outside lane is whizzing along, you’re trying investments and trying to work out what’s going to be the next click and collect.”
It’s a question more retail technology leaders are trying to answer – how can retailers balance keeping the lights on with innovation? The results of John Lewis’ incubator should provide fascinating insight into how to answer this question, as well as some unique ideas.
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