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SES-imagotag in exclusive discussions for the acquisition of French company In the Memory
The SES-imagotag group (Euronext: SESL, FR0010288222) announced that it has entered into exclusive discussions with the aim of acquiring the French company In the Memory (“Memory”), which specializes in data analytics and decision-making tools for the retail sector.
Created in 2018 by a group of Data Science experts with backgrounds in the retail and CPG industries, Memory has developed a highly efficient data management and decision-making platform, and has rapidly attracted a significant client base among leading retailers and consumer goods companies. The solutions provided by Memory bring together strong subject matter expertise and cutting-edge technology for processing and analyzing large quantities of data originating from different sources. This double expertise empowers Memory’s platform with unique decision-making tools, both for retailers and for brand managers.
With this new acquisition — arriving on the heels of the purchase of MarketHub (Ireland) at the beginning of last year — SES-imagotag continues building out its Data management and analytics capabilities. These new platforms complement Captana, specialized in real-time analysis of store shelves via the analysis of images and the use of artificial intelligence, as well as several other solutions within the VUSION platform.
The objective of this acquisition is to offer retailers and brand managers a complete range of tools around data management across all channels, including physical stores. Physical retail is currently the channel in which data is the least available, but for which access to data offers the most upside. The technologies provided by the Internet of Things, applied to physical stores (digital shelf labels, and connected cameras and sensors) for which SES-imagotag is a specialist and the global leader, will enable the capture of significant amounts of in-store data in near real-time, and the ability to communicate with consumers. To be useful, this exponential production of data must be processed and analyzed by specialized tools, with the objective of transforming this data into action in the most automated way possible, thus rendering stores ultra-efficient environments that meet the expectations of each consumer.
SES-imagotag’s goal is to bring together under the VUSION platform IoT and Data expertise, at the service of commerce. This is the strategic framework that underlies the recently presented VUSION ’27 plan, and under which the Memory acquisition will be made.
The letter of intent signed by both companies foresees the acquisition by SES-imagotag of 100% of the share capital of Memory, to be paid in cash. The transaction is expected to be completed in January 2023.
Thierry Gadou, Chairman and CEO of SES-imagotag commented: “I am delighted by the prospect of welcoming Memory’s staff and their talented founders Audrey, Alexis and Maxime. Memory is a gem among French companies with significant potential for international development. We intend to accelerate the development of Memory, while at the same time capitalizing on the potential synergies with other SES-imagotag entities. The future of retail lies in data, which will enable retailers to improve their operating performance and their collaboration with manufacturers, leading them to develop new sources of monetization and of advertising revenue streams. The expertise provided by Memory will be essential to us in improving our IoT and Data solutions, to ensure that they are the most relevant to decision-making needs. Conversely, the new data coming from digital sources will enable extended value creation of Memory’s solutions, while expanding ROI of the digitization of stores. Our customers will be the beneficiaries of this acquisition.”
Alexis Mau, President of In The Memory added: “We are convinced of the advantages of this merger with SES-imagotag. Four years after the founding of Memory, this partnership comes from a shared vision of the digital transformation of retail and will enable us to accelerate our international growth. Together, we will be able to extend our store data solutions captured via the VUSION platform, and to develop new products by leveraging the complementarity of our solutions with SES-imagotag’s IoT & Data solutions. Retailers and their partner brands will thus have at their disposal tools that are more robust, able to help them in their operational and strategic decision-making.”
About In The Memory
In The Memory is a start-up founded in 2018, specialized in data processing and digital solutions for the retail sector, which includes among its clients several leading food retailers in France and across Europe, and more than 1,000 retail brands.
In The Memory developed the MEMORY 360 solution to help retailers and their manufacturing partners capitalize on retail data to accelerate and improve daily decision-making in the areas of category management, client and product marketing, and procurement. The MEMORY 360 platform enables retailers to bring together cross-functional work teams at headquarters and in stores. MEMORY 360 encapsulates business cases and uses data science to provide managers with KPIs able to address their requirements via 28 modules organized around 5 areas: data extraction; performance management; category and client analysis; decision-making around pricing, range of product, merchandising, and promotions; and driving customer marketing. The MEMORY 360 solution also enables monetization from the brands via brand data-sharing or retail media activities.
In The Memory benefited from the Wilco (ex-Scientipôle) acceleration program in 2019.
In The Memory has received several recognitions and awards since its creation, including: the LSA Retail Nugget Trophy in 2020, Microsoft Startup Award in 2021, The Léon Gattaz “Start is good, Up is better” prize, and the LSA Retail Tech Trophy for Data and Client Knowledge in 2022.
