Focal Systems, the industry leader in retail automation, today announced a chain-wide partnership with Cooportunity Market, the only organic food cooperative in Los Angeles. The Cooportunity Market will launch Focal's Shelf Cameras and “Self-Driving Store”-Operating System to all stores. The partnership marks the first full deployment of Focal System’s Self-Driving Store which was launched in March of this year. The first-ever zero integration installation demonstrates the power of AI and its ability to leap-frog over existing, legacy systems to transform the entire business model.
Focal’s Shelf Cameras scan all in-store inventory every hour, allowing store managers to remain up to date on supply at all times. Focal’s AI detects when products are low, items are out of stock, and when certain perishables are close to expiration. Focal then automates ordering and order writing based on the information and alerts the backroom to any products that need to be removed from shelves. Once implemented in a brick and mortar location, FocalOS drives huge efficiency, reduces waste, and promotes more sustainable practices throughout the business.
“I’ve worked for the Co-op for over 28 years and it’s never been more challenging,” said Aung Min, Cooportunity Market General Manager. “We need data and technology to help us strategize and make smart inventory decisions. And we need to support our Team. Labor is so tight right now and we’re looking for ways to make it more fun and fulfilling to work in our grocery stores.”
“We’ve spent the last seven years perfecting our “Self-Driving Store”-Operating System with the goal to optimize and automate grocers and retailers of all sizes,” said Francois Chaubard, Founder and CEO of Focal Systems. “With our zero Integration platform, the stores will be live and transformed in a matter of hours with the most impactful cloud-based and AI-powered OS in the world. We’re excited to enable the Cooportunity Markets to remain competitive and uphold the Co-op business model amidst their highly capitalized grocery competitors.”
The news comes on the heels of international retailer Suzy Monford joining Focal as their Chief Strategy and Marketplace Officer earlier this year. A former customer of Focal Systems, Monford has been named a Top Woman in Grocery and a Top Woman in Retail across various industry publications.
“Since the start of my career, I’ve worked to innovate and reimagine food economies and business models,” said Monford. “The modern grocery marketplace has gotten more complex and competitive. Partnering with the Cooportunity Markets is a first step to unlocking success for the more than 5,000 co-ops in the US, and will help democratize access to fresh, sustainable food. We look forward to this partnership and many more in the years to come.”
Focal has raised more than $40M in venture capital funding to date and has scaled its solutions to retailers spanning three continents. Major retailers using Focal Systems have shown a 50x in ROI with the implementation of the technology, making this the most profitable investment in all of retail technology.
To learn more about Focal System’s Self-Driving Store, please visit: www.focal.systems
To learn more about Cooportunity Markets, please visit: https://coopportunity.com/our-story/
About Focal Systems:
Founded in 2015 in San Francisco out of Stanford’s Computer Vision Lab, Focal Systems is the industry leader in retail automation. Our mission is to automate and optimize brick and mortar retail with state-of-the-art deep learning and AI. We have pioneered the world’s first “Self-Driving Store”- an OS that revolutionizes how stores are run. Focal has raised more than $40M to date and scaled solutions on three continents in hundreds of stores, with thousands of cameras deployed. Learn more at: https://focal.systems
About The Coopportunity Markets
Co-opportunity Market began as a food-buying club of four in West Los Angeles in 1974. Since then, our commitment to the community, cooperative values, and healthy living hasn’t changed. For more than forty years, the Co-op has led the way in connecting people to local growers and producers with health and sustainability in mind. Together, we are strengthening our communities in Santa Monica and Culver City through a commitment to a strong, local food system, clean ingredients and responsible sourcing.