AllUnite, the startup which offers free Internet and location-based marketing for retailers, has announced a €3 million Series A funding round lead by Northzone and with Denmark’s largest grocery chain retailer, Coop.
“We are excited to partner with Northzone and Coop as we look to expand our offering further to Asia and America. Their significant international experience and solid foundation in the market are well known and it’s an honour to have them on board.” says AllUnite co-founder Esben Elmoe
Founded in September 2013 by Kasper Gevaldig and Esben, AllUnite provides free Wi-Fi in commercial locations, such as supermarkets, shops and restaurants, in exchange for advertising space on customers’ mobile devices. Esben has a past as founder of eCommerce giant SmartGuy / Stylepit, and is a veteran entrepreneur. Kasper has a past as CEO at Actimizer, a web-based dialer application.
Wifi and retailers
AllUnite aims to bring wifi to everyone, while giving retailers better insights and connection to it’s customers. The advertising is located at the base of the devices’ web browsers, allowing businesses to offer personalised and relevant adverts to current and potential customers within a physical proximity to the store. AllUnite is designed to accommodate the increasing need of retailers to collect shop floor data, allowing them to record information such as what proportion of customers are returning rather than new customers; the average time a customer spends in store, as well as profiles of customers including data on gender, age, and marital status. Additionally, AllUnite offers businesses or commercial sites a heat map, which shows where customers are localised in a shop and helps with the process of retail space management.
“Connectivity is absolutely vital these days, with consumers wanting fast and stable Internet everywhere they go. There’s also a real desire from shops to be able to connect digitally with their customers, informing them of relevant product launches and promotions that will help drive sales.” says Kasper.
Ambitious plans
Since launching on January 2014, AllUnite has attracted 500 000 users in Denmark alone. Following this funding round, AllUnite is set to roll out in a number of other territories, including the UK, India, China and Brazil, as part of a very ambitious plan to expand into 50 countries in 50 weeks.
The funding round, which will enable AllUnite to continue expansion into new markets across Europe, Asia and America, was led by Northzone. The other participant, Coop, is the Nordics leading consumer goods retailer. As well as investing in the company, Coop is also deploying AllUnite’s free Wi-Fi in its retail outlets in Denmark. Both Northzone and Coop join existing investor Christian Stadil, the prominent Danish entrepreneur and owner of fashion apparel brand Hummel.
Jeppe Zink from Northzone comments:
“Northzone is delighted to be investing in AllUnite, alongside Coop. AllUnite serves the need of the digital neighbourhood, with people demanding local digital services, from basic fast internet connection, to local and relevant offers from your local butcher or a timely voucher for discounted dessert in the restaurant you are currently dining with.”
Gregers Wedell-Wedellsborg, Group Director, Coop adds:
“The AllUnite Wi-Fi technology we’ll be deploying in our stores will help us make customers happier with their shopping experience. And it also enables us to collect invaluable shop floor data, which is absolutely vital for retailers. We have very high hopes for what AllUnite can become, and we’re incredibly excited to be part of it.”
You can read more over at AllUnite.