During the week, it became clear that eXpression Umeå and Future Retail Lab will receive new funding to nationally disseminate the successful accelerator programme currently being implemented based in Umeå. Uniquely, an accelerator for the sustainable retail of the future is being established at an academic business incubator for the creative industries. The decision was taken at the autumn meeting of the Swedish Merchants' Association in Umeå.
The foundation for the accelerator programme that has emerged was laid back in 2018 when the vision of a national accelerator based in Umeå was outlined by Håkan Gustafsson, representative of the Swedish Merchants' Association Foundation, together with Dr Marlene Johansson, CEO of the business incubator eXpression Umeå.
The creative industries are leading the way in developing new business models based on co-creation. They also weave together digital and physical production and distribution methods with a good knowledge of the customer - skills and abilities that will also be reflected in the future of commerce, says Marlene Johansson.
During the meeting, Dr Annakarin Nyberg, programme manager for Future Retail Lab and Anna Wikholm Kjellberg, business developer Future Retail Lab, presented the work that has been carried out at eXpression Umeå.
In parallel to creating the structure and content, intensive footwork has been underway during the spring, with nearly 130 stakeholders being approached to create awareness and engagement around issues of future sustainable trade. It is a privilege to work with retailers in and around Umeå - we are meeting a great courage, drive and interest to develop and together try new approaches for trade and the city - now we look forward to taking the initiative further out into the country, says programme manager, Annakarin Nyberg.
The background to the Future Retail Lab is the transformation of the sector that is currently underway and which places new demands on a transformation of the trade as large parts are digitised, an increasing proportion of business is done via the internet and the physical store plays a new role for the customer. During the decision-making meeting in Umeå, Hans Löwlund, Head of Finance and Administration at the Confederation of Swedish Commerce and Chairman of the Merchants' Friendship Foundation, emphasised the importance of giving the trade the means to meet new and changing customer and consumer behaviour.
"We are very pleased that our joint project Future Retail Lab is now being given the conditions for national dissemination, where retail companies are given the opportunity to sharpen their concepts and business models adapted to the industry's new consumer behaviours," says Hans Löwlund,
The Future Retail Lab and the business incubator eXpression Umeå are also working closely with Umeå University, including the School of Business and Economics and Dr Elin Nilsson, who is exploring the accelerator initiative from a scientific perspective. In addition, there are collaborations with various educational institutions such as the Department of Computer Science, the School of Design and the School of Architecture.
The Future Retail Lab programme is a joint venture with the Swedish Retail Federation via the Merchants' Association Foundation, Umeå municipality, Region Västerbotten, Umeå University and EU structural funds.
