Future Retail Lab
The future of trading is sustainable
Today, new demands are being made for a transition for companies in the trade and for companies that are in the borderland between the trade, the visitor and experience industries. This is a consequence of globalisation and digitisation and the currently ongoing Corona pandemic. Factors that contribute to changing conditions for an already heavily challenged industry. Today we see today, for example, how customer and consumer behaviour is changing and that physical and digital stores and other meeting places play new roles for the customer. In order to meet these changing conditions and create a future and sustainable trade and hospitality industry, the need for new knowledge, digital tools and an exploration of new business models is greater than ever.
The accelerator program eXpression Future Retail Lab was given for the first time in 2019 – 2020 and participated made 12 driven companies from the creative Umeå region in order to create growth and develop as sustainable companies. Currently, 16 companies from the Umeå region are participating. The companies form a heterogeneous group of new entrepreneurs and owner-driven companies.
Together with heavy expertise in the form of researchers, industry experts and business developers, experience was exchanged in areas such as brand, digital strategies and concept development. The program is today evaluated, developed and adapted to the conditions resulting from the current pandemic.
Application content
- Strategic brand targeting, communication strategy and PR
- Business models and external analysis
- Consumer behaviour and targeting
- Visualization and sales on web and in-store
- Company-made social media strategies
- Statistics and analysis
- Internationalisation/export maturity
- Organization, leadership and team building
- Sustainable production systems for tomorrow's trade, purchasing and logistics
- Financing and investment strategies for growth
- Hosting
Who should seek
The program is aimed at new entrepreneurs and owner-driven companies in the trade as well as to companies that are in the borderland between trade, visitor and experience industries where we see increasingly clear industry slides. The aim is to create growth, develop new business models and forms of collaboration.
Selection criteria:
Applicant Companies shall:
- Be an owner-driven company
- Be able to spare time corresponding to the program's structure
- Have existing customers and sales channels (digital ly and/or physically)
- Have established customer relationships
- Carry out sustainability work, or have started such a
- Be able to show growth potential
- Have a clear target picture of why you are entering the accelerator program
In addition, the applicant should be driven, creative and open to thinking and acting in new ways and show a willingness to co-operate in relation to other participants in the group. We also strive to create a composition of participants with representatives from different industries.
eXpression Future Retail Lab is an initiative together with Svensk Handel through the Foundation Merchant's Ban, Umeå Municipality and is partly financed through EU structural funds.
Start date: 31 Aug 2021
End date: 31 March 2022
FAQ
Our experienced business coaches will be happy to help you find your next step. Contact one of them for advice. We cherish your ideas and apply full privacy to everything you discuss with us.
Program participation at eXpression Umeå is free of charge. What we demand of you is your time and commitment*.
However, it is important that you secure an income during your time in the incubator. If you have no employment or income from your company, you can contact our business coaches for financial support advice. You can find contact information here.
*In the Creatives incubator program, we charge for your office space.
In our Incubator program Creatives you have the opportunity to choose from three different office spaces:
- Cleandesk
- Custom desktop
- Studio
The other programs include a cleandesk location and the possibility to rent your own desk or studio.
To access an office space, you must search and be accepted into one of our programs.
For creators who have applied for and been accepted into our business development programs, we have the opportunity to help creators in several ways, through workshops with experts in certain areas such as marketing, sales, manufacturing process, IPR etc. In addition, we have so-called internationalisation vouchers with the aim of promoting international trade.
We can also help you as a creator to navigate the financing jungle and explore possible financing solutions for your particular idea, innovation or business.
Programme managers
Anna Wikholm
K
Annakarin - Wikipedia
Nyberg
News and articles about the program
Other programmes
Creatives
Express
eXpression Design
Future Retail Lab
Summer eXpression
