Altavia’s department dedicated to innovation Altavia Coach aims to invent the retail of tomorrow by serving the group’s digital transformation, offering the most relevant solutions to their clients and supporting innovative startups.
Altavia launches Altavia Coach, a structure dedicated to innovation in the retail sector, so as to provide the group’s 300 clients -retailers and brands, with the most agile and relevant solutions to meet the challenges that come with the digitalization of the customer journey. This initiative serves the group’s digital transformation and focuses on building relationships with the most innovative ecosystems. “Entrepreneurship is deeply rooted in Altavia’s DNA,” says Astrid Noizat, chief digital officer and head of Altavia Coach. Therefore, the group wishes to structure itself to support innovative start-ups and entrepreneurs “. Altavia Coach draws on best practices to support startups in their development and thereby create synergies that benefit their customers. The department is organized along three main lines: partnerships, acceleration and a strategic fund.
Innovative solutions to meet client needs
With a network of 36 agencies in 26 countries and a dedicated team within the group, Altavia Coach carries out an international sourcing which aims to forge partnerships with startups and to offer solutions that are adapted to the stakes of the group’s clients. “An internal platform, developed exclusively for the group’s employees and aiming to promote the innovative solutions offered by our startup partners, already enables our 1,500 employees worldwide to find the necessary expertise to better meet the needs of our clients, “explains Astrid Noizat. On the other hand, these partnerships enable companies offering B2B services dedicated to retail to complement the range offered by Altavia and to get known by the group’s clients.
Support start-ups in their commercial development
And this involvement with startups extends beyond partnership agreements with the upcoming simultaneous launch of two acceleration programs within the group’s agencies in Lille and Shanghai. These choices were not made by accident : “Our agency in Lille is located in the heart of the birthplace of French retail, says Eliott Tischker, Head of Investments and Acceleration within the entity. This situation is ideal for developing a start-up. Our Shanghai office will give European startups the opportunity to test the Chinese market for six months. «The Altavia Coach accelerators assist start-ups, both in their commercial development, through the Group’s client portfolio, and in their international deployment, through its presence in 26 countries. “Support is based on four pillars: go to market, product market fit, international development and marketing and communication support,” explains Eliott Tishcker. We want to build on Altavia’s strengths, our client portfolio, our business experts and our in-depth knowledge of communication to accelerate the development of selected startups. Moreover, from the startup selection phase, we involve our customers, as well as local teams, in order to engage them in an innovative approach. “
Creating synergies over the long term
Finally, the corporate fund makes it possible to capitalistically support entrepreneurs whose offers appear particularly promising. “The fund now has five participations,” said Eliott Tischker. And we have strong ambitions in 2017, as we plan to double that number by the end of the year. Beyond the financial aspect, this fund includes a real strategic component, with the objective of creating long term synergies”.
Serve the group’s digital transformation and clients
Altavia Coach already works with more than 20 innovative startups, focusing on topics such as artificial intelligence in customer relations, instore interaction, web-to-store, social media for retailers, instore experience via augmented reality, virtual reality, or mapping on objects.
“We have very strong ambitions with Altavia Coach,” concludes Astrid Noizat. These projects also serve the group’s digital transformation, promote agility and position Altavia as a trustworthy adviser to clients. And because they are constantly solicited by innovative proposals, we are committed to helping them accelerate their transformation through innovative and reliable solutions, guaranteeing the quality of these solutions and their implementation, as well as the follow-up and success of the implemented POC *. “
*Proof of concept