'Tinder for retailers’ raises money for expansion

Product Guru, an online platform described as ‘Tinder for retail buyers and product suppliers’, has secured a £300,000 investment.

The Scottish company received financial backing from Asia-based retail technology investor Belmond Capital, Scottish retailer Scotmid and government quango Scottish Enterprise.

Retailers including John Lewis, Tesco and TK Maxx have already signed up to use the technology platform, which allows their buyers to find new products for their shelves.

Simon Coyle launched Glasgow-based business in September 2018 after spotting a gap in the market.

“From the retailers’ point-of-view, they may have lots of customer-facing modern technologies in their stores – such as automated checkouts or digital ads – but Product Guru is the first technology platform to shake-up their back-office product discovery operations and make it easier for them to discover the latest trends and find exciting new products for their customers," he stated.

The investment will allow the company to further develop its platform with analytics and intelligent recommendations, was well as marketing services to a much wider audience.

Patricia Poon, managing partner and founder of Belmond Capital, and a former head of retailer WH Smith’s business in Asia, said: “Product Guru is solving problems on both sides of the fence – it allows both local and international emerging brands to get their products in front of buyers and it allows retailers to stay on trend and choose from a wide selection of options cost effectively at the click of a button."

Product Guru operates a 'freemium' business model. Basic features are free for suppliers and retailers, with a subscription service available to brands providing sales analytics, product engagement statistics, product trends and other data analytics.

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