French startup Boxy redefines convenience shopping with a new technology concept. The pioneer of autonomous stores addresses the needs of a majority of French people and responds to the constraints of everyday shopping.
€5M funding
In a recent move, Boxy picked up €25 million in Series A funding. The investment round was led by new investor Serena, with historical investors CapHorn and LocalGlobe (that invested in UK insurtech Laka) and several business angels. Part of the financing is provided by Bootstrap Europe in Growth Debt.
Notably, this funding comes less than a year of raising €5M in a seed funding round. Back then, Boxy was called Storelift and launched its first store model. Now, the company is used by over thousands of consumers and it is a leading player in a new model of local commerce.
With this round, Boxy affirms its ambition to become the first national network of autonomous convenience stores.
Funds utilisation
Boxy will use the funds to significantly hasten its development in France. By 2022, it aims to open a new Boxy every week on average. While it continues to build up its network in the Paris region, Boxy is planning to expand to other parts of France, starting with the Rhône-Alpes and Hauts de France regions. By 2022, the startup intends to set up a network of over 60 stores in Ile de France and beyond.
Also, the company aims to deploy 1,000 stores by 2025. Boxy expects to double its workforce from 50 to 100 employees by the end of this year. It wants to strengthen its R&D, marketing, support and logistics functions as well.
“With every other shopping experience, there is compromise. Large supermarkets are cheap, but often far and time-consuming. Smaller convenience stores are close by, but expensive. Delivery services are convenient, but there’s a waiting time, a fee and they’re not available everywhere. Very few are open 24/7. Our mission is to deliver uncompromising convenience through every experience.” says David Gabai and Tom Hayat, founders of Boxy.
Tesla of convinience shopping!
Founded by David Gabai and Tom Hayat, Boxy redefines the standards of convenience shopping. Its innovative format is built from recycled sea containers of 15m2 that can multiply indefinitely, cost-effectively and fit into any environment, thereby forming either workplaces or living spaces.
It can be set up easily everywhere, maintain low prices for consumers and fair prices for suppliers.
The Tesla of convenience shopping, Boxy aims to be of use to the majority of French people who are facing an insufficient convenient offer and are not targeted by the services reserved for the biggest cities. At Boxy stores, users can purchase from a selection of over 250 useful products for everyday life at a fair price.
The range of products at Boxy stores includes food items, from groceries, delicious ready-to-eat products and a selection of everyday essentials such as fresh ingredients, dairy products, cold cuts, starches, and some hygiene and maintenance items.
The team at the company handles the restocking of the stores on a daily basis. The team includes staff on permanent contracts with a warehouse located in Ivry sur Seine.
How does Boxy work?
Interested buyers have to download the Boxy app on their smartphones. On downloading the app, users have to enter their identity and register their payment method.
Now, the registered members can access the store 24/7 via QR code. Inside the Boxy autonomous stores, its proprietary technology uses hundreds of sensors and a system that combines computer vision and deep learning algorithms.
It automatically detects the selected items and invoices the customers as soon as he leaves the store. There is no necessity to wait in long queues at the cash counter. The receipt is sent in digital format a few minutes later. With its technology, Boxy enables a smooth, and fast shopping experience.
