“What we are looking for is innovations that serve the needs of customers, which have been shaped by five mega trends, namely digital transformation, a healthy lifestyle, a new family structure and aging population, convenience & experience, and sustainability.”
“The Tesco Lotus Hackathon 2018 will be held under the theme of Revolutionising Retail towards Thailand 4.0. The ‘problem statement’ we have chosen for the first hackathon is to redesign Tesco Lotus Express experience for future neighbourhoods. We specifically chose Tesco Lotus Express as these are small-sized community stores that interact with customers on a daily basis. On average, annual transactions across all 1,500 plus Tesco Lotus Express stores surpass 415 million. We are hopeful that the ideas and solutions that are gathered during the hackathon will not only benefit our customers and our business, but can also be utilised by local community stores. This in turn will help to uplift Thailand’s retail industry to transform into Retail 4.0.”
Tesco Lotus Hackathon 2018 invites individuals as well as teams, from startups to students. Application runs from January 8 until February 20, 2018. Applicants can visit www.facebook.com/TescoLotusHackathon2018 to find out more about the hackathon and submit their applications. The Open House will be held on March 3, 2018 to allow participants to learn more about the Tesco Lotus business as well as other relevant knowledge from several industry gurus. The hackathon itself will be held over 48 hours from March 16-18, 2018. The judging panel will comprise management from Tesco Lotus, Chulalongkorn University, the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa), and the National Innovation Agency. The top prize, worth 400,000 baht, is a trip to visit Tesco Lab in London, United Kingdom, and a chance to meet with Tesco Group management. Other prizes will also be up for grabs, bringing the total to more than 450,000 baht worth.
“Aside from the prizes, we believe that an opportunity to work with a large multi-national corporation and seeing an idea come to life at Tesco Lotus stores will be an important milestone for the Thai startup community. There is also a possibility that an idea implemented in Thailand may also be utilised within the Tesco Group, which spans across 10 countries, presenting a unique opportunity for Thai startups to enter the global arena,” Salinla concluded.
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About Tesco Lotus
Tesco Lotus, Thailand’s leading retailer, currently operates approximately 1,900 stores across Thailand under five distinct formats, namely Plus Mall, Extra, Hypermarket, Talad and Express, serving more than 15 million customers every week. Tesco Lotus also offers products on the digital platform through two channels: Tesco Lotus Shop Online, where more than 20,000 product items including fresh food are available, and Lazada.com, where more than 12,000 product items are available.