Malls giant Intu launches start-up accelerator programme

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 31, 2017

Shopping malls giant Intu has become the latest business to sponsor a start-up accelerator programme and said Wednesday that it is looking for “exciting start-ups to work with” as part of its new initiative called Intu Accelerate.

The incubation programme aims to develop young businesses with innovative ideas that will help shape the next big thing for the retail and leisure market.

During the 10 week programme, start-ups will be fully immersed in Intu, receiving mentorship from senior leadership, as well as experts from across the business and tech worlds. Those selected will be able to pilot and test their products while having access to central London office space and potential investment.

CEO David Fischel said: “We have a history of spotting and introducing new ideas to the UK and we want to add a new level of drive and dynamism to the evolution of our shopping centre business, whether physical or digital. We’re also hoping to identify start-ups for potential investment which in turn will help us deliver a healthy return.”

There are four categories that start-ups can enter. These include The Future of Shopping to help “create compelling experiences on and off line”; Enhanced Retail Services to help Intu’s retail services “be as responsive and agile as possible”; Boost Retailer Productivity to help its tenants sell more and their customers to buy more while also enjoying the experience; and Wildcard, which is an open category for innovative ideas that don’t fit the other descriptions.

Intu Accelerate is being run in partnership with innovation specialists L Marks, which has also worked with some of the UK’s best known brands, including John Lewis and Topshop. John Lewis has its own innovation accelerator programme called JLab and last year Topshop linked with L Marks to launch its Top Pitch programme, designed to deliver tech-enabled fashion product.