Page 18 - RLI December 2019 - January 2020

B8TA STORE B8TA STORE he b8ta company believes the next generation B8TA STORE
Santa Monica, US Austin, US Austin, US
of retail is all about discovery and the business
was started to build the infrastructure and
T tools to power it. From its award-winning
experiential stores in cities across the US and its soon-to-
open first international location in Dubai, to its powerful
software & analytics platform used by retailers across the
globe, they are quickly becoming the company shaping the
future of shopping in person.
Founded by Vibhu Norby and a handful of other people
from within the electronics industry, b8ta was designed to
be a company that was completely focused on delivering
experiences instead of delivering a box on a shelf experience.
Its flagship b8ta brand now operates over 20 retail
locations in the US after opening its first store in Palo Alto
in California at the end of 2015. The most recent store
openings were at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, the
biggest mall in the country, with other openings taking
place in Boston, Las Vegas. Its first international location
will open in Dubai at the Dubai Mall this month, with Products are introduced “We are convinced that the
further international locations being discussed. The into this marketplace on
company has also just launched Forum in Los Angeles, its the first of every month future of retail is not about sales
fashion and lifestyle concept and they have announced a in all the stores and on a or the supply chain or efficiency.
Outside The Box to bring their expertise in experiential retail to the iconic of the entire store will Instead we feel it is about
joint venture with Tru Kids Brands, owners of Toys ‘R’ Us
typical month ten per cent
marketing and storytelling”
change. So over the course
children’s toy store.
“What all of our retail concepts share is Ark Marketplace,
of a year, there is essentially
a complete replacement of all the items in store. This is the
which is our underlying software platform and business
Retailing model that powers all of our stores,” explains Vibhu Norby, speed b8ta feel they must operate at in order to keep up with
Co-Founder & CEO of b8ta. “What it does is it helps brands
the increasing volume of product launches across the world.
Speaking about the Ark software that underlies everything,
launch physical experiences around their product. So our
brands pay for space in the store rather than selling the
Norby says it was derived from what they learnt about brands
inventory to us and in return we give them the execution
was essentially because companies were not happy with their
of the space, as well as the software tools and data tools to who did not want to put their products into big box stores. This
help them understand what’s going on in-store.” experience and the fundamental toolset to interact with retail
The company is focused on innovation and innovation partners was a combination of email, fax machines and phone
Technology retailer b8ta was founded in 2015 to create spaces where shoppers could through technology. A lot of products on display in b8ta calls. So when they came to design the Ark software, they knew
try the latest products out-of-the-box. Here, RLI speaks with Vibhu Norby, stores are electronics, whilst Forum is reserved for apparel they had to create modern and software-based interfaces that
for men and women, accessories, jewellery and some
allowed brands to control each part of their store experience
Co-Founder & CEO of b8ta to delve deeper and learn more about how the company skincare products and Toys ‘R’ Us is the place for all things without having to talk to their buyer or merchant.
kids. The business model is more like that of a marketplace Norby describes b8ta as relentlessly contrarian and
operates and what exactly sets it apart from your more traditional retail platforms. than your typical store environment. outside-of-the-box thinkers and believes that many people
see them as a single purpose technology retailer that sells
electronics, but they are continuously challenging that
narrative with their work and the new spaces in which they
are pushing the company forward into.
“We have a view on retail that is very different from most
of the industry; we are convinced that the future of retail is
not about sales or the supply chain or efficiency. Instead we
feel it is about marketing and storytelling,” Norby explains.
This unique view on retailing means that when customers
walk into a b8ta store, they are not confronted with staff
members who just want to sell and nothing more.
“As much as we are a technology company, we are a
people company and we believe we have an amazing set of
team members who ensure that every customer leaves a b8ta
store with not only with experiences with new gadgets, but
remembers the helpful, informative and relaxed staff who are
excited about explaining the products in front of them.”
With one eye on the future, Norby concludes the
interview by explaining he feels that experiential retail is
going to have the same level of impact on the retail world as
e-commerce did and how the store of the future will look
very different to what it is today.
“As for the biggest challenge, I feel that as a technology
company, we exist in a time where the physical world is
still a lot slower than anything online, and we are trying
to navigate a medium that is not yet up-to-speed with
things that move fast, this is what we hope to change in the
B8TA STORE coming years with b8ta,” Norby concludes.
Santa Monica, US
30 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL OCTOBER 2019 DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL 19