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May 4, 2016
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Asos launches fashion tech start-up programme with Wayra UK

Published
May 4, 2016

Asos, the UK fashion etail giant, has teamed up with Wayra UK. Wayra is part of open innovation programme Telefónica Open Future, and together with Asos it will look for innovative start-ups with technology that can improve the Asos experience.


Photo: Asos


The main aim for the programme is to find smart technologies to accelerate the pace of innovation within the fashion technology space, making the customer experience easier, more enjoyable, and more personalised.

Asos is seeking to work with mature start-ups with a proven track record of developing technologies, products and services that complement the ASOS experience. As Asos has 80,000 products, 3,500 new items added every week and an average of 3.2 million visits daily, it wants to find meaningful solutions that allow customers to find the perfect item among its offer.

A select number of start-ups will receive direct investment, with access to dedicated acceleration services and office space within Wayra UK’s academy in Central London for a period of 8 months.

“Asos has always been known as a digital leader and this partnership will help us continue to serve the needs of our customers as they evolve. There are specific areas where we would like to accelerate innovation, but we are also excited to hear what ideas come back from the start-ups themselves. The potential here, for Asos, our customers and the companies we end up working with, is huge and Wayra UK is the perfect partner to work with on this search,” said Cliff Cohen, Asos CIO.

“Innovative start-ups like RotaGeek, which enabled O2 to reinvest £2.5M in customer experience with its smart scheduling system and Qudini, which is now the preferred queue management system for Telefónica across 21 countries, are great proof-points as to how we can help Asos disrupt the fashion retail space and internationalise the propositions our start-ups are developing,” said Bridget Lea, Retail Director, Telefónica UK.

Teaming up with tech start-ups is becoming increasingly ubiquitous among UK fashion brands - Topshop just announced the five finalists for its collaboration with Decoded Fashion, which also looks for start-ups that can enhance the shopping experience for its customers.

Submissions for the program will close at 9am on Monday May 23.

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