METRO Group, a large international retailing company, acquires a stake in the Munich-based startup Shore. The startup supports small and medium-sized businesses and service providers with a cloud-based software that allows them to digitally manage their business processes.
Shore was founded in 2012 and significantly grew it’s business in the previous years with a dedicated software for small and medium-sized businesses and local service providers in Europe. Shore offers a simple, user-friendly and, most of all, inexpensive access to a digital communication and productivity software for this target group. It does not require any IT know-how. The product offers ranges from online booking to customer relationship management all the way to marketing tools and an efficient iPad-assisted cash system. Restaurant owners are also an important customer group for Shore services solutions. More than 10,000 locations around one million bookings per month are meanwhile managed via the Shore platform.
Alexander Henn, founder and Managing Director of Shore: “We are very pleased about METRO’s investment. For us it represents not only a confirmation of the quality of our software solutions, but also underscores our ambition of becoming the leading provider for the digitalisation of small, local service providers.”
METRO Group operates over 2,000 stores/supermarkets in 29 countries and employs more than 220,000 people. It has access to 21 million active wholesale customers. The company invests selectively into digital business models for its customers from the hotel and restaurant sector who benefit from digital services to their own business operations. Last year, the company initiated the “METRO Accelerator” to further drive the digitalization in the catering industry – a program aimed at startups to provide digital solutions for the hospitality sector. It will kick off its second round in September 2016.
Olaf Koch, Chairman of the Management Board of METRO AG: “Shore offers digital solutions and services aimed at simplifying and optimizing our customers’ business processes. Shore and METRO want to take the business of local service providers to the next level with digital solutions. The investment in Shore represents a further element to drive digitalization, especially in the hotel and restaurant sector.“
