Michigan-based 365 Retail Markets has acquired smart-store vending machine technology company Stockwell of Oakland, California.
 
Stockwell has gathered some of the best minds to build a vending platform that focuses on artificial intelligence, machine learning and computer vision. 365 intends to hire select team members and integrate the technology platform into its point-ofsale systems.
 
“The future of retail is unattended, no doubt,” said Joe Hessling, 365 Retail Markets CEO. “By adding the excellent Stockwell tech platform to the 365-product ecosystem, we are moving closer to our goal of a low-cost, frictionless retail experience. I am very impressed with the team that built the technology and we are putting our integration plans together so we can continue to dominate our current channel and look to other channels for future growth.
 
Stockwell has confirmed the sale and expressed that its leadership is happy to see the technology and team members carry on what they started and see what 365 Retail Markets will be able to accomplish in this space. The more than 1000 Stockwell locations will continue to be serviced.
 
“Stockwell has leveraged computer vision and machine learning in a way that will have a dramatic impact on our industry,” said Krishna Vedula, 365 Retail Markets, COO. “I believe that combined with the 365 platform, in time, we can scale to meet the global demand for frictionless, unattended retail.”
 
365 intends to spend the next few months upgrading the technology for existing customers and locations. The long-term plan is to use the patented technology as a base for several products to be available to the market in 2021.
 
365 Retail Markets specialises in self-service technology and services for the contract foodservice industry and is owned by McCarthy Capital and Joe Hessling. Through a combination of MicroMarket, vending and dining technologies, it offers a point-of-service platform for the workplace.