Kantar Retail Invests in Image Recognition Firm

Kantar Retail has invested an undisclosed sum in Paris-based image recognition tech company Planorama Group.

Founded in 2009, Planorama's solutions enable manufacturers and retailers to analyse in-store photos of products and fixtures, and convert these images into commercial and marketing data. The firm is led by CEO Vincent Jacques (pictured) and employs 50 people, and also has offices in the US, Singapore, Brazil, South Africa, Germany, the UK and Hungary.

Following the deal, Kantar will work closely with a sister firm, field marketing specialist Smollan, which acquired a stake in Planorama in January. In a statement, WPP said the investment will complement Kantar Retail's RichMix assortment and trade promotion analytics tool; the XTEL sales process automation platform; and its Red Dot Square retail virtual reality technology. Benefits will include the optimisation of retail plans, quantification of the costs of non-compliance, and improved retail execution.

Phil Smiley, joint CEO of Kantar Retail, comments: 'We are delighted to formalise our relationship with Planorama as we believe that image recognition technology is key in enabling manufacturers and retailers to track and improve retail execution. We look forward to working with Planorama and other WPP partners to leverage this technology and to ultimately create an integrated shopper technology offer for our clients.'

Web sites: www.kantarretail.com and www.planorama.com .