Shop24 Global LLC, a new company formed in the U.S. to manufacture, distribute and operate Shop24 automated retail machines. The first Shop24 was installed in 2006 at the State University of New York at Morrisville.
In August of 2010, Shop24 Global LLC announced the acquisition of certain assets of Shop24 Holding bv, a Holland holding company, including all intellectual property. The acquisition was facilitated by a group of private investors led by PROffutt Limited Partnership.
Ken Horner, an attorney and CPA, was named president of the company, which is based in Columbus, Ohio.
Horner noted that he presently has nine full-time employees and is working on some other relationships to further extend the brand both domestically and internationally.
The company plans to manufacture machines in the U.S. and will have distribution agreements with companies for specific geographic areas.
Horner said there are currently five Shop24s in the U.S.: two at State University of New York at Morrisville, one at California State University in Fullerton, Calif., one at State University of New York in Cortland, N.Y., and one in a Kroger stand-alone gas station in Columbus, Ohio.
Horner said all existing units are owned and operated by other companies. He said Shop24 will operate some machines in the future.
The Shop24 units are self-contained, unmanned retail stores designed to capitalize on the gap between manned convenience stores and traditional vending machines within the growing convenience retailing sector.
The patented self-retail concept provides a robotic delivery system with approximately 200 items weighing from one ounce to eight pounds, enabling 24/7 consumer purchasing opportunities. The unit offer consumers a wide range of grocery, drink and snack products all in a self-retailer environment. Shop24's product portfolio includes fresh and chilled products as well as other prepackaged grocery and convenience products – all are consumer ready and attractively displayed behind safety glass and fully equipped with a security system.
For information, go to: www.shop24.be/.
PROffutt Limited Partnership is a family-owned investment firm that has significant holdings in food production, food manufacturing, real estate and equipment dealerships.
