A total of 16 retail companies with a tested business model and capacity to provide innovation will become leading companies in the sector in Catalonia with their participation in the acceleration program designed by the Consorci de Comerç, Artesania i Moda (CCAM), which depends on the Department of Business and Labor of the Generalitat. As these are companies in a growth phase with potential to continue increasing their business volume, the chosen firms will be able to make a qualitative leap in their digital strategy after participating in the program. A second line of the same, dedicated to the fashion sector, will be launched next September.
The aim is to learn to be better, excellent, in the online field through the design of a proprietary digital strategy that allows optimal work in online and offline channels, with the primary objective of enhancing the value proposition of companies based on new technologies. To achieve these objectives, the Technology Acceleration Program will focus on virtual training in various areas and on the analysis and diagnosis of each company's challenges to help it lay the foundations for an individualized digital strategy. In short, the aim is to transfer knowledge and accompany them in the implementation of technological resources in all processes of the selected companies.
As participation requirements for the program, companies must have their tax domicile in Catalonia, their own business structure, have at least one physical point of sale in Catalonia, and have an online sales channel through their own website. Interested companies must submit applications before September 30 through the Canal Empresa, on the CCAM website or on the Department of Business and Labor website.
The transfer of knowledge will be done with several training courses with a team of expert professionals in the digital and retail sector. The sessions, in the form of workshops, will be practical, will allow the transfer of specific knowledge to the reality of each company, and will address five areas: the development of a proprietary digital strategy, management tools for digital business, e-commerce, digital marketing, and digitalization of the point of sale.
The session on digital strategy, to explain the relationship established with clients, data capture and management, the choice of sales and communication channels, and growth or survival strategies, will be led by Genís Roca, a specialist in business transformation processes, business development, and digital culture, while the session on management tools for digital business, understanding technology as a business generation driver, will be taught by technologist Jordi Badia.
Likewise, the workshop that will address the basics of e-commerce to help define a good own ecommerce strategy, analyzing channels, resources, barriers, and key points to develop, will feature David Meire, an executive with more than 25 years of experience in fashion-sport sector companies. Jordi Esquerigüela, consultant and online marketing advisor, will be in charge of the session on digital marketing to facilitate the design and implementation of a personalized plan. Finally, there will be the workshop on the digitalization of the point of sale, understood as the cross between the digital and physical environment that gives rise to the appearance of the new phygital concept. A term that reflects the phenomenon of the reinvention of points of sale. This session will be led by Jaume Portell, co-founder and CEO of Beabloo, a pioneering company in the development of solutions to make physical spaces smarter.
Regarding the subsequent mentoring tasks, lasting six weeks, companies will have the advice of Daniel Viniegra, expansion director of Go Global Ecommerce and member of Tech Barcelona; Cristina Trujillo, an executive with more than 20 years working in different areas of retail and who currently serves as a board member on different boards of directors (Bimba y Lola, Mayoral or Nano Optics); Laurent Renard, co-founder and CEO of Toro, a technology company that wants to revolutionize commerce with mobile and is turning football club apps into platforms, and Luis Miguel Sanz, an executive with more than ten years of experience in ecommerce, leading projects in large companies such as Tous, Nike, Equivalenza, Alcon and Naturitas.