Inc & Co’s brand-new retail division, Inc Retail, is already gaining traction.
As the government starts to roll back COVID-19 restrictions, the digital collective Inc & Co is back with yet more expansion news. The fast-growing holding group has acquired an impressive selection of businesses since their launch in 2019, including creative agencies Brass, Skylab, and Neon; mobile-app development company Cuhu; and data specialists Wood for Trees, MyLife Digital, and Insight Analysis.
Despite challenges associated with COVID-19, Inc & Co’s 240 HR and technical specialists have enhanced these digital and software companies’ product offerings to bring each to fruition. And, as the collective continues to grow, Inc & Co has now launched a retail division: Inc Retail. This expansion has pushed Inc & Co’s growth into the trade arena, which has already opened multiple doors for the future-facing collective.
Here, Scott Dylan, founder of Fresh Thinking Group (FTG) – the capital investment organisation that funds Inc & Co – introduces Inc Retail’s first acquisitions.
Introducing Inc Retail
Inc Retail aims to redefine the retail scene in line with modern shopping trends and digital evolution. Many businesses need a transformative revamp to bring them up to speed with today’s shoppers’ wants and needs, especially as these evolve at the speed of light. But lots of businesses don’t have the technological skills or insights to achieve this. Inc Retail is cultivating a knowledge hub to help these companies.
The division is already joining forces with brands and preparing these for post-COVID rejuvenation. These brands include high-street healthy eatery Chop’d and luxury bag retailer Knomo, which join the award-winning laundry service Laundrapp under the Inc Retail umbrella. Together, Chop’d and Knomo bring 90 employees to the division, which is set to rapidly make marks on the retail landscape. Inc Retail will work with Chop’d and Knomo to maximise their visibility and streamline their offerings as they re-open locations across the UK.
Inc Retail’s Managing Director
Inc & Co has recruited former board director of Jones Bootmaker Dan Shaw as Inc Retail’s MD. Shaw has managed impressive retail innovations at Intu shopping centres and held senior roles at Tommy Hilfiger and Gant UK. He looks forward to integrating innovative brands within the retail group.
‘Having spent quite some time working in an advisory capacity with Inc & Co, there was a natural, clear synergy and shared vision with what we want to achieve on the high street,’ says Shaw. ‘It’s a very exciting opportunity that will allow me the freedom to draw upon my own experience to build a strong retail offer for the brands within the Inc Retail Group.’
Introducing Chop’d
Eating out often means sacrificing healthy choices. Whether you’re meeting friends and family for a meal or grabbing a quick lunch to take back to the office, the high street’s lack of nutritious options can be challenging for those looking to make healthy choices. That’s why Chop’d has brought locally sourced, sustainable salads, stews, soups, and breakfasts to 12 of the UK’s biggest cities. Thanks to Chop’d’s impressive range of ingredients and recipes, the health-conscious eatery offers 100,0000 different combos when it comes to crafting flavoursome breakfasts and lunches.
Sustainability sits at the heart of the Chop’d ethos, which puts the eatery in a great stance for an environmentally conscious future. Not only does Chop’d order all ingredients and packaging from local sources, but the chain has also launched the first 100 percent recycled salad bowl – in addition to its re-usable salad bowls – saving over 200,000 plastic containers. Chop’d also offers free vegetables for customers who don’t use plastic bags. This initiative has saved over 3.5 million bags since the company first opened their doors in 2004.
With business guidance from Inc & Co and funding from FTG, Chop’d is set to take this ahead-of-its-time ethos even further. Dylan founded FTG in 2018 with technology specialist and software developer Dave Antrobus. Together, they provide the financial backing companies need to grow and revamp their offerings. With funding in place, Inc & Co plans to shape Chop’d into a thought-leader in the food and drink industry and expand their services so more people can make healthy choices when eating out.
Dylan’s extensive knowledge of investments, software, and business development puts him in a prime position to advise on budgets and ensure FTG’s capital injections achieve acquisitions’ desired impacts.
Introducing Knomo
Knomo produces luxurious bags and accessories, both for functional and fashionable purposes – often both. The prestigious brand sources the finest full-grain leathers and durable fabrics to manufacture bags that offer the highest quality on the market. Knomo’s bags feature in Forbes, Stylist Magazine, and Elle, amongst other top media names.
Inc Retail says Knomo will be ‘instrumental in developing the retail operation arm’. The brand’s sophisticated, distinctive totes, backpacks, briefcases, and laptop bags are already popular with men and women throughout the UK. With Inc & Co and FTG on board to help, this success will only grow as Knomo steps up their impressive accessory suite.
New Acquisitions to Come for Inc Retail
Inc Retail’s work with Chop’d and Knomo is now well underway. And the division is expected to soon announce new acquisitions. In the meantime, Inc Retail’s first acquisitions should kickstart the division’s growth, especially as the government eases COVID-19 restrictions.
About Inc & Co
Based in Manchester, Leeds, London, and Bath, Inc & Co offers a collaborative space for brands across the UK to expand, hone, and accelerate their services and product catalogues. The digital collective welcomes companies in retail, technology, marketing, data, and property sectors, collating businesses with a range of skillsets into one powerful team. The digital landscape may be competitive, but support from Inc & Co gives companies the special edges they need to stand out in fast-evolving markets.
Inc & Co values their acquisitions’ individualities and shapes these so each can achieve their goals. This means Inc & Co never redefines their businesses’ identities – instead, the collective offers the support and guidance companies need to hit heights that were once unreachable.
Learn more about Inc & Co.
