Today in the Connected Economy: Dufry, Autogrill, Merge to Form $13B Travel Retail Empire

Today in the connected economy, travel-related retailers Autogrill and Durfy join forces to launch a $13 billion airport and rest stop juggernaut. Also, Indian B2B AgriTech fruit marketplace Vegrow plans to expand after raising $25 million, and British youth banking service GoHenry acquires the French firm Pixpa.

As Flight Delays Mount, Travel-Related Retail Tries to Make it Better

Calling it the chance to launch a “flurry of innovation,” the world’s largest operator of travel-related retail stores is merging with the leading airport and rest stop food and beverage company to create a $13 billion colossus with 5,500 locations in 75 countries.

Dufry, a Swiss company that owns Hudson, World Duty Free, and a half dozen other brands, is merging with Italy’s Autogrill, which has more than 300 global and local restaurants in food courts and airports around the world.

“With a culture of prioritizing serving customers while relentlessly driving operational efficiencies and actively managing our portfolio of concessions, we will be able to drive growth and innovation as well as profitability,” Dufry CEO Xavier Rossinyol said of the travel retail empire that is projected to reach 2.3 billion passengers at 1,200 airports and other locations.

AgriTech Market Vegrow Raises $25M for Expansion

Indian B2B AgriTech fruit marketplace Vegrow is planning to expand after raising $25 million in a Series B funding round.

“We will use the capital to expand our geographic presence, hiring, beef up our tech stack and to grow further,” said Co-founder Shobhit Jain.

This funding comes in the wake of last year’s Series A, which brought in $13 million.

Founded in 2020 by Jain, Praneeth Kumar, Mrudhukar Batchu and Kiran Naik, Vegrow works with wholesalers, semi-wholesalers, modern trade and general trade companies in the fruit business, connecting them to more than 20,000 farmers.

GoHenry Acquires PixPay to Strengthen Youth Banking Outreach

GoHenry, a London company that provides Visa debit cards and a financial education app for children between 6 to 18, has acquired Pixpay, a French firm operating a similar service.

GoHenry — which has more than 2 million users in the U.K. and the U.S. — says the deal lets it rapidly expand its customer base into continental Europe.

The acquisition comes in the wake of a $40 million fundraising round in 2020, which GoHenry has used to accelerate its leadership position in the U.K. and expand into the U.S.

Moxo Teams With Kasisto on Improved FI Client Relationships

Client interaction workflow solution Moxo has joined forces with Kasisto, the creators of financial services digital experience platform KAI.

The companies say the partnership lets them provide digital assistant capabilities within Moxo’s OneStop Client Interaction Hub. That integration means financial institutions (FIs) can streamline their client interactions.

“The customer service experience has never been more important to the clients of financial institutions than it is today,” said Zor Gorelov, co-founder and CEO at Kasisto. “From consumer banking to business banking to investment management, today’s financial clients expect to engage digitally, efficiently, and at just the right moment.”