NRF 2025: Four tech start-ups that address key retail challenges

Paris - At NRF 2025: Retail's Big Show Europe, FashionUnited selected four start-ups to spotlight from a broad group of retail innovators. The companies were part of the Startup Hub featuring 62 retail tech businesses from 15 countries, as well as an Innovators showcase section with over 30 technology companies. This year's event, which took place from September 16 to September 18 in Paris, highlighted a range of solutions aimed at tackling modern retail challenges.

Jonathan Dori on LiveCrew

LiveCrew's founder, Jonathan Dory, explained his company’s retail intelligence application to FashionUnited. He said the platform empowers sales associates to collect data on customers who leave a store without making a purchase. While e-commerce has a wealth of data, Dory noted that physical retail often lacks insight into the 80 to 85 percent of visitors who do not buy anything. LiveCrew aims to bridge this gap by gathering information on what products customers were looking for and why they did not purchase them. This data can be used to improve merchandising, product buying, and marketing campaigns. LiveCrew also took home the NRF Retail Award for the most 'Intelligent use of data' on Tuesday night.

What do you do?

We provide a SaaS solution that collects information from store assistants about customers who leave a store without buying anything. Our solution helps retailers understand the reasons for low conversion rates in physical stores, gathering data that is often only available in e-commerce settings.

What problem do you solve?

We solve the problem of not knowing why people leave a store empty-handed. Retailers know what they sell and who they sell it to, generally with loyalty programs. But our platform tells retailers about the 80 to 85 percent of people that don't buy anything. Valuable information that is often known by the retail staff but seldom tapped into. We provide retail assistants with an app containing approximately 6 quick question for them to answer about the client. This will tell you if people are leaving because the right products weren't available, or if the pricing was a problem. By understanding these frictions, retailers can improve their merchandising and drive-to-store campaigns.

What does it cost?

The cost is a monthly subscription fee based on the number of stores a retailer has.

Clara Six on Ekoo

Clara Six, customer success manager at Ekoo, talked about the company’s audio solutions for e-commerce websites. The platform allows brands to embed audio clips recorded by product managers, designers, or even other customers talking about products. This approach, she explained, helps to humanise the online shopping experience and provide more detailed, personal advice, similar to what a customer would receive in a physical store.

What do you do?

We create audio widgets for websites, which can be used to explain products and services, creating a better user experience. Our platform allows brands to embed audio clips from their teams, such as product managers or designers, and even customers, to provide a more detailed and human-centric description of products. We've worked with the French shoe brand Repetto and created audio to help customers choose the right size, care tips and also some history on iconic models, etc.

What problem do you solve?

We help retailers humanise their websites and provide a more personal, in-store-like experience. Our solution helps retailers to create a more direct link with customers, improving engagement beyond standard text descriptions and images. You can also use it for Google reviews by customers, we've found that when customers are allowed to talk about the product and record that, they actually say much more than if they are asked to write a review. So the reviews become much more detailed and elaborate this way.

What does it cost?

Ekoo adapts its solution to each customer's needs and offers a three-month proof of concept period.

Roy Lugasi on Stork

Roy Lugasi, co-founder of Stork, explained the company’s AI-driven B2B platform that redefines global distribution for luxury goods. He highlighted that over 60 percent of the world's inventory, valued at hundreds of billions of dollars, is not digitised. Stork digitises this assortment and makes it available to online retailers, allowing them to access curated, global inventory on a dropship basis. The platform manages the entire transaction, from dynamic pricing to global distribution, and serves as the merchant of record.

What do you do?

Stork is a luxury digital warehouse. We are an AI-driven B2B platform that turns every product into a tradable digital asset. Our platform digitises the assortment from suppliers, who can be wholesalers, retailers, or brands, and makes it available to top-performing online retailers around the world. We manage the entire transaction lifecycle, from providing a fast solution for suppliers to digitise their inventory to handling dynamic pricing and acting as the reseller.

What problem do you solve?

We solve the issue of a significant portion of the world's inventory not being digitised or available online. We provide a fast solution for suppliers to digitise their inventory and access global demand, providing retailers with curated selections of global inventory on a dropship basis.

What does it cost?

Nothing. There is no cost for the supplier or the retailer. Stork operates as the reseller and takes a dynamic markup on the wholesale price, which typically ranges from 10 to 25 percent.

Mehdi Doghri on Save your Wardrobe

Mehdi Doghri, co-founder and chief operating officer of Save your Wardrobe, talked to FashionUnited about his company’s enterprise SaaS platform, which assists fashion brands and retailers in managing their aftercare and after-sales services. Doghri noted that handling repairs, alterations, and returns can be an operational hassle, often managed through cumbersome email chains. The platform offers a digital, white-label solution for brands to manage these operations, reducing costs and improving customer loyalty. Save your Wardrobe was nominated for the 'Seamless Unified Retail' NRF Retail Award.

What do you do?

We are an enterprise SaaS platform that helps fashion brands manage aftercare and after-sales services for their customers. This includes providing a white-label, digital solution for brands to manage operations like repairs and alterations, both online and in-store.

What problem do you solve?

We address the operational difficulties of managing after-sales services. Our platform offers a digital solution for the complex operational hassle of handling returns, repairs, and alterations, helping brands reduce costs and increase customer loyalty. Last year we partnered with the French fashion brand Sandro to offer a new repair and care service for Sandro items. This service allows customers to extend the lifespan of their garments by providing easy access to repairs, both in-store and online and the whole process of diagnostic, cost, returns, etc. is done automatically.

What does it cost?

It is an enterprise SaaS platform with a fixed setup fee for personalisation. After that, a monthly license fee is applied which depends on the size of the operation.