Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
Tech

Lightspeed Says It Has Solution For Struggling Retailers In Digital Age

The Canadian Press, 16 Sep, 2015 01:18 PM
    MONTREAL — A Montreal tech company with big ambitions for global growth says it has an inexpensive solution for restaurateurs and other retailers looking to thrive in the digital age.
     
    Lightspeed says its cloud-based software system can assist mid-sized retailers and restaurants manage inventory, take orders, process payments, analyze customer shopping patterns and develop an e-commerce presence.
     
    Founder and CEO Dax Dasilva says Lightspeed's offerings are best suited for companies with at least $600,000 a year in sales per location and up to 50 stores.
     
    For a monthly fee that can start as low as $76 a month, they can access Lightspeed software and apps either from mobile devices like iPads or older desktop computer systems.
     
    Running a business is much more complicated than it was 20 years ago, Dasilva said. Business owners not only need to have strong in-store offerings — they also need a strong online and social media presence.
     
    "So in order to be this modern independent retailer...they need somebody on their side to build systems that will help them be four people at once," the 39-year-old Vancouver native said.
     
    Founded in 2005, Lightspeed is doubling its business annually. It already has 25,000 customers in more than 100 countries, including about 1,500 restaurants, that process $10 billion worth of yearly transactions.
     
    It hopes to further expand its global reach after Quebec's Caisse de depot and Investissement Quebec led an $80-million investment involving original funding partners Accel Partners and iNovia Capital. Lightspeed said it has been inspired by Canadian tech companies like Ottawa's Shopify (TSX:SH) and Hootsuite in Vancouver.
     
    "We want to be the tech anchor in Montreal," Dasilva said during an interview in his office in a renovated building in Old Montreal that houses 210 of the company's 350 employees — one of eight offices around the world.
     
    Lightspeed is looking to take advantage of new regulations in Europe and North America to sell its retail and restaurant programs.
     
    Quebec has joined several countries in Europe and Latin America that require bars and restaurants to provide sales transactions to ensure proper payment of taxes.
     
    In the United States, the credit card industry is switching to chip cards long used in Canada to cut down on fraud. Starting Oct. 1, business owners rather than the card companies will be liable for any fraud from purchases made by magnetic-strip cards.
     
    That's a big potential growth market for companies like Lightspeed that works with payment processors to offer the service, said Dasilva.
     
    "Once the deadline is here I think it's only going to take a couple stories of people that lost money for people to want to invest in this (chip-reading) hardware."
     
    Caisse de depot vice-president Christian Dube said the Caisse was drawn to invest by Lightspeed's growth potential outside Canada.
     
    "We're really looking at this company on a global basis and the market share that they can take in the U.S. ... and what they can do in Europe," he said.

    MORE Tech ARTICLES

    Mobile web usage has surpassed computer-based in Canada, says comScore

    Mobile web usage has surpassed computer-based in Canada, says comScore
    Canadians are now spending more time online with their mobile devices than with their computers, says digital measurement firm comScore.

    Mobile web usage has surpassed computer-based in Canada, says comScore

    It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a drone! Looking for gadgets at CES? Don't forget to look up

    It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a drone! Looking for gadgets at CES? Don't forget to look up
    When you're searching for the hottest gadgets on the floor of this year's consumer electronics show, be sure to look up. For the first time ever, there's an International CES section dedicated to drones. More than 20 companies are showing off dozens of different models.

    It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a drone! Looking for gadgets at CES? Don't forget to look up

    Playstation 4 Sells Over 4.1 Mn Units In Holiday Season

    Playstation 4 Sells Over 4.1 Mn Units In Holiday Season
    Despite the unavailability of sales data of its major competitors, Microsoft and Nintendo, the figures reported by Sony suggest that the Playstation 4 again dominated the gaming console market for the second consecutive year.

    Playstation 4 Sells Over 4.1 Mn Units In Holiday Season

    Smartphone Swipe To Unlock Your Suitcase

    Smartphone Swipe To Unlock Your Suitcase
    US-based start-up Digipas has launched a "smart" lock that allows users to open or lock their luggage with just a swipe of their smartphone screens.

    Smartphone Swipe To Unlock Your Suitcase

    Top Fitness Apps Not Satisfying

    Top Fitness Apps Not Satisfying
    The inaugural "2015 State Of The U.S. Health & Fitness Apps Economy" ARC 360 report published by Applause looked at 39 health and fitness apps and 28 medical apps.

    Top Fitness Apps Not Satisfying

    An App To Delete Inappropriate Text Messages

    An App To Delete Inappropriate Text Messages
    If you have sent some inappropriate text messages to your friend and want to delete it from his/her device permanently, a new app called Strings could help you do so.

    An App To Delete Inappropriate Text Messages