It is not every day that you have a startup employing 110 employees 2 months after incorporation. Nonetheless, that’s the case of Danish startup Lobyco.
As often before the devil is in the detail, and calling Lobyco a startup per se might be a little far-fetched, as it’s a fully owned subsidiary of Danish retail giant, Coop.
Based on the face of it it seems like Coop has taken the majority of their experience in building infrastructure and services for their ~1,100 Danish as well as the people responsible and made it available for other retailers as well.
It is an interesting idea; going external with something developed predominantly for internal use, and it will be interesting to see how it catches on.
I can be a bit concerned that it’s too big, too cumbersome and too corporate, and that the Coop heritage and ownership will make some partnerships impossible and others just not happening because of perceptions of the brand behind it all.
What would have been great would have been to see something that would be more nimble, less corporate in its outreach with its services and more integrated with startup culture; for Coop to throw the apple as far away from the tree as possible.
Maybe that’s going to happen in the pivot. It will be interesting to watch.
(Photo: Screenshot)