StrongPoint ASA (STRO) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Yes. I think first of all, when it comes to the Baltics and self-checkout, we are the go-to partner when it comes to self-checkouts. And that's whether it's with our own proprietary hardware, our own proprietary software or with third-party hardware or software. But we are the go-to partner for self-checkouts in the Baltics. And there are certainly characteristics about the way that we are able to operate these self-checkout solutions that, that tells us that there should be opportunities and are opportunities elsewhere. I mean, even in Norway and Sweden, self-checkouts are getting more and more frequently used. And not least you're seeing this in the U.K. where that market is highly mature, that there is a market for self-checkouts. And I was about to say, I see no reason why StrongPoint shouldn't be that provider, but there is a reason why it's not. And that is that most POS or point-of-sales providers also provide their own self-checkouts. And as you can imagine, even with a solution that is better and more cost effective, there will be some barriers from the POS providers to get our self-checkout in. But the solution itself is very, very strong, and I have very high hopes and beliefs about what we can do outside also the Baltics with our self-checkout solution.

Next question regarding VusionGroup and electronic shelf labels. First question, how is the cooperation going so far? And when can we expect any sizable orders?

So first of all, just to elaborate on the partnership. The partnership is twofold. It's a value-added reseller partnership, which goes way beyond electronic shelf labels. I mean that is offering the entire suite of solutions that Vusion offers. ESL is there, absolutely, but it's also about the new and revolutionary Edge sense technology, Captana cameras, retail media, et cetera. So that's one part of the partnership. The other part is that StrongPoint is an ISV or independent software vendor, where we are partnering with Vusion on providing our Order Picking solution to Vusion's customers and vice versa. So Vusion is very much seeing the need for grocers to leverage these store assets to conduct and complete e-commerce orders as efficiently as possible, and we've been chosen for that reason. So that's just to set the stage for what is the partnership. So the partnership was announced around New Year's. We all know that as for the VAR bit, the value-added reseller bit, that was not really getting into effect until just recently. Whereas on the ISV side, we have been able to work together and have been showcasing our joint solution on different trade shows. And in short, I mean, the partnership is going very good. It would, of course, be wrong of me to start trying to indicate what dates the first orders or significant orders will kick in. But I can say this much. Number one, we are already doing a number of installation work in the U.K. and Spain for Vusion. And number two, there are several joint discussions that we are having with customers when it comes to the ISV. So obviously, leveraging StrongPoint's Order Picking solution with Vusion's customers to get our foot in the door. So, so far, so good. I understand if the market is curious and maybe even impatient about seeing the first contract, but we should also remember that changing electronic shelf labels or getting into a digitization of the store network is not something that our customers take light long. It's typically a fairly long process to get to those kind of conclusions. But so far, so good.

Next question related again to VusionGroup. If Sainsbury's decides to source its electronic shelf labels from VusionGroup, will StrongPoint be the partner to supply them? And if so, what revenue streams can we expect from such a contract?

Okay. This will just be too much hypothetical question for me to sort of answer specifically. But yes, I'm just going to leave it like that. In general, I think you could say that the U.K. market is very hot for electronic shelf labels. Our joint -- or one of the joint value propositions of being able to provide Pick-by-Light solution is, of course, making our joint offering stronger. And I guess, in general terms, I can say that, that is also the case with Sainsbury's. And when and if we get to any contract specifically with customers, we'll comment on those when they get there.

Okay. Regarding 1X, a question for you, Marius. The sale of the 1X shares is not in the Q2 report. Why not?

So a few weeks ago in June, we announced that we had signed an agreement to sell all our shares in 1X. Now there are standard formalities between signing an agreement and doing the actual completion. So we expect this transaction to be completed now in June -- no, sorry, in July. And hence, it will be included in the Q3 report.

Okay. That's it for the questions. I'll just wait a few seconds just to see if there's any questions coming. So there is a slight delay between people writing them in and us seeing them, but I'm not saying anything more. So I think we'll wrap it up there and wishing everyone a good day and a good summer. Thank you. Goodbye.