Retail media tech firm Stratacache UK has collapsed just months after announcing a major deal with Iceland.
In January, the company unveiled the deal to roll out in-store digital signage, CMS and analytic sensor technology across 766 Iceland and The Food Warehouse stores. But Companies House filings reveal it has now appointed liquidators from insolvency firm S&W Partners.
The business owes £12.9m to creditors, but liquidators Mark Supperstone and Simon Jagger estimated they would be able to return just £99k to creditors from the company’s assets. While it is Stratacache’s US parent company owed most, B&Q is among the claimants and owed £18,780.
It is understood the company’s failing has resulted in around 10 redundancies, while several roles have shifted to other arms of the business.
An Iceland Foods spokesperson said the discounter is ”currently in the process of securing a new partnership for our future digital media rollout programme”.
Another Stratacahe company – PRN Media – has also gone into liquidation. PRN partnered with Currys last year to enable brands to advertise on more than 100 digital displays across the retailer’s store estate.
Iceland was the first European retailer to deploy Stratacache’s ‘walkbase’ solution, which tracked how many customers walked passed a digital screen to “accurately measure media impressions in real time when an advert is played”.
The deal would make the Iceland Retail Media Network “the most advanced in-store retail media network in the UK” the tech company said at the time.
“With Stratacache’s technology, we will be able to not only serve our customers better but also work collaboratively and openly with brands to make sure their marketing spend delivers results,” said Adam Smith, then head of retail media, Iceland Foods, when the deal was announced. “We are pioneering closed‑loop attribution on a global scale with this new partnership to deliver full-funnel, measurable ROI across both online and in‑store channels.”
The demise of Stratacache UK comes at a difficult time for Iceland’s retail media team, coming in the immediate wake of Smith’s departure from the discounter after eight years. Smith, a former buyer, had been instrumental in the launch and growth of Iceland’s burgeoning in-house retail media offer following his promotion in March last year.
Iceland declined to comment on Smith’s move. It is unclear whether the supermarket intends to appoint a replacement.
Earlier this year, US-based parent company Stratacache confirmed an undisclosed number of lay-offs at its Ohio head office, and this month, CEO Chris Riegel told the Dayton Daily News the company’s real estate investment arm was selling off two of its office buildings.
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