Acrelec, a global leader in customer experience technology for quick service restaurants and retailers, has announced plans for a $223 million investment by Glory Global Solutions (International) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GLORY Ltd.
Headquartered in Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes, France, with 40,000 installations across more than 70 countries, Acrelec focuses on developing kiosks, drive-through and self-checkouts for many of the world’s best-known restaurants and retail brands including McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Walmart, Carrefour and Auchan. The company offers a complete ecosystem which provides customer journey personalization, including the use of AI.
Acrelec now welcomes a partnership with Glory, a 100-year-old industrial leader in cash management as they share the same ambitious and long-term vision. Glory works in the financial, retail, cash center and gaming industries and provides Acrelec, as well as a wide range of other customers, with cash automation technologies and process engineering services that optimize the handling, movement and management of cash.
Jacques Mangeot, Co-CEO of Acrelec says, “Today’s investment by Glory will power the next exciting step for our company and represents a great opportunity for our customers and our team. After many years of effort to answer in-store digital needs, we are ready to launch the next step in our innovative next generation ‘’smart-store’’ solutions. Our stylish, high-quality hardware will benefit from a complete suite of innovative AI software that increase revenues and leverage speed of service”.
“This investment is a strong endorsement of our business direction. We know that partnering with the highly respected Glory Group will be reassuring for our extraordinary, world-leading customers, who can be certain Acrelec will continue to serve them with passion, devotion, and continuous innovation. Glory’s approach to the investment is also a fantastic opportunity for our team members, who will be enriched by new experiences and projects while they continue to live the Acrelec values of agility, customer proximity and innovation that have made us successful,” adds Jalel Souissi, Co-CEO of Acrelec.
Commenting about the investment, Akihiro Harada, Chief Executive Officer at Glory Global Solutions says, “We have been working with the Acrelec team for a number of years and we recognised that there was a strong fit in our cultures and ambitions as well as complementary solutions that we bring to market. We see an increasing trend where consumers want to take more control over their in-store shopping and dining experiences. Acrelec offers consumers this control, through personally and contextually responsive self-service solutions. Our investment in Acrelec will help accelerate their pace of innovation to capitalize on this trend. We will also work together to ensure continued choice in customer payment, including the integration of Glory’s cash automation solutions to extend the range of payment options for consumers using Acrelec self-order and pay kiosks.”
Motozumi Miwa, President of GLORY Ltd, says: “Our investment in Acrelec is another step in the execution of GLORY’s Long-Term Vision 2028. Acrelec’s success in self-service kiosks, click and collect solutions, and drive-through service optimization, together with their expertise in IoT and artificial intelligence, are directly aligned with Glory’s diversification and growth strategy.”
Acrelec will continue to serve its customers with its existing management team and employees, as well as its brands, research centres and factories around the world. Glory and Acrelec are convinced that this stand-alone strategy, based on 15 years of proven continuous growth, is the key to success for both companies. Moreover, Glory will boost Acrelec by helping to elevate sales and enhance services worldwide. This investment is subject to review by Acrelec’s employee representatives, and applicable competition authorities.
