dunnhumby
{{Short description|Customer data science company}}
{{Outdated|date=August 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Dunnhumby Limited
| logo = Dunnhumby.png
| logo_size = 250px
| former_name = {{Ubl
| Claymore Systems Limited (1989–1989)
| Dunn Humby Associates Limited (1989–2000){{Cite web |date=1989-05-24 |title=Dunnhumby Limited overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02388853 |access-date=2023-08-06 |website=Companies House |language=en}}
}}
| type = Private (subsidiary of Tesco)
| traded_as =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| defunct =
| fate =
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = Josh Bottomley (CEO; July 2023–present)
| industry = Marketing
| genre =
| products = Tesco Clubcard, among others
| services = {{Unbulleted list|Data Consultancy|Customer Knowledge|Customer Engagement|Category Optimization|Price & Promotions|Supplier Engagement|Supplier Engagement}}
| revenue = £362.6m (2022)
| operating_income =
| net_income = £32.1m (2022)
| aum =
| assets = £247m (2022)
| equity =
| owner =
| num_employees = 2,308 (2022)
| parent = Tesco
| divisions =
| subsid = KSS Retail, BzzAgent, Sociomantic
| footnotes =
| intl =
| caption =
| foundation = {{Start date|df=yes|1989|05|24}}
| hq_location = Hammersmith, London, England, United Kingdom
| locations = 50 offices in 30+ countries
| homepage = {{Official URL}}
}}
Dunnhumby Limited (stylized in all lowercase) is a global customer data science company.
Formation
The company was formed by husband and wife team Clive Humby and Edwina Dunn.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30095454 | title=The couple who helped transform the way we shop | work=BBC News | date=24 November 2014 | accessdate=24 November 2014 | author=Smale, Will}} Humby was a University of Sheffield trained mathematician and the couple both worked at Caci. Wanting to start his own business, Humby resigned from Caci and left on the day that Dunn was dismissed. The couple{{cite web| url = http://www.dunnhumby.com/uk/about-us-history-of-success| title = About us| accessdate = 2008-10-12| year = 2008| work = www.dunnhumby.com| publisher = dunnhumby Limited| archive-date = 13 September 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080913034359/http://www.dunnhumby.com/uk/about-us-history-of-success| url-status = dead}} started Dunnhumby in 1989, in the kitchen of their Chiswick, west London home.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/oct/29/tesco-clubcard-couple-depart|title=Clubcard couple head for checkout at Tesco|work=The Guardian|author1=Wood, Zoe |author2=Lyons, Teena|date=29 October 2010|accessdate=2010-10-29}} The company began working with clients, including Cable & Wireless and BMW.{{cite news |first=Elizabeth |last=Rigby |title=Eyes in the till |series=FT Magazine |work=Financial Times |pages=16–22 |date=2006-11-11 |url=https://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7f8f5a56-6d69-11db-8725-0000779e2340.html |accessdate=2007-03-30 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517004531/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7f8f5a56-6d69-11db-8725-0000779e2340.html |archivedate=17 May 2013 |df=dmy }} In May 2018, Dunnhumby acquired marketing and promotions management company Aptaris.{{Cite news|url=https://www.fooddive.com/news/grocery--data-firm-dunnhumby-acquires-aptaris-software/523862/|title=Data firm dunnhumby acquires Aptaris Software|work=Food Dive|access-date=2018-06-14|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/features/mergers-and-acquisitions/dunnhumby-acquires-apartis-enhancing-promotion-management-platform|title=dunnhumby Acquires Apartis, Enhancing Promotion Management Platform - Retail TouchPoints|access-date=2018-06-14|language=en-gb}}{{cite web|url=https://martechseries.com/analytics/customer-data-platforms/dunnhumby-acquires-aptaris-to-bolster-customer-data-science-in-retail/|title=dunnhumby Acquires Aptaris to Bolster Customer Data Science in Retail|website=martechseries.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-06-14}}
Tesco Clubcard
Dunnhumby originally gained prominence for helping establish Tesco Clubcard. In 1994, Tesco, which was second in the UK retail market to Sainsbury's, wanted to create a new loyalty card. The man responsible for Tesco's trials, Grant Harrison, attended a conference where Clive Humby was speaking.
Harrison agreed a trial with Tesco's then marketing director Terry Leahy and, after successful trials throughout 1994, the company was asked to present their findings. The first response from the board came from Tesco's then-Chairman Lord MacLaurin, who said, "What scares me about this is that you know more about my customers after three months than I know after 30 years."{{cite news|first= Susie | last =Mesure | title = Loyalty card costs Tesco £1bn of profits – but is worth every penny | work = The Independent |date=2003-10-10}}
Current business
Tesco originally bought a 53% stake in 2001 for a reported £30m, increasing this to 84% in 2006, before purchasing the rest of the shares.{{Cite web |url=http://www.tescoplc.com/index.asp?pageid=396 |title=Tesco PLC - About us - Our businesses - dunnhumby - About the business |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323021016/http://www.tescoplc.com/index.asp?pageid=396 |archive-date=23 March 2014 |url-status=dead }} The company employs more than 2,500 people in 30+ countries, selling information from a 40-terabyte database to companies including Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and US retailer Kroger.https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=12109720 {{Dead link|date=November 2013}} Dunn and Humby resigned from the company in October 2010 and remained non-executive directors through early 2013. Dunn and Humby invested in the theatre analytics business Purple Seven in 2013.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10037904/Clubcard-duo-Edwina-Dunn-and-Clive-Humby-put-1m-into-culture.html|title=Clubcard duo Edwina Dunn and Clive Humby put £1m into culture|access-date=2016-08-24}}
[http://www.kssretail.com KSS Retail], a provider of analytics software and services for retail price optimization and promotions planning, was acquired by Dunnhumby in 2010.{{cite web|url=http://kssretail.com/2010/01/04/dunnhumby-ltd-acquires-kss-retail/ |title=Account Suspended |publisher=Kssretail.com |date= |accessdate=2019-10-13}} Founded in Manchester, UK, KSS Retail operated as a separate business unit until October 2015, when it was [http://www.dunnhumby.com/dunnhumby_rebrands_KSS_Retail_launches_price_and_promotion_offering rebranded as Dunnhumby Price and Promotion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127103725/http://www.dunnhumby.com/dunnhumby_rebrands_KSS_Retail_launches_price_and_promotion_offering |date=27 January 2016 }}. KSS Retail developed and commercialized optimization software called PriceStrat that helps retailers identify the right prices and promotions as part of a revenue management and merchandising strategy.{{cite web|last=Savov |first=Vlad |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/5/2/5667606/supermarket-price-optimization |title=You priced this milkshake |publisher=The Verge |date=2014-05-02 |accessdate=2019-10-13}} Through Dunnhumby Price and Promotion, the business also provides artificial intelligence software that helps retailers with promotions and market basket analytics.
[http://www.bzzagent.com BzzAgent], a Boston-based social marketing and advocacy start-up, was acquired by Dunnhumby in 2011.{{cite web|last=Lee |first=Edmund |url=http://adage.com/article/digital/tesco-buys-social-marketing-firm-bzzagent-60-million/227695/ |title=Tesco Acquires Social-Marketing Firm BzzAgent for $60 Million |publisher=AdAge |date=2011-05-23 |accessdate=2019-10-13}} Founded in 2001, BzzAgent runs word-of-mouth networks in North America, Brazil and the United Kingdom, enlisting unpaid volunteers to try products from companies including Procter & Gamble, Unilever and L’Oréal, then share opinions about those products with others, in-person and online.{{cite web|last=Griner |first=David |url=http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/bzzagent-sold-tesco-unit-dunnhumby-131902 |title=BzzAgent Sold to Tesco Unit, dunnhumby – Adweek |publisher=Adweek.com |date=2011-05-23 |accessdate=2019-10-13}} PowerReviews acquired BzzAgent from Dunnhumby in July 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180711005759/en/PowerReviews-Acquires-BzzAgent|title=PowerReviews Acquires BzzAgent|access-date=2018-11-12|language=en}}
Berlin-based global advertising technology firm [http://www.sociomantic.com Sociomantic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025131617/https://www.sociomantic.com/ |date=25 October 2014 }} was acquired by Dunnhumby in 2014,{{cite web|last=Liyakasa |first=Kelly |url=http://www.adexchanger.com/advertiser/confirmed-tesco-dsp-sociomantic/ |title=Confirmed: Tesco's Dunnhumby Buys Retargeter Sociomantic For Retail |publisher=AdExchanger |date=2014-04-03 |accessdate=2019-10-13}} according to Dunnhumby's then CEO Simon Hay, to improve customers' online experiences by "mak[ing] online content personalised for people, based on what they actually like, want and need."{{Cite web |url=https://www.tescoplc.com/talkingshop/index.asp?blogid=198 |title=Tesco PLC - Talking Shop - Creating personalised online experiences (Simon Hay, 3 April 2014) |access-date=10 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014235539/https://www.tescoplc.com/talkingshop/index.asp?blogid=198 |archive-date=14 October 2014 |url-status=dead }} The company, founded in 2009, uses real-time bidding technology to purchase and display personalized digital advertising in milliseconds. Sociomantic operates in over 60 markets and 19 offices worldwide.{{cite web |url=https://www.sociomantic.com/technology/ |title=Technology | Sociomantic Labs |publisher=Sociomantic.com |date=2010-07-01 |accessdate=2019-10-13 |archive-date=19 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019114541/https://www.sociomantic.com/technology/ |url-status=dead }}
Given the trading difficulty at Tesco, in autumn 2014, it was suggested that the company might be on offer for sale at £2 billion.{{cite news|author=Wood, Zoe|date=10 October 2014|title=Passed their use-by date? The businesses Tesco could sell|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/10/tesco-sell-financial-footing-blinkbox-dobbies-dunnhumby|accessdate=8 January 2015}} The BBC reported in January 2015 that Tesco was seeking a buyer for the company.{{cite news|author=Miller, Joe|date=8 January 2015|title=Tesco to close 43 stores despite better Christmas sales|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30712762|accessdate=8 January 2015}} In April 2015, The Kroger Company announced it would buy much of Dunnhumby USA and create a new consumer insights subsidiary called 84.51°, effective immediately.{{cite web|date=2015-04-27|title=Kroger buys most of dunnhumbyUSA|url=http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2015/04/27/kroger-buys-dunnhumbyusa/26452443/|accessdate=2019-10-13|publisher=Cincinnati.com}} In February 2017, after 25 years, Hay stepped down as CEO.{{Cite web |last=Quinn |first=Ian |date=2017-02-14 |title=Simon Hay to step down as CEO of Tesco data arm Dunnhumby |url=https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/people/simon-hay-to-step-down-as-ceo-of-tesco-data-arm-dunnhumby/548572.article |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=The Grocer |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Pasławski |first=Krzysztof |date=2023-12-29 |title="Kluczowy transfer w historii" polskiej firmy |trans-title="A key transfer in the history" of the Polish company |url=https://crn.pl/aktualnosci/kluczowy-transfer-w-historii-polskiej-firmy/ |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=CRN |language=pl-PL}}
In March 2019, Dunnhumby announced its partnership with the food and pharma Canadian company METRO. The purpose of this partnership is for Dunnhumby to help METRO deliver more relevant customer experiences through the provision of customer data.{{cite web|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190301005025/en/dunnhumby-Renews-Relationship-METRO-Long-term-Partnership-Powered|title=dunnhumby Renews Relationship with METRO through Long-term Partnership, Powered by Customer Data Science|date=2019-03-01|website=www.businesswire.com|language=en|access-date=2019-08-13}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
{{Tesco}}
Category:1989 establishments in the United Kingdom
Category:Companies based in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
Category:Business services companies of the United Kingdom
Category:Mass media companies of the United Kingdom
Category:Advertising agencies of the United Kingdom
Category:Companies established in 1989
Category:Information technology companies of the United Kingdom