Retail Automation – Carlyle Group invests US$85 million in vending machine operator Ubox to tap China’s evolving e-commerce boom

By | July 30, 2015

Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest buyout funds, said on Thursday it will invest US$85 million in Ubox to help expand the Chinese vending machine operator’s network and give consumers a better-quality service. …

Source: www.scmp.com

For several years, Ubox’s customers have been able to shop online via its mobile app and collect their drinks or snacks from its network of interactive vending machines, which now number over 30,000 and are spread across 58 Chinese cities. 

Author: craig keefner

Craig Allen Keefner is an industry analyst, content strategist, and longtime authority on self-service kiosks, digital signage, unattended payment systems, and interactive technology. He manages content and industry strategy for Kiosk Industry and The Industry Group, with a focus on kiosk software, hardware-software integration, accessibility, payment compliance, healthcare kiosks, restaurant self-service, and emerging AI automation. Craig has covered the self-service and kiosk industry since the 1990s, tracking how public-facing terminals move from concept to field deployment. His work combines industry research, vendor analysis, operator conversations, standards tracking, trade show coverage, and practical experience with the real-world constraints of kiosk deployments. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiosk