Russian nanotechnology company Rusnano, along with Sitronics, a Russian electronics company, and X5 Retail Group, Russia's largest retailer, have joined in an agreement to bring radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies to Russia’s retail industry.
According to an announcement of the agreement, the new joint venture will not only introduce the technology, but will also develop standards and practices for the commercialization of the technology in Russia. The goal of the joint venture is to open Russa’s first “model grocery store for the future” by 2013 based on X5’s retail platform to demonstrate the viability and RFID.
"There will be interesting technical challenges to resolve,” said Sitronics President and CEO Sergy Aslanian of the project. But he added that RFID has promising commercial potentials in retail, medicine and industry, and that the technologies are experiencing a period of growth that may lead to an excellent market.
RFID tags are commonly used by many retail companies around the world such as The Home Depot and Walmart to help with inventory and logistics.
"RFID technology could help our customers avoid unnecessary hassles when shopping," said X5 Retail Group CEO Andrei Gusev. "We are pleased to have joined the project as expert and practitioner. As such, we'll be taking a hard look over the next years at the viability and value of using RFID technology in retail supermarkets," Gusev added.
The initial budget for the project is 350 million RUB (US$12.5 million) shared equally by the three participants over two years.
