'Bodega' CEO Apologizes, Insists They'll Create More Jobs (cnn.com)

Remember those two ex-Googlers who started a company to replace mom-and-pop corner stores with automated vending kiosks? An anonymous reader writes: The company's CEO has now "apologized in the face of mounting outrage," according to CNN. CEO Paul McDonald had shared a vision with Fast Company of a world where centralized shopping locations "won't be necessary" because there'll be a tiny automated one every 100 feet. Within hours McDonald was writing a new apologetic essay insisting he's not trying to replace corner stores, which carry more items and include a human staff who "offer an integral human connection to their patrons that our automated storefronts never will." In fact, he added that "Rather than take away jobs, we hope Bodega will help create them. We see a future where anyone can own and operate a Bodega -- delivering relevant items and a great retail experience to places no corner store would ever open." Promising to review criticism, he added his hope was to "bring a useful, new retail experience to places where commerce currently doesn't exist."
Bodega's CEO sees it as a way to beat Amazon by offering immediate access to popular products, and TechCrunch reports the company has already raised $2.5 million, while Fast Company notes "angel" investments from executives at Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Dropbox.

The company has already begun testing 30 Bodega boxes over the last ten months, and unveiled 50 more boxes last week, with hopes to have over 1,000 by the end of next year.

Comments

*Now* the business model is

[ColdWetDog]

A vending machine with a person inside it?

Re:*Now* the business model is

[cdreimer]

Except that the person inside would be an illegal alien to keep labor costs low.

http://www.technovelgy.com/graphics/content07/postal-robot-mibII.jpg

Re:*Now* the business model is

[elrous0]

No, now the business model is exactly the same as it was before--except some bullshit about not putting small shops out of business...because small shops will be able to buy their own bodega vending machines...which will somehow employ more people somehow.

Re:*Now* the business model is

[OrangeTide]

Make sure the illegal alien is an independent contractor so you don't have liability and don't need to pay for insurance, disability, workmans comp, etc. That's just smart business.

Re:*Now* the business model is

[ganjadude]

bonus points if they are midgets

Re:*Now* the business model is

[ShanghaiBill]

Productivity improvements are a good thing, and pointless make-work jobs are not "good for the economy". If this business model eliminates retail jobs, then the savings will go to the customers or owners who will spend it on OTHER STUFF. People will then be employed to create those other goods and services. So the end result is roughly the same number of jobs, but a higher standard of living since labor will go toward desirable goods and services instead of pointless busy work.

If high productivity was bad for the economy then Ethiopia and Myanmar would be wealthy and prosperous, while America and Europe would be poor. For some weird reason, people accept that past productivity improvements were good, but think future improvements will obviously be bad.

Re:*Now* the business model is

[OrangeTide]

By independent contractor I mean what Uber does to shift the businesses costs onto their "employees". Many of which are really bad at estimating the total costs for their car loans, maintenance, etc. (I'm not a socialist, I just don't think it's very honorable to base a business off people making poor choices)

Re:*Now* the business model is

[butchersong]

As a small business owner.. that is often about the only way you can afford to hire -other than the illegal alien part. I don't know where people think we can come up with 1300/mo for an employee for health care in addition to all the other costs when you're just trying to get off the ground.

Re:*Now* the business model is

[liquid_schwartz]

Except that the person inside would be an illegal alien to keep labor costs low.

Now every Home Depot will have at least one Bodega

Re:*Now* the business model is

[liquid_schwartz]

(I'm not a socialist, I just don't think it's very honorable to base a business off people making poor choices)

I'm not a fan of the lottery or Casinos either

Re:*Now* the business model is

[JohnFen]

For some weird reason, people accept that past productivity improvements were good, but think future improvements will obviously be bad.

It's not a weird reason, nor is it difficult to understand. Most people are concerned about their own immediate well-being, and productivity improvements threaten their jobs -- so it's perfectly understandable why they'd view them as being bad.

That they may be good for the economy overall in the long term is cold comfort when you need to pay your bills right now.

Re:*Now* the business model is

[twokay]

If your business is not viable while treating employees humanely then it should not be a business. We might as well go back to slave labour.

Re:*Now* the business model is

[geekoid]

Being a small business owner is no excuse to back slavery.

Re:*Now* the business model is

[OrangeTide]

Playing fair and not ripping off employees and customers might be a violation of SEC rules that protect against shareholder disenfranchisement, at least for publicly traded companies. It's hard for a corporation these days to spend too much on donating time, resources and money to improving communities as that usually isn't a tax write off except when directed to registered charities. The charities themselves are usually scams and inefficient, so a smart CEO might want to cut out the middle man to make the most effective use of a donation only to be kicked out by the corporate board.

Profit is not a god to worship above all out. It's OK to make some profit if you can retain your humanity. But lawyers and greed have slowly outlawed any business operated by human beings.

(disclaimer: I may have been listening to The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy when I posted)

Re:*Now* the business model is

[mattack2]

Don't the health care requirements only kick in after 50 employees? Also, I know many (if not most if not all) startups don't have 401(k) plans either, etc..

Anyone can own and operate a bodega?

[DontBeAMoran]

So where's the form to apply for one?

Re:Anyone can own and operate a bodega?

[fahrbot-bot]

So where's the form to apply for one?

Here you go.

*create* jobs?

[supernova87a]

Not likely. Everything about this says taking the distributors and inefficient parts of the supply chain out of the picture.

He may *say* "not taking away jobs", but that's just a saying -- not something he knows. Or at least, it's not going to be likely that the jobs created make up for the jobs lost.

How long before hipsters (or Hispanic people) in the Mission start torching these?

Re:*create* jobs?

[elrous0]

The fact that they're "ex-Google employees" says it all to me. So they're 20-something tech-heads who think every problem can be solved by an app. It probably never even occurred to them that an app can actually CREATE problems. It's all about the VC funding and dropping tech buzzwords to angels. Who cares if it actually works or whether it puts real people out of work? It's an appy app, so give us our money that we haven't earned!

Re:*create* jobs?

[WheezyJoe]

This. Nobody gets into this business to create jobs, they do it to sell stuff.
THE RULE: Profit = Sales minus Jobs (and other irritating expenses)
But TALK and LIES are free, so you can say you're creating jobs if it maybe creates/increases sales.
"create jobs" my fanny. Let the record show he talks shit to the public to make his business plan look good.

How long before hipsters (or Hispanic people) in the Mission start torching these?

Please, no fires. Fires lead to riot tanks, rubber bullets, jack-booted free-market police. Be sensible, and clever. A little super-glue and spray-paint works wonders on keypads and other devices, hypothetically of course.

Re:*create* jobs?

[Paradise Pete]

Not likely. Everything about this says taking the distributors and inefficient parts of the supply chain out of the picture.

Somebody's going to have to keep it stocked and in good repair. Typically that's an independent owner grinding out a living who's going to pay close attention to each machine they own. That keeps all the incentives lined up. Paying an employee to do it is just asking for second rate service.

Re:*create* jobs?

[supernova87a]

Yeah, someone has to keep it stocked. But the whole point of these is that one person can stock a whole bunch distributed across a wide area, probably the same person who previously would have minded just one shop. How can there not be job loss.

Re:*create* jobs?

[Paradise Pete]

I was replying to the distributor comment. I don't know the answer to your question. This isn't going to replace a whole store, obviously, but if they cherry-pick the most profitable items it will hurt them. I'm skeptical, but if it somehow works then there's really nothing that can be done. Neighborhood bodegas rely on being able to charge more than the big stores in exchange for convenience. If that convenience can be found at a lower price then that's where people will shop. But I think they underestimate the problems.

Re:*create* jobs?

[alvinrod]

I think it's a silly idea that anyone can create jobs, whether its a government or even a business. I suppose if you had a massive amount of capital you can slowly dispense it and have people do whatever you want them to, but that's clearly not sustainable. It's consumer demand that ultimately creates jobs, otherwise you could simply have people make and sell mud sculptures of Elvis for a living and there would be no unemployment.

Fortunately for us all, humans have pretty much an endless supply of wants. Sure once you have a lot of many different goods, you might not want that much more of it, but there's always things that wear out and require repair or replacement. Even when a person has plenty of material goods, they typically also want social status, or to be able to spend more time with their family, or to have some new experience in their life.

As you point out though, no one else really cares about anyone else's job. They just want goods and services at lower costs because it makes their own labor more valuable by comparison. There aren't too many cases where humans will go against this either, and most examples tend to be focused around small communities or tribal groups. The jobs will be lost sooner or later whether this company succeeds or its someone else with a similar idea and better execution. Small town general stores were largely supplanted by large wholesalers like Sears that would deliver, who were in turn replaced by malls and a new generation of retailers, who are now all dying because companies like Amazon are eating their lunch. The common thread is that its consumers who are dictating what jobs exist based on who can supply them with the cheapest access to the goods and services they desire. In the same way this might kill corner stores, but eventually something is going to kill these. Sure, existing jobs will be lost, but they give way to new ones in turn.

Re: *create* jobs?

[Reverend Green]

Thank you for elegantly demonstrating why capitalism is a curse on our people.

Re:*create* jobs?

[pnutjam]

These sound like a great way to move illicit products. Whether your switching items out yourself, or the distributor is putting a box of potatoes out that is packed with heroin...
I wonder if that is the point.

Re: *create* jobs?

[WheezyJoe]

Thank you for elegantly demonstrating why capitalism is a curse on our people.

Respectfully, that's not what I said. Sometimes, a lot more times than we give credit actually, Profit=Sales-Jobs works out, when the interests of consumers, employees and business-owners align. In a functioning economy, where you can reliably call Domino's and actually get food in exchange for debit on your bank card, this alignment is happening a lot more often than you think.

It's when people get too greedy, and make-believe that marketing alone, particularly based on clever half-truths and lies, can make them rich without a decent or actual product, do things go sour. The modern trend or fashion of maximizing profits, at the expense of both employees and customers, is what sickens capitalism and leads to dumb ideas like electronic street bodegas, and ridiculous press-releases about "creating jobs" specifically intended to i) waive off government scrutiny and ii) attract more investors (fine print: return on investment not guaranteed).

Capitalism isn't perfect - nothing is, and expecting it to be of course will leave you disappointed, bitter, anti-social, or ranting/raving on Slashdot. Chill. Go to a locally-owned coffee shop, pay the man for a freshly-baked muffin and a hot cup of joe, and realize that business usually works fine, except for a few asshats trying to get rich quick by cheating. If you become aware of the cheating, and consumers voice their opposition, workers choose not to work there, and investors withdraw their support, and maybe even an elected government sends inspectors to expose the bad meat, the cheater goes down in flames, and the delicate balance of interests that we call "capitalism" is working. Capitalism fails only where we tolerate lies, cheating, and dirty little secrets, the same things that fuck up everything everywhere.

Re: *create* jobs?

[Reverend Green]

ranting/raving on Slashdot. Chill.

Thank you for amusing us all with your gratuitous bold-faced text and charmingly naive conception of economics. However I was replying to noted slumlord roman_mir, not you. Please consider taking your own advice as quoted above.

Re: *create* jobs?

[Paradise Pete]

what makes you think my temperature is abnormally high? I'm just talking. This is not an exciting thing to me. And if anything you can see by my comment that I don't think this will be replacing bodegas.

Re: *create* jobs?

[WheezyJoe]

At least he said I was charming, and amusing! Win!
Time for coffee and a muffin!

Re:*create* jobs?

[liquid_schwartz]

Please, no fires. Fires lead to riot tanks, rubber bullets, jack-booted free-market police.

While I agree with no fires, it's way too late regarding the jack booted police state.

Re: *create* jobs?

[mattack2]

The modern trend or fashion of maximizing profits, at the expense of both employees and customers,

"maximizing profits" is a company's job.

is what sickens capitalism and leads to dumb ideas like electronic street bodegas,

I think it's kind of a dumb idea too, but did you say the same thing about vending machines, or even automats (halfway between a vending machine and a restaurant), over full service restaurants/stores?

Combine it with Uber

[glitch!]

Instead of planting fancy vending machines, why not double down on "because... Internet!" and combine it with Uber. The driver would have a mini store in the trunk and the Magical App would connect the customer with the nearest driver with matching inventory. They could call it something like "web van".

Re:Combine it with Uber

[lucm]

They could call it something like "web van".

Webvan were right. They just came in 15 years and 15 billions too early. If they had launched a year or two ago during the startup gold rush they would have enjoyed unlimited funding. It would have failed eventually but they could have published their story on medium.com and they would have been heroes instead of losers.

Um, every corner store I know

[rsilvergun]

is part of a major chain. The only one that's not completely awful is Qwik Trip, which at least pays it's people moderately well. What I remember was they all ran 24-7 and the folks on the night shift were going to get shot sooner or later. It was never a question of if it was when.

I guess what I'm saying is, who still has a nice little mom & pop shop left that they can get mad at bodega? I watched all those get swallowed up by Circle K/7-11 in the late 80s. Even the immigrants don't run 'em any more.

On the other hand it's hilarious having this guy talk about making jobs with a business model who's entire point is eliminating cashiers. And you can damn well bet the guys that stock these things will be on the 'sharing' economy payscale where they somehow manage to earn less than minimum wage and it's still legal. I'd like to think the backlash is more about that than about actual bodegas.

Re:Um, every corner store I know

[93 Escort Wagon]

I live in a semi-rural area in the Puget Sound region. There are convenience stores here which are individually owned and managed. The closest one to my house is run by Vietnamese immigrants, actually.

Some of the larger local farms also have their own seasonal stores - this area produces a lot of berries, something like 50% of the US' total rhubarb production, and the vast majority of its daffodil bulbs. These local farms are family owned.

There are, of course, also some chains like 7/11 - but those tend to be in more semi-urban areas.

Re:Um, every corner store I know

[MangoCats]

The real challenge will be breaking into the current stores' hegemony on business licenses, permits, zoning restricitons, etc.

Re:Um, every corner store I know

[93 Escort Wagon]

And daffodils are neither - that's why there are commas in that sentence.

Re:Um, every corner store I know

[Cinnamon Beige]

About the only jobs I see this actually displacing is that poor night shift cashier's--and that actually circulates among the staff, at many locations. I'm inclined to expect to see these turn up in the minimart, and possibly even just so you don't lose sales merely because somebody's gotten rid of your cashier...so the whole store's still gotta be open even at 3AM, the cashier just isn't needed for many of the transactions.

Re: Um, every corner store I know

[Reverend Green]

Googledouches sure do hate working people.

Re:Um, every corner store I know

[kamapuaa]

I live in the Bay Area, and:

1) Every retailer except bodegas is a chain. I mean, of course they have 7-11s, but the place on the corner or in a strip mall is locally owned by some family of immigrants.

2) I had never heard of the term "bodega" until like a week ago. Liquor stores or corner stores.

Re:Um, every corner store I know

[JohnFen]

I guess what I'm saying is, who still has a nice little mom & pop shop left that they can get mad at bodega?

This is very, very region-dependent. Some parts of the nation are chains as far as the eye can see (I call those areas "cultural wastelands). Other parts have many more genuine small businesses than chains.

Re:Um, every corner store I know

[mattack2]

AFAIK, "corner stores" (which 7-11 seems to be the most well known example) are different from bodegas. Bodegas seem to have a tiny bit more stuff like a 'regular' grocery store, PLUS all of the junk food and such... But they're still tiny. (They're all over NYC, at least according to TV shows set there!)

Non-apology apology

[elrous0]

We're sorry. And we promise that we're going to immediately change our business model in no way. Did we mention that we're sorry?

Re:Non-apology apology

[ganjadude]

there is really nothing to apologize for. that is what I find most problematic about this. people need to stop apologizing just because others are offended or angry at things when there is no legitimate reason to be so. All this behavior does is signal to these consistent complainers is that their complaining is working. stop rewarding stupid behavior.

Re: Non-apology apology

[elrous0]

I'm sorry.

I don't see the innovation

[93 Escort Wagon]

Bodega's CEO sees it as a way to beat Amazon by offering immediate access to popular products

We've had that for centuries - it's called a store. These guys' model just potentially moves the pickup point slightly closer to us.

And, given the inherently higher maintenance costs of their business model (repeatedly stopping and restocking these small "every 100 feet" locations with tiny deliveries), even without on-site staff it's hard to see how this could be competitive with either a traditional store or with Amazon.

TechCrunch reports the company has already raised $2.5 million

Given the type of business they're trying to create, that's not actually very much at all.

Re:I don't see the innovation

[phantomfive]

Given the type of business they're trying to create, that's not actually very much at all.

Unless they've already tried it at a small scale in a few places, then $2.5 billion looks like they are scaling too quickly.

Re:I don't see the innovation

[MangoCats]

If you move the pickup point close enough to suburban American bedrooms that they can (and do) walk to it instead of getting in the car, you've made a major cultural shift.

Re:I don't see the innovation

[93 Escort Wagon]

It's 2.5 million, not billion.

Re:I don't see the innovation

[ark1]

Amazon drones and self driving cars will get it to your door.

Re:I don't see the innovation

[phantomfive]

Oh, I read it wrong, and you're right, that is nothing. It's enough to buy a few vending machines on ebay and experiment with them at a few locations.

Re:I don't see the innovation

[thegarbz]

These guys' model just potentially moves the pickup point slightly closer to us.

And "staffed" it 24/7/365.

Weak CEO's do what?

[Presence Eternal]

"...the right questions of the right people." What a sad sack of crap CEO. Kids, never apologize to people who feel slighted on other people's behalf. The obeisance they demand is never-ending and will suck you dry. Especially never apologize to people who use terms like "cultural misappropriation" unironically. And especially especially never apologize to people who were never going to be your customers in the first damn place.

Also never apologize to people who are angry over the loss of "character." They're the ones who bemoan the loss of public libraries they never visit.

No, Standing Next To It

[WheezyJoe]

A vending machine with a person inside it?

Standing next to it, to help people who can't work it, reset it when it breaks, print coupons when it eats money or mangles the goods, and call the cops when an angry consumer goes insane. Just like the guy standing at the "self-checkout" lanes at your grocery store.

Re:No, Standing Next To It

[Presence Eternal]

Man, I wish my local stores had someone to tend the self checkouts. All we get is a flashing light when there's a problem. Employees try to come help, but they're moving against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

Re:No, Standing Next To It

[elrous0]

The business mode sounds ridiculous to me. Basically, it trusts your smartphone camera to do the checkout for you, and trusts the customer to video everything they take from the machine. In the real world, unless it's in a *very* secure location with someone watching, criminals will game the shit out of those things immediately. They'll open it up with a burner or stolen phone, steal everything, then toss the phone.

Re:No, Standing Next To It

[elrous0]

I've actually went back to a full-service grocery store again. It was bad enough when most stores started making us bag our own groceries. Now they want us to check ourselves out too. Pretty soon they'll be asking customers to stock the shelves and clean the bathrooms.

Fuck that noise. I'll pay a few dollars extra to get real humans helping me, thanks.

Re:No, Standing Next To It

[Anonymous Coward]

I bag my groceries better than most supermarket employees.

There is a reason that they work at a supermarket, and not a job that actually pays decently. Similarly, there is a reason why I have a mentally challenging job with lots of responsibility, many people who depend on me, and many complex problems to solve.

And that reason is: I am good at Tetris.

I can group cold stuff together. I can arrange items so the bananas don't get squished, the eggs don't get crushed, one bag isn't 100 pounds, and there aren't three bags each with one item in them. And I can do this on the fly, without planning, without frantically pulling items back out of a bag to put them in another. I can do this naturally.

So, given the significant difference in quality of service here, I would rather do this myself.

Re: No, Standing Next To It

[DontBeAMoran]

Eggs should go on top of everything? I question your logic. Have you ever tried eggs on top of spaghetti? Yuck.

Re: No, Standing Next To It

[chipschap]

Have you ever tried eggs on top of spaghetti? Yuck.

Obviously you never tried carbonara.

Re:No, Standing Next To It

[serviscope_minor]

When I lived I the US I found them bagging groceries for you just plain odd.

Actually I learned that the purpose of soft fruits is padding so when you put the eggs on the bottom, you put a layer of raspberries above so the eggs don't break when you pile the potatoes on top.

But seriously most baggers suck at bagging. Also what astonished me is how long people were prepared to wait to have a bagger turn up. The staff always seemed surprised that I'd deign to bag my own groceries rather than stand there like a Muppet waiting 10 minutes doing nothing while someone came off break.

Re:No, Standing Next To It

[pnutjam]

Why would they do that when they can swap out some bisquick for an identical box stuffed with heroin. Sounds like a great dead drop.
Swap a box stuffed with heroin for a box stuffed with cash.

Re: No, Standing Next To It

[AvitarX]

Eggs on pasta sustained me when I needed to save money.

Quite delicious.

Re:No, Standing Next To It

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll pay a few dollars extra to get real humans helping me, thanks.

That's the thing about market forces. Those "full-service" grocery stores still exist because there is a large enough market for them in some places. The same reason No Frills exist, because there is a market for people who don't mind bringing reusable bags and packing their own goods and pay less because of it. The chains the middle may be leaning towards the No Frills side simply because that model works and they have to compete.

Re:No, Standing Next To It

[sexconker]

I bag my groceries better than most supermarket employees.

There is a reason that they work at a supermarket, and not a job that actually pays decently. Similarly, there is a reason why I have a mentally challenging job

You're mentally challenged?

Re:No, Standing Next To It

[geekoid]

So you walking up to a checkout. A human will do it for 10 bucks, or do it yourself. Which do you choose?

Anyway, this is the ultimate goal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Re:No, Standing Next To It

[geekoid]

Security and private club. A lot fewer shoplifters at costco.

Re: No, Standing Next To It

[AvitarX]

Fried spaghetti! That's what I'd do mostly.

Make a huge pot, and after day one use the slightly dry pasta in eggs like that.

Could eat not too terribly for very little money.

This whole thing is nothing but one ...

[Qbertino]

... big bullshitty PR drumroll. A completely staged pseudo-controversy. Nothing else.

Sorry

[Kohath]

Sorry a bunch of internet drama people freaked out about nothing. Sorry a news report created a false narrative and a mob of angry jerks believed it. Sorry you were trolled. Sorry that simple, entirely voluntary commerce is so upsetting to some people with a loose grip on rationality.

Let me make it up to you by telling you a completely different nonsense story full of soothing pretense. That's what shallow drama people understand.

Re:Sorry

[Kohath]

You mean something like the outrage factories called Fox News or InforWars?

Yeah, that stuff sucks. People shouldn't watch any TV news and they should be deeply skeptical of any other news reports. Especially if the stories are interesting or seem to confirm a specific belief or bias they hold.

"There are fools on the other side too" isn't really saying much, is it? Let's all stop being fools and tell our people to stop believing this garbage and letting themselves be manipulated for an agenda or for ad clicks.

Or maybe the latest claim that Jennifer Lawrence said that Trump was to blame for the hurricanes? Nevermind that she didn't say that.

I looked it up. She tied hurricanes to "voting" through climate change. Celebrities say stupid stuff like this all the time. When there's a disaster with an very obvious human toll, making political statements about it is extremely bad form. Hopefully she learned not to do that.

It's sad that Fox is taking statements out of context and trolling their viewers the same way CNN does.

This is just the start

[boudie2]

If this succeeds their next project is a robot prostitute, the Ho-dega.

Re:This is just the start

[stabiesoft]

I thought Woody Allen invented that decades ago. It was called the orgasmatron.

Re:This is just the start

[boudie2]

It still makes me laugh when thinking of the look on his face as he "engaged" with the Orgasmatron.

Re:This is just the start

[HornWumpus]

Barbarella's orgasmatron predated Woody's by 5 years. He didn't invent it. Likely didn't remember where/that he had seen it, thought it was original.

Re:Trumpian job promises.

[lucm]

hiring people enough to replace mom and pop stores

Yeah, they're "gig-economying" jobs that were already low-paid and uncertain. True pioneers.

Oblig Bad Car Analogy

[PPH]

We're sorry we named our new product line 'Buggy Whip'. We will immediately re-brand it as 'automobile'.

Sure...

[xlsior]

Bodega's CEO sees it as a way to beat Amazon by offering immediate access to popular products

Best Buy offers you immediate access to popular products too, but that just makes them Amazon's de-facto showroom instead.

Given the *extremely limited* storage space constraints of a typical vending machine, that will be guaranteed to mean "Current inventory: two types of luke-warm soda of a flavor you can't stand, a cellphone charger that's not compatible with your phone, and a special deal on sombrero's. Oh, and don't mind the homeless people using the side of our unattended machine as a public bathroom".

Other thoughts:
It seems very unlikely that the particular machine that you're close to will carry what you're looking for, even when limiting themselves to 'popular products'. After all, it is an incredibly inefficient way to manage your inventory. Example: you want a cellphone charger. in a typical store, they'd have half a dozen sitting on a shelf. Depending on the size of the store, that serves customers anywhere from within the next few blocks, to half a city. With these vending machines, they'd needs hundreds of them to cover a similar size chunk of town that the current single store does. And even then, the odds that the machine you are standing next to won't have it are huge because at best they carried one or two, and it's not like they'll be restocking these multiple times a day... (And if they ARE continuously driving in circles restocking these all day, everyday, then expect that the price for any item is going to be a multitude of normal, it's WAY more expensive to drive around all day than to just pay a minimum wage worker in a traditional store to unpack a few pallets worth of products)

Meanwhile, they want to compete with Amazon, who carries 480 million different products on their website, and which on top of that already offers 1 hour delivery service in limited markets -- Good luck with that, not holding my breath...

Re:Sure...

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

They also have the minor problem of existing vending machines. I wouldn't be surprised if they actually believe that the tendency of current vending machines to mostly stock a tiny selection of soda, snacks, and candy is just because it's an ossified legacy industry that does not understand the glory of 'apps'; nor would I imagine that finding some VCs who share this belief will be tricky; but I would strongly suspect that they will either learn the hard way that current vending machine selection sucks because that's what keeps the cost of keeping the things stocked to acceptable levels; or (if they do have some amazing logistical plan), will find that existing vending machine operators will be much happier to adopt the new plan than they be to go out of business.

Re:Sure...

[MangoCats]

It _could_ work well, if it stocked things that you normally drive to the market often for like milk, juice, eggs, etc.

It could also work well as a sort of community mailbox for commonly purchased items - if you wanted a particular brand of bacon or yogurt, you could order it on an app in your phone and go to the refrigerated mailbox to pick it up. If you're a good faithful customer they'll keep stocking your stuff, if you never show to pick it up you might become lower priority compared to their more reliable customers.

Re:Sure...

[drinkypoo]

They also have the minor problem of existing vending machines. I wouldn't be surprised if they actually believe that the tendency of current vending machines to mostly stock a tiny selection of soda, snacks, and candy is just because it's an ossified legacy industry that does not understand the glory of 'apps';

You can buy pretty much anything from a vending machine, including a car. (You have to make the purchase online because of laws around sale requirements which they can't fulfill with a simple vendomatic, but you go pick up the car without ever even speaking with a human.) In hotels you can buy bluetooth headphones and phone chargers from vending machines. There's no reason why you can't converge apps and vending machines (you ask the app which machine has the item you want, and then it holds it for you so that it's actually there when you get there — though this machine doesn't seem to have that capability) and in fact this has been done already. Sodastream, anyone?

Since these machines are intended to be installed inside of other businesses, they can vend more expensive items than usual since they won't be so easy to compromise simply due to location. I think they're probably perfectly viable in a lot of situations.

The stocking isn't a problem

[rsilvergun]

if you can get desperate people to do your stocking for you because they can't find full time work.Amazon's doing that right now with their delivery system. One of my brother's coworkers delivers packages after work for them because he doesn't make enough money at his full time job to make ends meet.

As long as we're giving companies a pass on minimum wage law because it's 'on an app' you'll see more of this. There's a whole universe of shitty business models that spring to life when the working class stops taking care of its own...

Wouldn't these things have more inventory?

[rsilvergun]

For the same reason robot warehouses have more stuff in them: They don't need aisles for those troublesome fleshies.. Plus no AC or heat. And they're not trying to compete with Amazon, they're competing with 7-11. I don't buy coffee and stale donuts online.

You're right about the bums peeing, or more likely punks tagging the thing. Japan's had tons of vending machines selling damn near everything for ages. It works because they have very little vandalism. My guess is there'll be cameras everywhere and they'll track and prosecute people who tag the machines. Maybe get some laws passed for much, much harsher sentences for vandalism (in America that wouldn't be hard). After a few guys do 1-3 years hard time for spray painting a dick on these things word'll get around. Either that or they're gonna coat them in something that makes it really easy to clean spray paint off. But either way they've got to solve the vandalism problem somehow.

Good marketing

[SuperKendall]

I think if CEO's are smart, we'll see more outrage targeting like this. It's so easy to manufacture a single statement that will generate a huge backlash - to which the right response can easily defuse things and in the meantime you have just gained a lot of recognition...

Look... this is stupid on multiple levels!

[King_TJ]

The thing I haven't really seen talked about here is that traditional bodegas will *never* be replaced by this type of business model. (Perhaps that's why some are offended they borrowed the name.) Bodegas as they exist in places like New York City, cater to lower income urban citizens who don't necessarily have the money to purchase what they need right away. Bodega owners often extend credit to these people, relying on knowing them personally and their past history. Their customers are likely NOT to have forms of credit like a credit debit cards that can be swiped or read at a vending kiosk.

But even putting that aside? These automatic vending systems tend to suffer from mechanical breakdowns or loss of network connectivity (needed to verify the cards being processed). That's likely one reason they haven't become more popular a long time ago. This idea really isn't anything new at all. Pretty much any company who ever built a vending machine probably thought about it. It just doesn't make a whole lot of financial sense when you have to deal with people who may need to do returns or exchanges on whatever they buy, and who need basic necessities ASAP, so can't just "come back later" if the system can't vend them the loaf of bread or gallon of milk they're after for that night's dinner.

As I recall, large scale vending like this was actually experimented with in some big cities. I recall being told about such a system on a street corner somewhere in Memphis, for example? I think it was done as a drive-up thing? Anyway, it was removed after a year or two. Apparently not so profitable or well liked.

The war on automation!

[slasher999]

We're entering the age of the war on automation. We now have ways to automatically do many things that have typically done by cheap unskilled labor (i.e. shelf stocking, cashier, not small business owner) and the people who hold these jobs are going to revolt. No one wants to be seen as redundant or unnecessary, but that is what is happening. For years we've been seeing a shift from service oriented jobs to high tech jobs because in a capitalist economy we understand the later is more profitable and less risky in the long run. I don't hate the change, nor do I blame Bodega for what they envision (although that is a terrible name) but I do understand the perspective of those being displaced.

See: Twice the Ice

[MangoCats]

Specialty vending machines, like Twice the Ice, and most gas stations these days, are awesome. Small drive-thru convenience stores like Farm Stores are becoming more automated, and could potentially go "operator free" for most of the 24 hour cycle.

Personally, I'd rather have one of these automated stores within 1km throughout the residential neighborhoods, instead of the junk-marts that currently accompany basically every gas station in the US. If you got the auto-mart density up to 0.3km, people could walk to the store for a liter of milk or juice instead of having to get in the car.

Vending machines are not a new concept

[magzteel]

Like every other vending machine owner they will need to strike deals to place their machines and deal with restocking and broken machines.

japan can also sell beer at them Can't do that in

[Joe_Dragon]

japan can also sell beer at them Can't do that in usa also what happens in japan when it jams and some beats the shit out of to un jam it??

But this one's a STARTUP!

[SeattleLawGuy]

Like every other vending machine owner they will need to strike deals to place their machines and deal with restocking and broken machines.

Ssssh, we're calling this one a "Startup."

And to be fair, there is room for innovation in the vending machine space.

Re:But this one's a STARTUP!

[wyHunter]

They're just calling it a startup so they can get millions in VC, burn through it by going to Europe doing trade shows, then go out of business.

Re:Trumpian job promises.

[wyHunter]

They're true lefties, actually. Make people poor and desperate.

Dumbass still doesn't GET IT

[Rick Schumann]

We already have vending machines. You are not 'inventing' anything. We don't want just vending machines. We WANT convenience stores. GET A CLUE!

People will be outraged!

[geekoid]

You know, until it can save them a nickel.

Wal-Mart has never destroyed a small town, people who shop at wal-mart did.