Invest in France Agency nordic-countries Office

The cluster has 4 main objectives:

• anchor decision centers and strategic functions in the region

• act as an internationally recognized laboratory where the concepts of future retail and marketing are developed and tested

• attract businesses that are leaders in their sector in all the major consumer markets worldwide

• make the city of Lille the international retail capital of the future.

The cluster’s R&D activity is organized around 3 research themes to encourage innovation in the retail sector:
• optimization of processes (physical and informational)
• customer relations and mobility
• new marketing environment.

Advantages

- The North Pas-de-Calais region offers various advantages:
             
Young and abundant workforce   
• Population of 4 million      • 36.7% under 26 years old   
Dynamic economy   
• No. 3 leading French region in terms of international trade accounting for 9% of total French exports
• Leading French region for cumulative inward FDI since 1993
Centrally located region close to major markets
• 100 million consumers accessible within a 300 km radius
• Three major cities closely linked by train: Paris 1h00, London 1h20 Brussels 35 mins

- The core of the Distance Marketing and Distribution industry in France:

• Existence of numerous decision centers and group purchasing centers of international firms (Auchan, Castorama, Camaieu, Cofidis, Decathlon, Finaref, Leroy Merlin, Norauto, Nocibé, 3 Suisses, La Redoute, Orange etc.)
• Second leading center for logistics in France

- Partnerships with other clusters:
• Organization of joint events with regional clusters: Up-Tex (textiles), I-trans (Railway industry), NSL (Nutrition Health Longevity), Filière Aquatique (Seafood), Maud (Domestic materials); and with the Solutions Communicantes Sécurisées (Secure Communications Solutions) cluster in Nice, Minalogic in Grenoble, and Novalog in Le Havre
• Joint approved projects with the MAUD and Novalog clusters

Members

More than 100 members
Companies:  approximately 70 of which approximately half are small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
French companies: Auchan, Leroy Merlin, La Redoute, 3 Suisses, Cofidis, Atos Worldwide, Orange Business Services, La Poste, Décathlon, Damart, Boulanger, Redcats etc. 
International companies: IBM (United States), Artificial Solutions (Sweden), Cisco Systems (United States), Microsoft, Cap Gemini etc.

Research and Educational Institutions
- 15 centers including Universities of Lille I, II et III, Catholic Univeristy of Lille, University of Valenciennes and Hainaut-Cambrésis, Ecole Centrale of Lille, École des Mines of Douai, Ecole Supérieure de Commerce of Lille (ESC Lille), University Charles-de-Gaulle Lille, University of Science and Technology of Lille, Institut d’Economie Scientifique et de Gestion of Lille (IESEG), Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et Automatique (INRIA), Ecole Nationale des Arts et Industries Textiles (ENSAIT) etc.  
- 20 other organizations are also cluster stakeholders including: Région Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Lille Métropole Communauté Urbaine (LMCU), Direction Régionale de l’Industrie de la Recherche et de l’Environnement (DRIRE), Association Française de la Relation Client (AFRC), Greater Lille Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI Grand Lille), Digiport, Centre d’Innovation CIEL, Info Nord, Electropôle, Agence pour la Promotion Internationale de Lille Métropole (APIM), Agence Régionale d'Information Stratégique et Technologique (ARIST) etc.

Current R&D partnerships (refer to appendix)

11 approved projects accounting for €25.2 million
10 projects currently being assessed or prepared

Approximately one million euros granted by the French National Research Agency (Agence Nationale de la Recherche  or ANR) between 2005 and 2007
Approximately 3 million euros allocated by the Single Interministerial Fund (Fonds Unique Interministériel or FUI) between 2005 and 2007

International partnerships

Current:
• Benchmark economic mission in Japan in March 2007 and South Korea in February 2008
• Organization of ICTF (International Contactless Technologies Forum) in Lille in June 2008
• Participation in the Norm@Fret program for the international standardization  of transport with the CEFACT (United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business) negotiated with the United Nations

Future
Development of international partnerships via member companies that are already operating extensively abroad (approximately 40 countries)

Appendix: Selected certified R&D projects

• More information on Industries du Commerce