Retail Gen AI Hackathon is one part of ALDO Group’s artificial intelligence efforts

Generative artificial intelligence promises to transform the way business is done, but in most industries, it’s still unclear exactly how it will be used. Footwear retailer ALDO is working with Montreal’s cluster of AI talent to explore how to leverage this emerging technology. In October 2023, ALDO staged its first Retail Gen AI Hackathon in partnership with the Bensadoun School of Retail Management and Amazon Web Services. The event offered over $10,000 in prizes to teams that worked collaboratively to devise generative AI solutions to real world retail challenges. The Hackathon is one part of a larger effort. “It's a work in progress,” said Fatih Nayebi, ALDO’s Vice President of Data and Faculty Lecturer of Information Systems at McGill Desautels. “Generative AI is something that people are working on, but it requires a good foundation, from the data perspective.”