One of Europe's most highly-regarded tech entrepreneurs opens UK office on Brexit Day aiming to reinvigorate high streets with smart street furniture. Include opens office in London.
- ● Croatian tech prodigy Ivan Mrvos, CEO of Include, created revolutionary smart street benches while at high school and has now sold more than 1,300 units worldwide
- ● Include opens its first UK office with a plan to become the largest provider of wi-fi enabled smart benches in the UK in five years
- ● Mrvos – ranked in Forbes’ top 30 talents under 30-years of age – believes Include’s smart city solutions can help to revitalise towns, cities and high-streets where 1 in 12 shops have closed in the past five years
Solin, 31.01.2020.
In 1998 former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was awarded one of Croatia’s highest honours for her "exceptional contributions to the independence and integrity of the Republic of Croatia".
Now, young Croatian tech prodigy Ivan Mrvos believes it is time for his country to show its belief in Britain.
While millions of people worry about what will happen to Britain after Brexit Day, one of Europe’s most highly-regarded tech entrepreneurs has opened its first UK office as a show of support and demonstration of confidence in Britain.
Ivan Mrvos believes his company is part of the solution to some of Britain’s most pressing local economic and community challenges.
The number of shoppers heading to British high streets, retail parks and shopping centres has declined by 10% in the past seven years.
With 1 in 12 shops having closed in the past five years, local authorities, property owners and developers are looking to re-model Britain’s high streets away from retail and into residential, experiential and community spaces.
Enter the arrival of smart street furniture.
Young Croatian tech prodigy Ivan Mrvos created his first ever smart bench in 2014 while still a teenager at high school.
Now 24, Ivan has sold more than 1,300 items of smart street furniture around the world – but only three so far in the UK, in Wales.
Opening the London office is part of a plan to become the largest provider of smart benches in Britain over the next five years and a partner for local authorities looking to develop smart city solutions.
Smart, wi-fi enabled street furniture is expected to be a huge global growth market over the new decade as towns and cities upgrade their high streets and parks to make them more attractive, increase dwell time and move to creating more connected, better informed smart cities.
Include’s range of minimalist, iPhone-inspired benches are among the most highly regarded in the world.
Solar-powered, energy-efficient, vandal proof and protected by CCTV, Include smart benches allow members of the public to access wi-fi and charge their smartphones while on the go or relaxing and chatting to friends on the street.
Include believes the UK has the potential to be one of the world’s largest markets for smart benches as the UK is one of the world’s fastest adopters of digital and smart technology.
Smartphone use on the move is very popular in the UK with more than half (53%) of 16-75-year-olds using their smartphones while walking. For younger consumers aged 16-24, the proportion rises to 74%.
Like much of Europe the UK is upgrading infrastructure to 5G and has now rolled out the technology to 70 towns and cities.
Ivan believes the smart benches are a highly-visible, comfortable and cost-effective way for businesses to improve internet connectivity in towns, cities, universities, science parks, business parks and communities.
Ivan took the symbolic decision to open Include’s first office in the UK on Brexit day.
Britain and Croatia have deep diplomatic ties. In March 2007, both countries signed the UK-Croatia Strategic Partnership, through which the United Kingdom fully supported Croatia's European Union and NATO entry bids.
Margaret Thatcher was awarded the Grand Order of King Dmitar Zvonimir in 1998 in recognition of being one of the world’s leading voices calling to recognise the independence of Croatia from Yugoslavia.
Ivan Mrvos, CEO of Include, said: “High streets across Britain and the rest of the world are changing as more and more people choose to shop online rather than in physical stores.
“At the same time towns and cities across the world need to become better places for people to live, work and travel across.
“We know as with many countries there are issues with connectivity and infrastructure in Britain.
“Include’s smart street benches help to solve all of these problems by increasing dwell time in towns and cities, and creating better, more connected places and communities.
“Britain has been one of the world’s strongest supporters of Croatia over the past 30 years. We want to repay the faith that Britain had in my country by showing our faith and belief in Britain.
“While we know Brexit brings worries for some we don't see any potential problem for us with Brexit, mainly because we strongly believe that the British market is strong and very developed.
“Britain is one of the leading adopters of new technology, not just in Europe, but across the world.
“Like many people in Britain, Include is committed to making towns and cities better connected, so although Britain is leaving the European Union we are positive we will find many friends and allies here.
“We also know that the British public sector is focused on smart city projects and for this market we believe Include is their natural partner.”
While Britain’s leading Smart Cities -London, Bristol, Manchester, Cambridge, Birmingham and Leeds -have the potential to be significant markets, Ivan also believe there is a real need to improve internet connectivity in Britain’s lesser known towns and cities.
As part of the UK’s move towards developing smart cities Include’s smart benches can provide in-depth analytics offering insight on: number of users, public dwell time, differing usage depending on time of day and seasonality, amount of data downloaded, etc.
From its new office in Finsbury Circus, Include will introduce two main product lines of smart benches Steora and Monna.
Equipped with CCTV for security and built-in LCD displays for advertising, Steora is believed to be the world’s most advanced smart bench.
While Monna, which also includes bike racks for cyclists, is believed to be the best equipped multifunctional street bench for both urban and rural areas.
Include's selected products for the UK market are:
- Steora CCTV smart bench model which is developed to improve the safety of public spaces
- Steora Urban the first street bench ever with a built-in LCD
- Monna models - Monna Street, Monna CITY and Monna COUNTRY, each equipped with the options of charging smart devices, Wi-Fi, street light, digital advertising, sensors, data collecting – and a unique solar-powered cycling point that comes with bike racks, repairing tools, and electrical sockets for charging electric bicycles.Include’s UK office is based at 25 Finsbury Circus, London, EC2M 7E.
About Include Ltd.
Include is a leading European hardware technology company in the development and manufacturing of smart city equipment. Based, in a high-tech production facility in Solin, Crotia, Include has more than 50 highly educated employees, and is recognized as a serious development IoT technology company. Include is growing rapidly in terms of company size, sales volume and global reach. With a global footprint of more than 1,300 benches on 51 markets around the world, Include is involved in major ‘Smart city’ projects and have made its presence known in 260 cities and municipalities across 6 continents.
Please find more information on company web site - www.include.eu .
