The city of Austin, Texas is well known as the live music capital of the world and also for its ever-booming technology businesses along with new startups. To compete with the “Joneses” H-E-B and to become the leading force in the digital retail space they just announced that they signed a long-term lease for a building that is 81,000 square-foot office located in East Austin. H-E-B is actually headquartered in Downtown San Antonio and operates more than 300 stores in over 150 communities across Texas so this is a bold move.
H-E-B has stated they will develop a world-class tech facility and innovation lab for their Digital team and partnership with Favor, the Austin-based on-demand delivery service that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of H-E-B.
Per H-E-B’s press release their goal is to be completed in spring 2019. H-E-B plans to renovate an industrial warehouse into a creative and collaborative workspace for Austin-based Partners (employees) of the H-E-B Digital team and Favor’s corporate headquarters. H-E-B also has a strong technology and digital presence at its corporate headquarters in San Antonio and will continue to grow its digital team in both cities.
H-E-B has had to become more competitive after the merger with Whole Foods and Amazon to retain business and customers. Per H-E-B they enlisted HPI Corporate Services as its tenant broker and has engaged global architecture firm, IA Interior Architects, to fully customize the two-story, 81,000 square-foot facility. 
Located at 2416 East Sixth Street, the property is walking distance to several amenities such as restaurants, breweries, coffee shops, and the 7th Street H-E-B store.
“This state-of-the-art space will be a hub for creativity and innovation as we continue to develop the ultimate digital experience for our customers,” said Jag Bath, H-E-B Chief Digital Officer and Favor CEO and President.
Both H-E-B and Favor plan to add several hundred jobs to the local economy and are actively hiring across all areas including product management, product design, and software engineering. Career opportunities can be found on the H-E-B and Favor websites.
Over this year H-E-B has made a several announcements and strategic technology investments to further establish the company as a technology leader in Texas, including the acquisition of Favor, the appointment of Bath as H-E-B’s Chief Digital Officer, and the recent addition of Mike Georgoff as Chief Product Officer for H-E-B Digital.
Currently, H-E-B will continue to enhance its digital offerings with the expansion of its H-E-B Delivery and H-E-B Curbside service. It is now available in more than 145 locations across Texas and is on track to reach 165 stores in 2018.
As a born and raised Texan, I’ve been going to H-E-B since I was a kid and even went to H-E-B camp in the 80’s. It’s exciting to know H-E-B is progressively entering the technology digital retail market to heavily compete with Amazon Prime and Walmart.
For more information about H-E-B please visit: www.heb.com.
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Source: H-E-B
