TLDR: Singapore’s Gill Capital Group has partnered with Google Cloud to launch a pioneering generative AI solution aimed at transforming the retail experience. The initiative, part of Singapore’s national AI strategy, introduces advanced AI-powered search and virtual shopping assistants for brands like H&M, promising enhanced customer engagement, operational efficiency, and significant productivity gains.
Singapore-based Gill Capital Group, a prominent operator and distributor of global fashion and lifestyle brands including H&M, ALO, and On Running, has announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to introduce a groundbreaking generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) solution. This collaboration is set to redefine the retail landscape in Southeast Asia by leveraging advanced AI capabilities to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency.
The new GenAI solution is being rolled out as part of Google Cloud’s ‘AI Cloud Takeoff’ (AI CTO) program, a national initiative in Singapore. This program, a joint effort between Google Cloud and Digital Industry Singapore (DISG), aims to establish AI Centers of Excellence within 300 companies across the nation, providing consultation, Google Cloud credits, and training licenses up to SGD500,000 per company.
At the core of Gill Capital’s new offering are AI-powered search agents and virtual shopping assistants, initially piloted on H&M’s e-commerce platforms in Indonesia and Thailand. These tools are built on Google Cloud’s Vertex AI Search for Commerce, designed to move beyond traditional keyword-matching to understand natural language queries, including local dialects. This allows for a more intuitive and personalized shopping experience, where customers can find products more quickly and relevantly. For instance, a search for ‘elegant tunic for Eid’ would now yield appropriate results, a significant improvement over previous systems.
Victor Siow, Group Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Gill Capital Group, emphasized the transformative potential: “Many retailers haven’t kept pace with the advancements in search technology from keyword-matching to semantic and agentic search. With Google Cloud, we’re utilizing the same underlying components that power Google Search today to gain a competitive edge.” He further added, “By grounding reasoning models like Gemini 2.5 Flash on company data sources, we ensure that AI agents provide relevant and accurate outputs.”
Beyond enhancing the customer-facing experience, the GenAI solution also streamlines backend operations. The AI agents automatically analyze and organize vast product catalogs, freeing staff from the laborious task of researching and adding keywords to each product. This operational efficiency extends to assisting retail store managers with improved product classifications, recommendations for stock replenishment, and data-driven sales strategies.
Early trials of the AI agents have demonstrated promising results, showing increased customer engagement and sales. Gill Capital plans a full rollout in Indonesia and Thailand, with subsequent expansion to other brands within its portfolio and into overseas markets. Minister Josephine Teo highlighted the tangible benefits, stating that the program has helped Gill Capital unlock productivity savings of more than 200 hours per week.
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Looking ahead, Gill Capital views the implementation of AI as a long-term strategic imperative. The company intends to extend the application of AI to its supply chain to further enhance distribution efficiency and product availability. This initiative aligns with Singapore’s broader National AI Strategy 2.0 (NAIS 2.0) and the Enterprise Compute Initiative (ECI), which aim to accelerate AI adoption across various industries.
