Salling Group is trialing humanoid robots for night restocking in its Føtex stores. The robots are built by Unitree and trained by Hive Robots. They currently work slower than humans but aim to match speed with AI advances. Training uses VR and human demonstrations to teach shelf restocking. The trial began in June 2026 at a store in Lyngby, Denmark. Salling Group says the goal is to support staff, not replace them. Restocking takes 40-50% of employee time at Føtex. The chain may expand robots to other tasks like checking dates and removing boxes. Full deployment could take up to five years. Stores would pay by the hour for the robot service.
What changed
Night restocking was done entirely by human staff.
What it unlocks
Humanoid robots can restock supermarket shelves during night shifts.
- 40-50% of staff time on restocking
- 2,100 stores across 6 countries
- early 2027 target for independent restocking
What you need to act on it
- a multi-year trial period
- human-guided training with VR controllers
Sources