NEW YORK (Kyodo) Fujitsu Ltd. said Monday it will enter the field of self-checkout retail systems with the acquisition of a unit of Canadian company Optimal Group Inc.
Fujitsu said its wholly owned U.S. unit, Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc., has completed the acquisition of Montreal-based Optimal Robotics Corp. for $35 million.
Fujitsu plans to begin delivering the systems to Japanese retailers this year on a trial basis, company officials said.
The move is part of Fujitsu's efforts to better compete with two U.S. companies -- IBM Corp. and NCR Corp. -- which are leading in the rapidly expanding self-checkout system market.
Self-checkout systems, gaining popularity in the United States, enable customers to scan product bar codes by themselves and pay for groceries and other items using cash or credit cards.
The systems are intended to help retailers cut personnel and other costs.
