Last month, Israel's Economic & Trade Mission to the UK and the Israel Export Institute hosted a delegation of British retail giants on a mission to Israel, to discover what the future holds for their industry.  On their visit to the startup nation, the retailers met with Israeli tech startups and companies with the aim of forging ties to take their multinational enterprises to the next level. 

During the visit, David Sharp, the Head of Technology 10x at Ocado, the world's largest online food retailer, told the JC newspaper, "We need to be able to source the best technology from wherever it is.  We need a new technology injection - where better to go than the Israeli start-up scene, where we have seen lots of innovation going on."
 
During their visit, the representatives from some of the UK’s biggest retailers and brands visited many companies creating innovation within retail.   A range of technologies were demonstrated to the delegates including robotics, warehousing, monitoring, wearables, augmented reality - all to enhance the retail experience.  In addition, the eyes of the delegates were opened to how their industries will change as startups showcased their solutions for the kitchens of the future with IoT and instant meals.

Daniel Saunders, Chief of Staff at Israel’s Economic & Trade Mission to the UK and one of the hosts of the mission, commented after the visit saying, “We believed it was important for UK retailers to be leading the charge when it comes to Future Retail.  Throughout this mission, we were able to open the doors, both for the Israeli companies and the UK retailers, in order to create mutual opportunity and an exciting future for both.” 

Conversations have continued since the delegation and we expect to see the British shopping experience being enhanced in the near future by these novel technologies.

Considered by many to be a second silicon valley, Israel is recognised as being at the forefront of high-tech innovation.  With its startup culture and savvy entrepreneurs, many industries globally are being enhanced by technologies developed in Israel, including the retail sector.

Over the past few years, there has been a seismic shift in the retail industry with stores becoming multichannel environments.  The boundaries between the virtual and physical spaces are becoming blurred and as the landscape is reshaped, there is the potential for a revolution in consumer engagement.

This June, we would like to invite you to join a group of retailers from across Europe for a three-day visit to Israel so you can experience Tel Aviv’s vibrant tech scene and witness the latest technological advances coming out of Israel.

From 7-10 June 2015, you will be introduce to an exciting array of companies, whose technology will help you connect in engaging ways with your consumers, enrich the experience you offer, and enhance monetisation opportunities and processes.   In addition, you will dine with leading Israeli tech figures, meet investors and influencers and enjoy a visit to the Old City in Jerusalem.

There is no charge for joining this delegation, however delegates will be required to cover their own flight and accommodation expenses.  We will take care of everything else.

For more information, please contact Daniel Saunders on daniel@futureisrael.com. 

Once again, Israeli technology has been making waves and hitting the headlines. This time, it was the turn of the Israeli retail-tech companies who were participating on the TeXchange Future Retail delegation visit to London.

With coverage of the delegation making its way to media outlets such as Globes, Strategyeye, Galey Tzahal, Diginomica, the JC and the Financial Times, this year’s TeXchange programme was a highly successful one, on all counts.

This was not our first outing into the Future Retail arena.  Last summer we organised the UK Future Retail Delegation to Israel, where we introduced Shop Direct to TeXchange 2014 delegate Cimagine.  Discussions ensued and this month Shop Direct will be launching a new app using Cimagine’s augmented reality technology.

As with last year’s programme, TeXchange 2014 for Future Retail was a joint project between the Economic and Trade Mission at the Embassy of Israel in London, the UK Israel Tech Hub at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute.

With so many applicants for this year’s programme, the selection process was rigorous and extremely competitive: Fifteen Israeli start-ups were selected from over 70 applicants and they were chosen according to their unique offering and relevance to the UK market. As such, those final 15 won their opportunity to come to the UK to present their solutions for the UK retail industry.

TeXchange 2014’s programme was designed in such a way that over the course of four days, the delegates were introduced and presented to the very best of the UK’s retail industry, in almost every corner of the market. The twelve separate events of the programme included an Israel Future Innovation Day held at BT Tower, visits to and speed-dating sessions with UK retailers, an investment focused event, a reception by the British Prime Minister’s office at Number 10, and several other general networking events including at the Science Museum – where delegates met with retailers, investors, influencers, integrators, media companies plus retail industry experts.

In truth, it was an intense and high-pressured week with the Israeli startups working hard in over 500 meetings.  However, the results are now starting to show with the continuing and deepening conversations on how British retailers can implement these Israeli technological advances into their own operations.

Feedback on the week from both the British and Israeli participants in TeXchange Future Retail has been supremely positive. One of the UK’s leading retailers stated, “We were bowled over by the innovation we saw, and we wish to engage further with six of the startups we met on the night”

Yaacov Martin, CEO of Israeli startup Jifiti commented, “The TeXchange programme was an extremely important milestone for the development of our business. It was organized meticulously and focused on all the relevant areas for our business. Not only was the organisers’ passion and determination evident, but it was clear that they put a tremendous amount of thought and effort into contacting and introducing the delegations to the appropriate parties. I have been on similar trips in the past but all paled in comparison to this one. We are grateful for all your hard work and impressed by the success you bring to our companies.”

With their appetite whetted, we are now in the process of organising programmes for several UK retailers who have made the decision to visit Israel to gain further from Israel’s advances in Future Retail.

This TeXchange Future Retail Delegation has been lauded as a great example of how well these two countries are working together, and with UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, visiting Israel in that same week – signing several MoUs in the process (including one for digital government) – the week of 10 March 2014 has proven to be landmark week for the Israel-UK business relationship.

We are in midst of very exciting times and there is more great work ahead.

From 19 – 22 May 2013, Senior Policy Advisor to the British Prime Minister, Mr Rohan Silva, was in Israel leading a high-level business delegation of technology directors from some of the UK’s largest retail companies.

Ranging from high-street supermarket chains to internationally-renowned luxury brands, representatives of the UK companies experienced some of the wide range of cutting-edge retail-technologies that are on offer from one of the lesser-known sectors in Israel’s globally-renowned high-tech industry.   There was also a presence from UK academia, with Professor Cathy Barnes of the Faraday Centre for Retail Excellence on the trip, one of the UK’s leading experts in retail innovation.

The variety of advanced technologies developed in Israel across a number of sectors, and the unique emphasis placed on cross-application, combine to make the Israeli Future Retail industry so vibrant and advanced.

As a result, Israeli technologies in augmented reality, business intelligence and micro-location services, for example, are fast gaining recognition for delivering commercial assets that help to leverage a real competitive advantage.

Therefore, at the foundation of this visit lay the desire to combine Israel’s technological leadership and the UK’s world-leading retail industry. The synergy between the two clearly presents unique commercial opportunities for both countries and the delegates were keen to explore this in greater detail.

Having been months in the planning, this visit was organised and delivered by the Trade and Economic Office at the Embassy of Israel in London and the UK Israel Tech Hub at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, in partnership with the Israel Export Institute and UK Israel Business.

Prior to the trip, Mr Rohan Silva expressed how he was “looking forward to helping forge new connections between our leading retailers and cutting edge Israeli technology companies, and generating new investment opportunities for British companies.”

The packed four-day programme saw the delegation meet with over 40 Israeli companies, from the hottest start-ups like Mipso and ClickTale to well-established tech-leaders like Retalix. Each company offered the delegates the chance to experience the very latest solutions on offer, and consider what advantages these technologies would bring to their retail operations.

Delegates were also able to explore how other multinationals already find innovation in Israel, by visiting several incubators and innovation hubs, such as the eBay Social Centre, the Sears Israel Innovation Centre, the JVP Media Labs and the recently established Google Campus TLV.

In the short time since returning to the UK, work has already begun to help follow up on several initial proposals between the British and Israeli companies. Discussions are currently taking place on a possible return trip to further expose the opportunities in Israel, for both these and other UK retailers. A UK-based event in the next few months, designed to introduce Israeli retail-innovations to a wider UK audience is also being discussed.

With this visit being the first of its kind in this sector, the success of the programme is clear to see, with the engineering talents on display being of distinct interest to delegates, as well as the initiation of several preliminary business-dialogues. Indeed, one of the delegates commented that “we expected Israel to impress us with its innovation, but we did not expect to be this impressed”.

Daniel Saunders, Chief of Staff for Economic Development at the Embassy of Israel, London, and one of the organisers of the delegation commented:

“The success of this trip lies in partnership. Israel has enjoyed many successes through the years that have come as a result of collaboration between the public and private sectors and through a continued partnership between academia and industry.

“In this delegation, we also see, once again, the close partnership that exists between the Israeli and British governments. There is a clear focus and determination to create business opportunities, mutually beneficial to the companies and economies of both countries”.