HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. & SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 14, 2025--
Vision Group Retail, a leader in AI and computer vision technology, announced today that it acquired Hivery, a leading provider of advanced AI retail assortment simulations for predictive ROI. The deal crowns Vision Group’s comprehensive suite of solutions to address space planning, assortment optimization, and retail execution.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250114425280/en/
Hivery has been recognized as one of the world's top 100 Retail Tech companies by CB Insights and named to Fast Company’s list of the World's Most Innovative companies. Hivery's flagship SaaS platform, HIVERY Curate, harnesses AI and store-level data to provide hyperlocal, store-specific strategies for growth. This powerful tool expands ROI through a continuous learning, AI-driven, engine that optimizes product assortments and planograms for retailers and CPG companies. Hivery Curate has increased category sales by 10% to 20% for many retailers and CPG companies.
This acquisition signifies Vision Group's commitment to providing customers with end-to-end retail management capabilities and AI-powered solutions to optimize space and category management activities while tracking and monitoring the execution of those plans.
"Hivery's expertise in space-aware assortment optimization perfectly complements our current offerings," said Vision Group's CEO Karan Bakshi. "Our goal is to revolutionize retail execution and space planning by bringing transformative solutions to our clients, helping them increase sales and profitability while also becoming more efficient in today's competitive retail environment."
Kyle McKenzie, VP of Engineering of HIVERY, said, "Vision Group is world-recognized for retail technology and innovation. Together, we can deliver and scale our AI assortment technologies globally at an unprecedented pace to uncover billions in retail revenue through store-level data.”
"Hivery’s patented simple-to-use tool is a game-changer for our business and our customers," added Jason DeRienzo, Chief Revenue Officer at Vision Group. "With Hivery's cutting-edge technology and talented team members, combined with our proven solutions, we are uniquely positioned to deliver exceptional value and accelerate growth for our clients globally."
The announcement comes during NRF’25 Retail’s Big Show in New York. Retailers and CPG brands can meet with Vision Group this week at booth #3849. Vision Group will also showcase its AI technology at the CMA | SIMA 2025 Annual Conference hosted by the Category Management Association & Shopper Insights Management Association, Feb. 16-19 in San Antonio, TX.
About Vision Group Retail
Vision Group is a leading multinational conglomerate of technology companies providing end-to-end IoT, AI, and image recognition SaaS solutions for retailers, CPG brands, wholesalers, and shoppers. By building and scaling innovative retail solutions, Vison Group elevates shopper experiences and seamlessly uncovers growth strategies to optimize retail execution and revenue. As the leading provider of product images and attribute data, the company offers a syndicated image library containing over 1 million SKUs for boosting planogram and category management efficiency. Solutions include Store360 App, EZPOG, PDFtoPOG, PicToPOG, OmniPIX, and others to help CPG manufacturers and retailers manage portfolios, analyze in-store conditions, track product performance, and optimize merchandising strategies. For more information, please visit http://www.visiongroupretail.com/.
About HIVERY
HIVERY is a multi-award winner and pioneer of next-generation assortment strategy simulation technologies powered by sophisticated AI algorithms. Our technologies unlock the promise of hyper-local retailing by unleashing the power of your retail data.
HIVERY was founded on the vision that Data Has A Better Idea™ - and we’re working with our clients to uncover its full potential. For more information, visit www.hivery.com
Vision Group Taps Hivery’s AI-power to Uncover Billions in Retail Revenues (Graphic: Business Wire)
NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball players proposed optional assignments to the minors be cut from a maximum of five per season to three and asked for more pay and major league service time for those sent down, a plan aimed at reducing roster churn that teams use to reinforce bullpens in an era when relief pitchers throw an increased portion of games.
During a bargaining session Wednesday with Major League Baseball, the union proposed that a pitcher optioned after an outing of at least nine outs or 50 pitches during the seven days before the All-Star break be given major league pay and service time up until his team's fourth game after the break.
In addition, a pitcher who is optioned at any time after a game or the next day after an outing of nine outs or 50 pitches would get major league pay and service time for the four days following the appearance.
There often is a wide disparity in pay for players with so-called split contracts. While the major league minimum is $780,000 this year, the minimum in the minors for those with split contracts is primarily $127,100 — and $63,600 for those signing a first big league deal.
Teams have averaged 4.2 to 4.3 pitchers per game in each season since 2022, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The last season under 4 was 2014 at 3.98.
Another proposal would grant major league pay to those optioned from Sept. 1 through the end of the season, a group that currently gets big league service time but minor league pay.
Players also asked that active rosters be increased to 28 from 26 during the first 15 days of each season, including a maximum of 14 pitchers that would be up from the current 13. The trade deadline would be moved up slightly to the July 21-27 range from its current July 28 to Aug. 3, and some players assigned outright to the minors after the deadline still could be dealt.
Players also proposed the 60-day injured list open at the time of the November tender deadline rather than the first day players can report to spring training. The change would allow teams to protect more players from the Rule 5 draft during the winter meetings because players on the 60-day IL do not count against the 40-man roster limit.
The union asked that MLB agree to accelerate eligibility for the Rule 5 draft, restoring the ages in place through 2005. A player 18 or younger on the June 5 preceding his signing would be eligible for the fourth succeeding Rule 5 draft rather than fifth, and a player 19 or older would be eligible for the third rather than the fourth.
Players also want to ensure the Rule 5 draft will be held this year on Nov. 24, moving it ahead of an expected management lockout after the current five-year labor contract expires Dec. 1. The union would move the draft from the winter meetings to November, just after the tender deadline, in future seasons.
In addition, the union proposed a new 1-to-2 day religious accommodations list in which a player could be inactive “based on a bona-fide religious observance.”
All players in an organization as of noon on Sept. 1 would be eligible for the postseason; under current rules, those not on 40-man rosters can be eligible as injury replacements.
Free agents with no options who sign within 10 days of a team's opener could give consent to an additional option as part of a contract with no split pay. A player acquired in a trade who is then designated for assignment would receive major league pay and service until the end of the assignment window.
Another proposal would increase the sort of players eligible for up to three 10-day extensions of minor league injury rehabilitation assignments. In addition to those coming off Tommy John surgery, the union would add those rehabbing from shoulder surgery for capsule and labral tears and thoracic outlet syndrome.
Players also want a guarantee of access to team performance and video data that is not proprietary.
Owners have proposed a salary cap for the first time since the 1994-95 strike that led to the first cancellation of the World Series in 90 years.
While a lockout next winter is expected, talks are not likely to intensify until late February or early March 2027, when the possibilities of losing regular-season games and revenue near. If regular-season games are lost, negotiations may become a standoff over which side can tolerate the most economic loss.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - Attorney Bruce Meyer, the current interim executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, speaks at a news conference in New York on March 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Commissioner of Major League Baseball Rob Manfred answers questions during a news conference at the MLB winter meetings, Dec. 8, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, file)
