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.
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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)
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell is considered such a titan in his home state that Kentucky lawmakers voted to put a statue of him alongside Abraham Lincoln in the Capitol. After overcoming polio as a child, McConnell rose to become the longest-serving Senate leader in history and helped secure a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.
But anyone listening for flowery tributes to McConnell won't hear them on the campaign trail as his party looks for a successor to the retiring senator.
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who are competing for the Republican nomination in Tuesday's primary, have carefully calibrated their distance from the man they once described as a mentor.
It marks the closing stages of a generational shift among Republicans, with old guard figures like McConnell stepping off the political stage as President Donald Trump works to finalize his makeover of the party. Although there's widespread acknowledgment that McConnell is no longer in sync with today's “Make America Great Again” politics, the 84-year-old nonetheless maintains deep influence and a loyal following in Kentucky.
The candidates are walking a “razor's edge” between an establishment that's still loyal to the senator and “voters' unhappiness with Mitch McConnell’s old-school Reagan-Bush era Republicans,” said Stephen Voss, a political scientist at the University of Kentucky.
McConnell broke with the president after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying he played a role in instigating the riot. More recently, he has opposed some of Trump's nominees, including Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary. He also agitated for continued military assistance for Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
Many of Kentucky’s Republican politicians credit McConnell with, in one way or another, playing a role in their careers. They will mention the over $65 billion that the senator’s office said he’s brought back to his home state, or his work establishing Republicans’ dominance in the state.
So it didn’t sit well with some Republicans when Nate Morris, a third candidate in the Senate primary, ran an advertisement showing a cardboard cutout of McConnell in the trash. Morris dubbed Barr and Cameron as “McConnell’s boys.”
Being seen as out of step with Trump can be radioactive with Republican primary voters. But it landed flat for Shawnee State University student Landon Shaw, 21.
“He’s talking about how much he opposes McConnell,” he said, “he’s not talking about himself.”
It appears to have fallen short for others, too. Morris lagged behind Cameron and Barr, despite $10 million in financial support from Elon Musk. Two weeks ago, Trump offered him a yet-unspecified ambassadorship and Morris dropped out of the race.
Despite some goodwill toward McConnell, many Republicans are ready for a change.
“He did a great service for the United States, for Kentucky, but times are changing and we need to finally move on and thank him for his service,” said Tony Quillen, 61, the property valuation administrator in Greenup County.
Cameron, who previously worked as a legal counsel to McConnell, tested that dissatisfaction among voters last year. He said the senator was “flat out wrong” for opposing Hegseth, Kennedy and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence in a video posted to social media that effectively launched his campaign.
He struck a different note as he sat in an emptying banquet hall after a recent Lincoln Day Dinner in Covington, Kentucky.
“If you talk to people, they acknowledge this is a change election and are ready for someone else to serve in that seat,” Cameron said, “but they also don’t want you to kick a man when he’s on the way out. Call it the kindness or courteous nature of Kentuckians.”
Barr, who once interned under McConnell, has suggested he wants a tent that includes McConnell-type Republicans, but he has a standard line on the campaign trail when talking about the senator.
“People have asked me,” Barr told voters at a recent event at a public library, “are you a Mitch McConnell Republican or are you a Rand Paul Republican?” referring to the state’s other senator.
“I am neither, I am an Andy Barr Republican,” he said.
Barr was endorsed by Trump at the beginning of the month. A campaign consultant for Cameron fired back with a statement reminding voters of Barr’s association with the senator.
“Congrats to Mitch McConnell for getting his guy,” he said.
Still, in one of their final forums before Tuesday's primary, both Cameron and Barr were complimentary toward McConnell, according to a report from The Paducah Sun, a local newspaper.
“A lot of dollars in resources have been secured here because of Sen. McConnell and we need somebody in Washington that’s going to maintain the responsibility,” Cameron said.
Barr referred to the elevation of the state under McConnell's leadership. “It’s really important that Kentucky continues to do as Sen. McConnell said, to punch above its weight,” he said, adding that he was his “own man.”
Voss, the professor of politics, said the senator's team knows the candidates have to walk a fine line.
“McConnell’s people are realistic enough to understand that the candidates need to distance themselves from McConnell,” he said, “but that’s different than openly disrespecting or attacking him.”
FILE - Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks at an event, Aug. 2, 2025, in Fancy Farm, Ky. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
Guests look on as candidates speak on stage during the Kenton County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Covington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Republican Kentucky candidates for U.S. Senate Daniel Cameron and Andy Barr shake hands during the Kenton County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Covington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Former Kentucky Attorney General and candidate for U.S. Senate Daniel Cameron speaks on stage during the Kenton County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Covington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Rep. Andy Barr, R-KY, a Trump-endorsed candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks to guests of the Kenton County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Covington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
