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)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 a.m.
Around midday, Iranian state television carried a statement from the country's Civil Aviation Authority saying that the nation's “skies are hosting incoming and outgoing flights, and airports are providing services to passengers.” It did not acknowledge the closure.
Iran previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. However, there were no signs of current hostilities though the closure immediately rippled through global aviation.
“Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. “The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.”
Iran in the past has misidentified a commercial aircraft as a hostile target. In 2020, Iranian air defense shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board. Iran for days adamantly dismissed allegations of downing the plane as Western propaganda before finally acknowledging it.
The airspace closure came as some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” going to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Iran at the request of the United States on Thursday afternoon.
U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements Wednesday that left unclear what American action, if any, would take place against Iran.
In comments to reporters, Trump said he had been told that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details. The shift comes a day after Trump told protesters in Iran that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Islamic Republic’s deadly crackdown.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also sought to tone down the rhetoric, urging the U.S. to find a solution through negotiation.
Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump, Araghchi said: “My message is: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don’t have any positive experience from the United States. But still diplomacy is much better than war.”
The change in tone by the U.S. and Iran came hours after the chief of the Iranian judiciary said the government must act quickly to punish the thousands who have been detained.
Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon. The security forces’ crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A woman mourns next to the flag-draped coffins of a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, during their funeral ceremony, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man hands out posters of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a funeral ceremony for a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People take part in a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, Berlin Germany, Wednesday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Policemen protect the British Embassy during a protest by hardline supporters of the Iranian government, as people ride on their motorbike in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
