Simon names 10 disruptive finalists in disruptive technologies competition

New York – Retail real estate firm Simon, in partnership with fashion and retail event company Decoded Fashion, has announced the 10 finalists in its "Future of Retail: Meet the Disruptors" competition. The competition's mission is to discover startups in retail or retail-related technologies whose innovations will enhance the shopping experience for future generations.



The finalists, all innovative startups in retail or retail-related technologies, are:



• ALIVE SHOES, a company with Dutch and Italian roots that lets anyone design and sell shoes online by facilitating production and shipping.



• BLUEFOX, a U.S.-based company that detects and analyzes in a location, such as a retailer, all customers' mobile phones with WiFi and 2G.



• MACK, the home-décor startup from the U.S. that clusters products in real room settings to make online shopping easier and more engaging.



• MEMOMI, a U.S. startup that uses its patented MemoryMirror platform to connect shops to their online shoppers more personally.



• PIXLEE, a U.S. provider of a B-to-B content-marketing platform that centers on data to help brands display authentic customer photos to improve marketing and sales performance.



• TRENDALYTICS, a U.S.-based visual analytics platform that distills social media information to deliver brands and retailers with insights about how consumers relate to them.



• TRUSTEV, the Irish provider of a subscription cloud service that determines in milliseconds whether an online transaction is genuine or a fraud.



• TULIP, the Canadian firm that integrates a retailer's backend systems to bring store associates customer, product and store information through an app to help them sell.



• TWO TAP, the Israel-U.S. startup that simplifies the online checkout process by giving developers real-time product availability and makes it easier for them to custom design the shopping cart.



• XYZE, the Italian startup that employs three products-in-one technology to determine the right size of a garment for online shoppers.



"This competition is a great event for Simon and the retail industry to showcase the future of retail, both in-store and online, as well as the convergence of digital with the physical world," said J. Skyler Fernandes, managing director of Simon Venture Group. "In collaboration with Decoded Fashion and Simon, the finalists selected reflect how retail innovation is happening across so many facets of the industry and is increasingly omnichannel."



A winner will be revealed during a live event at Southwest by Southwest in Austin, Texas on March 14 and receive a $5,000 grand prize from Simon. The audience will also be able to vote to pick the popular choice to win $1,000. Entries included startups representing in-store retail tech, ecommerce, data analytics, delivery and mobile payments, among others.