Asos looks at Israel for new technologies

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jun 8, 2018

Asos has announced a new tech-focused partnership with Israeli innovation hub Re:Tech to find new solutions for its e-commerce operations.

Over the next year, Re:Tech will curate and manage a series of events for retail and ecommerce technology start-ups in Israel, where they will work on a number of business challenges put forward by Asos.

These will include solutions to enhancing user experience, optimising conversion and saving costs, said the British fashion platform. Start-ups that are specialised in deep technologies or have a disruptive product that has already been proven to work in the online retail space are also encouraged to participate.

The partnership will launch with a two-day event in Tel-Aviv on 19 June, including an open session for start-ups to pitch their products to Asos representatives on the second day. 

The start-ups will then go through a series of stages, including mentorship, proof of concept and demo days, to develop their product.

Cliff Cohen, chief information officer at Asos, said: “Israel is renowned for its cutting-edge tech start-ups, many of which are developing solutions across retail, fashion and e-commerce. With Re:Tech’s help, we’ll be able to plug into this thinking to solve challenges and potentially foster long-term partnerships, expanding on the work we’re already doing in the country.”

This is not the first time Asos joins a scheme to find innovative start-ups with technologies that can improve its shopping experience. In 2016, it launched an acceleration programme with Wayra UK to invest in and support the development of new retail tech products.

With more than 80,000 products on its platform and more than 3.2 million visits daily, the e-tailer is interested in finding new products, technologies and services that can complement the Asos experience and push it ahead of its rivals.