NEW YORK, March 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Simon®, a global leader in retail real estate, in partnership with Decoded Fashion, which holds global event series that encourage entrepreneurship in the fashion and retail fields, today 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. As part of SXSW Festival's first lifestyle hub, SXstyle, the 10 finalists will be presented at a special event at the Decoded Fashion Mentorship Hub at the JW Marriott on March 13.

"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 omni-channel." 

"Selecting the finalists from more than 120 applicants, from five countries, was far from easy," said Liz Bacelar, founder and president of Decoded Fashion. "This competition was meant to gain visibility for new startups with the potential to impact the future shopping experience. Our 10 finalists offered the most original and promising ideas that we believe could make a difference in the industry."

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.

Expert judges will determine the top startup during a unique live panel session, "Startup Stars: Meet the New Retail Disruptors" on the main stage of SXSW on March 14. A winner will be revealed during this live event 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.

About Simon

Simon is a global leader in retail real estate ownership, management and development and an S&P100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG). Our industry-leading retail properties and investments across North America, Europe and Asia provide shopping experiences for millions of consumers every day and generate billions in annual retail sales. For more information, visit simon.com.

About Decoded Fashion

Decoded Fashion launched in 2011 as the world's first global event series for the Fashion-meets-Technology community, encouraging entrepreneurship and advancing innovation in Fashion & Retail. Decoded Fashion pushes brands to experiment with emerging technologies in a disruptive way. It is also a platform for mentorship & education for developers and entrepreneurs to learn the industry's needs and acquire valuable contacts and insider knowledge. They are an official partner of SXstyle. Website: http://www.decodedfashion.com/

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SOURCE Simon