Executive Summary

• This week, the Fung Global Retail & Technology team attended the Israel Dealmakers Summit, which was held March 29–30 in Silicon Valley, California. The Summit is the premier Israel-focused business event of the year and showcases a curated gathering of companies, investors, dealmakers and entrepreneurs. At the conference, we also visited the Israel IoT (Internet of Things) delegation.
• A survey of 500 US consumers, commissioned by Retale and conducted by Survey Sampling International, shows that a significant number of shoppers take advantage of buy-online, pick-up-in-store services. All 500 polled had previously used such a service.
• UK retailer JD Sports completed its deal to acquire Dutch outdoor and sportswear retailers Perry Sport and Aktiesport from Unlimited Sports Group. The two acquired retailers have 187 stores across the Netherlands.
• Messaging app Line said it will launch a prepaid card, Line Pay Card, in partnership with credit card company JCB. JCB’s affiliation with American Express means customers will be able to use the card at 20 million merchant locations abroad and 9.6 million locations in Japan. The prepaid card ties into the Line Pay app, which allows consumers to make online and in-store payments via smartphone at select locations.