Amazon to Shake Up Retail in Israel With New Local Shipping Center

“A generous person enjoys prosperity; He who satisfies others shall himself be sated.” Proverbs 11:25 (The Israel Bible™)

An Amazon storefront. (Shutterstock)

The online retail giant Amazon is preparing to set up a shipping center in Israel, in its latest move that could potentially shake up commerce in the Jewish state.

The company is currently negotiating leases on large warehouses in central Israel, while conducting market research on the shopping habits of Israelis, Calcalist reported Sunday.

According to reports, Amazon is seeking a minimum of 270,000 square feet in warehouse space and is likely to set up operations near Modi’in.

Once warehouse space has been negotiated, Amazon will purportedly release a version of its website that specifically targets Israeli consumers.

Amazon deliveries to Israel are currently facilitated through shipping centers in Europe and the U.S., causing high shipping costs and prolonging delivery times.

The company’s entrance into the Israeli retail marketplace could potentially have a significant impact on local merchants, as the high cost of living in Israel is already driving consumers to increasingly utilize online vendors in search of better prices.

Amazon opened a new research and development center in Tel Aviv in October, and in November initiated a massive hiring spree in Israel to attract top high-tech talent. The company has reportedly offered prospective Israeli hires salaries as high as NIS 100,000 ($28,180) per month, and is typically offering salaries of around NIS 60,000 ($16,900) per month with additional bonuses, far above Israel’s average wage.

You May Like

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Amazon to Shake Up Retail in Israel With New Local Shipping Center : http://ift.tt/2zuW54V

UK to Buy Iron Dome Tech in $92 Million Deal

“I seek refuge in the shadow of Your wings, until danger passes.” Psalms 57:2 (The Israel Bible™)

The Iron Dome air defense system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aircraft Industries. (Kobi Richter/TPS)

The United Kingdom is to spend £78 million ($92.3 million) to purchase a missile defense shield based on Israel’s Iron Dome to protect the Falkland Islands, British media reported Wednesday.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, the UK will install a Sky Sabre system, which employs the command and control system used by Iron Dome missile defense system. The command and control is system is produced by Mprest for Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

An UK Ministry of Defense spokesperson said: ‘Following an open competition, we selected Rafael for a £78m contract to provide the main computer system which will link our state-of-the-art radars and new Land Ceptor launchers together to boost our defense of the Falkland Islands.”

Natan Barak, chief executive of Mprest, told the Daily Mail that the  system “can protect any area worldwide”.

“You have to identify, as fast as you can, which object is in the air, whether it is Great Britain’s or something else, and see if it is a threat,” Barak said. ‘It also has to be capable of integrating with launchers and missiles. Our system is capable of doing this very fast. We are going to be part of the NATO network and we are going to integrate our system with Britain’s command and control system. They will be able to operate and activate our system to fire on threats.”

You May Like

Let's block ads! (Why?)

UK to Buy Iron Dome Tech in $92 Million Deal : http://ift.tt/2B4n6MP

Automotive Giant Hyundai to Open R&D Center in Israel

“Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light for my path.” Psalms 119:105 (The Israel Bible™)

Hyundai is opening a $100 million research and development plant in Israel. (bondvit / Shutterstock.com)

The Hyundai Motor Group has decided to invest more than $100 million in building a research and development center in Israel, one of five new R&D centers the South Korean car manufacturing giant is setting up throughout the world, Israel Hayom reported Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Hyundai’s executive vice president in charge of innovation, Dr. Youngcho Chi, met with Israel’s Economy and Industry Minister Eli Cohen and updated him on the company’s decision.

The new center will serve as a hub for Hyundai’s activity in Israel and will work to identify local technology, investment and cooperation with Israeli start-ups.

Youngcho said that Hyundai has a keen interest in Israeli innovation in the automotive field, particularly technologies applicable to self-driving cars. In September, Hyundai signed a memorandum of understanding with the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, for joint R&D projects on mobility technologies.

“This decision by one of the biggest automotive companies in the world, and one of the most influential factors in the South Korean economy, is more proof of the quality of Israeli innovation and strengthened economic ties,” Cohen told Israel Hayom.

Hyundai is not the only car manufacturer to identify the potential in Israel’s flourishing automotive start-up field. Last year, the German automotive corporation Daimler AG announced plans to build an R&D center in Israel.

The South Korean manufacturer’s interest in Israel’s self-driving car technology comes after the American chip giant Intel in March acquired Mobileye, a developer of vision-based driver assistance tools, for $15.3 billion in the largest-ever purchase of an Israeli technology company.

You May Like

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Automotive Giant Hyundai to Open R&D Center in Israel : http://ift.tt/2ipjayH