Northern Group Retail Employs ProfitLogic’s Inventory Portfolio Optimization to Achieve Highest Return on Merchandise Investments
Based on Success of Merchandise Optimization on Markdown Decisions, Specialty Retailer Turns to ProfitLogic to Improve Inventory Investment Decisions
New York – NRF Big Show 2004 – January 12, 2004 – ProfitLogic, whose suite of Merchandise Optimization solutions helps retailers make more profitable merchandising decisions, announced today that Northern Group Retail, a Canadian-based specialty apparel retailer, has engaged ProfitLogic to help manage its inventory investments across its 275 Northern Reflections and Northern Getaway stores. Through its Inventory Portfolio Optimization offering, ProfitLogic is helping the retailer determine the optimal level of investment it should make in each of its merchandise departments.
ProfitLogic’s Inventory Portfolio Optimization offering helps retailers determine the most efficient mix of inventory investments, by department or major category. By analytically assessing the risk and return profile of each category, ProfitLogic enables retailers to make informed choices about their aggregate inventory investments. As an example, Northern Group Retail learned that by increasing its investment in certain categories, and decreasing its investment in others, the retailer could generate significant sales and margin increases and reduce overall performance volatility without any incremental inventory investment.
"After applying the science of Merchandise Optimization to our markdown decisions, we realized we could gain additional value by using these insights earlier in the merchandising process," Michael Stanek, CFO of Northern Group Retail explains. "Decisions about how much to increase or decrease investments in merchandise departments are usually very unscientific. ProfitLogic’s Inventory Portfolio Optimization offering helps us weigh the pros and cons of each investment based on our data and insights into future customer demand."
"In a sense, retail is all about managing risk. Retailers invest in merchandise and expect to get returns on their investments," said ProfitLogic’s Chief Scientist and Vice President of Research and Development, Dr. Rama Ramakrishnan, who was awarded Chain Store Age’s 40 Under 40 Retail Industry Leaders Award for his pioneering efforts in Portfolio Optimization. "But, there’s tremendous opportunity to increase returns while decreasing risk simply by understanding the risk profiles of merchandise investments and how one investment relates to another."
"Northern Group’s executive team is revolutionizing their business by questioning the status quo and using innovation to increase their gross margin dollars and comp store sales," said Tom Ebling, Chairman and CEO of ProfitLogic. "They are a shining example of what can be accomplished when you merge science with art."
ProfitLogic provides industry-leading Merchandise Optimization solutions designed for retailers whose top priority is getting the highest return on inventory investments. ProfitLogic’s customers have found that using insights into future customer demand results in more profitable merchandising decisions and more time to focus on what matters most: the customers and the merchandise.
If you are interested in more information, please visit our NRF Booth #2161. Please also see the following news releases:
1. The National Retail Federation, ProfitLogic and Karabus Management Host Merchandise Optimization Seminar: The Next Frontier at NRF’s Big Show
2. ProfitLogic Launches ProfitLogic 2004: An Expanded Merchandise Optimization Suite Designed to Help Retailers Make More Profitable Merchandising Decisions
3. ProfitLogic Chief Scientist, Rama Ramakrishnan, Named One of Retail’s Rising Stars
About Northern Group Retail Ltd.
Northern Group Retail Ltd. is a Canadian-based and operated specialty apparel retailer, with more than 275 prime locations nationally. Northern has successfully offered outstanding products and services since 1985 under Northern Reflections and Northern Getaway banners. Northern Group Retail Ltd. is owned by the Canadian affiliate of York Management Services, Inc. York is a privately owned investment and management advisory services company, headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey. For more information about Northern, visit www.northernreflections.com.
About ProfitLogic
ProfitLogic`s industry-leading suite of Merchandise Optimization solutions helps retailers make more profitable merchandising decisions. The suite, based on the company`s 20 years of experience providing analytical solutions for critical merchandising issues, is focused around four central merchandising processes: assortment planning, allocating, pricing and promoting. ProfitLogic has delivered fast, flexible solutions with significant financial benefit to industry leading retailers such as Ann Taylor, Bloomingdale`s, Charming Shoppes, Gap Inc., including: Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy, Gap International and Gap Outlet; The Home Depot, JCPenney, Lerner New York, Marshall Field`s, Meijer Stores, Northern Group Retail, and ShopKo Stores. For more information about Cambridge, Mass.-based ProfitLogic, call 617-218-1900 or visit www.profitlogic.com.
Contact:
Jakki Glivicky
ProfitLogic
617-374-5959
jglivicky@profitlogic.com
Back...
