Just in time for the holidays, a Boston-based analytics company that helps retailers tackle the seasonal stampede of shoppers closed a round of funding.
Celect, a provider of predictive analytics and inventory optimization for retailers, announced on Thursday it has raised $15 million in Series C financing led by NGP Capital - which invests in the U.S., Europe, China and India since 2005 - and existing investor Fung Capital. Previous investors Activant Capital and August Capital also joined the round.
With Americans planning to spend nearly $720 billion this holiday season, keeping inventory updated and even predicting what, when, where and how much customers will buy is crucial for both online and in-store retailers. Celect's cloud-based predictive analytics platform uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to drive merchandising, allocation and fulfillment decisions—with the final goal of increase revenue.
The company worked with apparel and accessory brands such as ALDO Group, Lucky Brand, Neiman Marcus, Polo and Urban Outfitters.
Celect will use the funding to accelerate retail market penetration of its inventory optimization software. Also, it plans to expand its current team of 65 with hires in engineering and sales.
Celect has raised a total of $30.2 million to date. The company's $10 million Series B round, led by Activant Capital, dates back to February 2017.
"Inventory continues to be both retailers’ largest liability and greatest asset, and in today’s volatile market there is simply no room for guesswork or reliance on backwards looking data," Celect CEO John Andrews said in a press release. "We are committed to giving retailers and brands the tools they need to make effective inventory-related decisions so they can thrive now and in the years ahead."
As part of the round, NGP Capital’s Upal Basu and Fung Capital’s Janie Yu joined the board of directors of Celect.
