BANGALORE and PITTSBURGH, 27 June 2019 – Today, Simbus Technologies, a global retail, fashion and consumer goods consulting and solutions company, and First Insight, Inc., a global technology company transforming how retailers and brands make product investment, pricing and marketing decisions, announced they have entered a strategic partnership to introduce the world’s leading Customer-Centric Merchandising platform into India. Through the partnership, retailers across India will now have access to First Insight’s pre-season product testing platform, which uses Voice of the Customer data to bring deep analysis, predictive product performance capabilities, precise price forecasting, targeted customer segmentation data and accurate buy quantity recommendations on new products.

With First Insight, Indian brands and retailers can now create winning products every season, despite the rapidly changing fast-fashion trends and customer demands. The solution enables companies to put the customer at the centre of their product decisions and make data-driven pre-season determinations regarding product offerings, pricing and marketing, reducing the risk associated with new product launches and ensuring a greater probability of success.

Mr. Krishna Kumar, Managing Director of Simbus Technologies, commented, “Simbus is always at the forefront in bringing the latest in technology to the Indian market. Our partnership with the world leader, First Insight, provides the right tools for Indian fashion brands and retailers to feel the pulse of their customers and launch winning products at the right price, improving sell-through and profitability.”

Leading industry analysts such as Gartner and IDC have recognized First Insight as a leading provider of merchandising solutions, and hundreds of global retailers and brands have partnered with the company to achieve:

• Up to 80% improvement in product success rates
• Up to 9% increase in gross profit
• Dramatic reduction in inventory and sample costs

“Global retailers and brands are increasingly seeking to understand local customer preferences in new regions,” said Greg Petro, CEO and founder of First Insight. “That is one reason we are so excited to announce our partnership with Simbus, which represents the next step in our continued expansion within the Indian market. The company’s deep retail knowledge and strong relationships within the industry made Simbus a natural choice for us, and we look forward to helping equip Indian retailers with much-needed customer data and predictive analytics to drive the best product and pricing decisions.”

First Insight’s partnership with Simbus builds on its April announcement that Bata India is working with First Insight. “Bata India engaged with First Insight to bring the voice of the customer into our new product decision making. We are seeing value from basing our decisions on data and analytics rather than relying only on our instincts and historical trends,” said Sandeep Kataria, CEO at Bata India. “First Insight helps us make better, more data-driven product selection, pricing and regional segmentation decisions, and we are seeing the benefits in margins and store count enhancements.”

About Simbus Technologies

Simbus Technologies Pvt Ltd consults, implements and supports its customers by delivering innovative solutions that streamline every stage of business from concept to shelf. Its proven delivery model and engagement approach has enabled it to establish itself as a credible partner of choice for leading companies in the fashion, consumer goods and retail industries. Simbus’ decades of domain expertise and strong technology skills enable it to deliver solutions in the areas of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), 3D Apparel Design, Merchandise Planning, BI and Analytics to help clients stay ahead in a dynamic and ever-evolving retail and fashion industry.

About First Insight, Inc.

First Insight is the world’s leading customer-centric merchandising platform that empowers retailers and brands to incorporate the Voice of the Customer into the design, pricing, planning, and marketing of new products. Through the use of online consumer engagement, the First Insight solution gathers real-time consumer data and applies predictive analytic models to create actionable insights, which drive measurable value. Retailers, manufacturers and brands use the First Insight solution to design, select, price, plan and market the most profitable new products for reduced markdown rates and improved sales, margins and inventory turnover. Customers include some of world’s leading vertically integrated brands, sporting goods companies, department stores, mass merchant retailers and wholesalers. For further information, please visit www.firstinsight.com.