RetailNext Secures $15 Million in Growth Financing Led by StarVest Partners

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- RetailNext Inc., the leader in Applied Big Data for brick-and-mortar retail, today announced the completion of $15 million in Series C financing led by new investor StarVest Partners. All existing investors, including August Capital, participated in the round, which also added strategic investments from Nokia Growth Partners and Commerce Ventures.  Timed with the new investment, Laura B. Sachar, General Partner, StarVest Partners, joined RetailNext's Board of Directors and John Gardner, Managing Partner, Nokia Growth Partners (NGP), joined as Board Observer. This round brings the total capital raised by RetailNext to $29 million.

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"RetailNext offers StarVest a winning combination for a growth equity investment:  proven and smart management, a growing roster of customers and a unique and timely offering. The retail sector continues to embrace the RetailNext platform because there is clear value in improving performance of brick-and-mortar stores, particularly by measuring and testing myriad data sources within those walls.  It's a clear fit for our data-as-a-service practice," stated Ms. Sachar.

The first technology platform to bring e-commerce style shopper analytics to brick-and-mortar stores, RetailNext enables retailers to collect and correlate data from the broadest available set of sources including video cameras, point-of-sale (POS) systems, Wi-Fi devices, and time and attendance applications.  More than 60 retailers have adopted RetailNext to glean the insights necessary to increase same-store sales, reduce theft, eliminate unnecessary costs, and improve the customer experience.

"Considering that ninety-five percent of purchasing still takes place in the brick-and-mortar channel, it is not surprising that we've seen a strong appetite among retailers to collect the factual knowledge about shopper behavior that can directly lead to bottom-line improvement.  This rapid adoption is driving more than triple year-over-year revenue growth for the company," said Alexei Agratchev, CEO of RetailNext.

Recognized by Fast Company as one of the "Ten Most Innovative Companies in Big Data," RetailNext will use the additional investments to:

• Expand engineering resources to maintain product superiority as the market's most robust, versatile and feature-rich in-store analytics platform
• Deliver advanced new technology components in response to customer demand, including new detection and predictive analytics capabilities
• Grow global operations in Europe, Asia/Pacific and Latin America
• Promote the category throughout the retail industry.

"RetailNext's unique combination of video, Wi-Fi and mobile data collection enables a real breakthrough in how both offline and online sources will improve ROI for retailers," said Mr. Gardner. "By combining the NGP local everywhere approach and Nokia's location expertise, we will help RetailNext drive its international expansion."

"At this stage for RetailNext, we chose investors who can truly partner with us to expand into new markets and continue delivering unmatched in-store analytics innovations. Each of our capital partners values the business impact and growth potential that our world-class team and platform bring," added Mr. Agratchev.

About Nokia Growth Partners
Nokia Growth Partners invests in companies that are changing the face of mobility, communications and the internet. NGP offers industry expertise, capital and an extensive network, enabling entrepreneurs to build disruptive, industry-changing companies and take them to the global market.  With offices in the US, Europe, India and China, NGP extends the reach of companies making their products and services local everywhere. Visit www.nokiagrowthpartners.com for more information.

About StarVest
StarVest Partners is a New York-based venture capital firm with $400 million under management, which funds technology-enabled business services companies throughout the U.S. The firm's value-added partnership maintains a focus on emerging technology and services sectors including: Cloud-based companies, eCommerce services, Ad Tech and Data Analytics. StarVest was an early investor in the software-as-a service trend: in 2000, it invested as the only venture firm in NetSuite (NYSE: N).  Other noteworthy exits include MessageOne, acquired by Dell computer; Connected, acquired by Iron Mountain; iCrossing acquired by Hearst; Insurance.com acquired by QuinStreet; and Fieldglass acquired by Madison Dearborn.  Recent investments include: Host Analytics, Switchfly, The Receivables Exchange, Veracode and Xignite.  More information is available at www.starvestpartners.com.

About RetailNext
RetailNext is the leader in Applied Big Data for brick-and-mortar retail, delivering real-time analytics that enable retailers and manufacturers to monitor, collect, analyze, and visualize in-store data.  The patent-pending solution uses best-in-class video analytics, Wi-Fi detection, on-shelf sensors, and data from point-of-sale systems and other sources to automatically inform retailers about how people engage with their stores.  The highly scalable RetailNext platform easily integrates with promotional calendars, staffing systems, and even weather services to analyze how internal and external factors impact customer shopping patterns – providing store operations executives with the ability to identify opportunities for growth, execute changes, and measure success.

RetailNext tracks more than 400 million shoppers per year by collecting data from more than 30,000 sensors in retail stores and analyzing trillions of data points annually. 

Headquartered in San Jose, CA, RetailNext (formerly BVI Networks) is a growing global brand operating in more than 20 countries.  For more information, call +1-888-609-5877.

RetailNext Inc. and RetailNext are trademarks of RetailNext Inc. in the United States.

SOURCE RetailNext Inc.