July 1st, 2014

Norrøna Selects Centric Software Product Lifecycle Management

LOS GATOS, Calif., Tuesday, July 01, 2014 –

Centric Software, Inc., has acquired its first Scandanavian product lifecycle management (PLM) software customer.

Norrøna, a leading outdoor clothing and sports gear brand, will use the Centric 8 PLM software for retail, apparel, footwear, luxury and consumer goods to support expansion and growth. The Hvalstad, Norway-based company plans to quadruple the size of its worldwide business over the next five years, according to Brad Boren, research and development director.

Norrøna’s ambitious plans for growth – and innovation – require the company to become as efficient as possible, says Boren. The high-end outdoor company controls the entire product development process in house, including sketching, material development and testing, pattern making, sewing and quality control. “The Centric PLM software will provide the necessary levels of visibility, control, and communication among our staff to ensure everyone is using the latest information on every product.”

“Our move to Centric 8 is an important step forward in collecting vital product information in an organized, easy-to-access way,” Boren states. “PLM will eliminate redundant data input, reduce errors and save time.”

The Centric solution’s ease of use was key in Norrøna’s selection. “We evaluated several PLM systems, but found Centric to be the most intuitive to use,” says Boren. He also points to the ability to configure the software easily and quickly, without needing the services of a programmer. “Norrøna is a company that is used to digging in and making improvements,” he explains. “Centric is a flexible system that will support this culture, and grow with Norrøna as it expands.”

“Centric and Norrøna’s shared focus on product innovation is highly complementary,” says Chris Groves, president and CEO of Centric. “With Agile Deployment to help the company achieve rapid value from its investment in Centric 8, Norrøna can move swiftly toward its ambitious future plans for growth.”

Norrøna (www.norrona.com)
Established in 1929 by Jørgen Jørgensen, a Norwegian outdoor enthusiast, Norrøna is a family-owned and family-run company based in Hvalstad, Norway. Inspired by Norway’s rugged landscape and outdoor life, Norrøna creates original, technically superior, performance-driven outdoor wear for mountaineering, telemark and skiing. The company builds technical clothing, backpacks and accessories with test team feedback, and focus on fabric development and product innovation. Norrøna’s design philosophy is based on “loaded minimalism”: utilitarian function combined with minimalist style. Norrøna holds a history of pioneering firsts, including creation of the original mountain tunnel tent (1972), design of the standard monitoring system for backpacks (1979) and introducton the use of Gore-Tex® in Europe (1977).

Centric Software, Inc. (www.centricsoftware.com)
Centric Software is a leading provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software for retail, apparel, footwear, luxury and consumer goods companies. The Centric 8 PLM suite delivers easy-to-use functionality to manage critical, inseparable business processes, including product development, sourcing, business planning, quality management and collection management. Centric 8 implements and delivers value rapidly using an Agile Deployment methodology. Centric received the Frost & Sullivan 2012 Global Product Differentiation Excellence Award in Retail, Fashion and Apparel Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). Red Herring named Centric to its North America and Global Top 100 lists for 2013. WhichPLM recognized Centric as the overall PLM market leader for fashion in its 2012-2013 Annual Review.

Centric is a registered trademark of Centric Software. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.