Centric Software, Inc., a provider of PLM software for retail, apparel, footwear, luxury and consumer goods companies, has closed on $19 million in series C venture capital financing.

Investors include Oak Investment Partners (Palo Alto, Calif.), which led the funding round, and Masthead Venture Partners (Cambridge, Mass.). The two companies were also investors in Centric's previous rounds of financing. The most recent financing was the $11.6 million tranche (installment) of the Series C financing.

Centric will use the new financing to fuel ongoing product and business development efforts, according to Chris Groves, president and CEO. Chief among these are the following.

1. Develop additional mobile solutions. The company's patent-pending, industry-first mobile apps for PLM have been well received by the market, says Groves. "The value of the mobile market cannot be overstated, and additional capital will allow Centric to continue to serve as the leader in mobile PLM for its markets."

2. Increase the company's recent, successful investment efforts in Europe. Centric has experienced significant growth in Europe despite the region's financial climate. The company has opened offices in Milan and the United Kingdom, and added staff in Italy, France and the United Kingdom. European customers now include Balenciaga, Beretta, Colmar, Christine Laure, DSquared2, INTERSPORT France, JD Sports Fashion, Kindy, Longchamp, Newbrands, Ports 1961 and TALLY WEiJL.

3. Further investment in the core Centric 8 PLM platform. Recent enhancements include the introduction of Version 4.6 of the Centric 8 PLM system, which supports the complex requirements of the footwear industry.

4. Continue to focus on and meet the highly specialized needs of footwear, high-fashion and luxury goods makers. Customers in these segments already include Balenciaga, Beretta, Crocs, DSquared2, Longchamp, Newbrands, Ports 1961 and Proenza Schouler.

"We have been tremendously impressed with the progress of Centric's innovative mobile PLM solutions that are highly optimized for the consumer goods industries," says Bandel Carano, managing partner of Oak Investment Partners. Centric's rapid global expansion has been driven by world-class brands adopting Centric 8 PLM to enable truly mission critical applications, he adds. "Centric is now the clear technology leader driving compelling PLM software for the retail, high fashion, footwear, luxury brand and consumer goods markets."

"The sustained commitment of existing investors demonstrates their continuing belief in Centric's business model, execution, vision and opportunities," says Groves. "All of us at Centric are eager to extend the PLM presence in the retail, apparel, footwear, luxury and consumer goods markets throughout North America and Europe."

Centric Software, Inc. (http://www.centricsoftware.com)
Centric Software is a leading provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software for apparel, footwear, luxury and consumer goods companies. Centric 8 delivers easy-to-use functionality to manage critical, inseparable business processes, including product development, sourcing, business planning, quality management and collection management. Centric 8 is a modularized system that implements and delivers value rapidly using an Agile DeploymentSM methodology.

With Centric 8, companies are able to cut costs and inefficiency, speed new products to market, drive margin improvement, and improve global collaboration and compliance. Global retail, apparel, footwear, luxury and consumer goods makers including Balenciaga, Bass Pro Shops, Beretta, Bravo Sports, Christine Laure, Colmar, Crocs, DSquared2, Fox Head, INTERSPORT France, JD Sport Fashion, Kindy, KlimUSA, Longchamp, Newbrands, PetSmart, Ports 1961, Proenza Schouler, Silver Jeans Co., Sundance Catalog, TALLY WEiJL, Triple Aught Design and United Stationers use Centric solutions to achieve revenue growth, reduce costs and deliver trend-right products to their customers.