Former Salesforce.com and Buddy Media Executives Launch Nomi, Raise $3M to Help Retailers Bridge the Gap Between Online and Offline

NEW YORK, NY, Feb 11, 2013 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Nomi today announced that it has closed $3 million in seed financing led by First Round Capital. Additional investors include Greycroft Partners, SV Angel, Forerunner Ventures, Ralph Mack, Dave Tisch, Andy Dunn (CEO, Bonobos), and Sam Decker (CEO, Mass Relevance and former CMO, Bazaarvoice). Nomi's technology platform enables brick and mortar retailers by leveraging their existing infrastructure to measure, analyze, and engage their customers in real time. Nomi's solution integrates with existing CRM, loyalty, and e-commerce platforms, allowing retailers to leverage both offline and online data to provide loyal customers with more personalized service.

Retailers of all sizes are struggling to compete with e-commerce alternatives when cheaper prices are instantly available to anyone with a smartphone or Internet connection. This transaction-based economy represents a race to the bottom for retailers. "Rather than de-value products through discounting, retailers recognize that the better strategy is to earn customer loyalty through an amazing shopping experience. I call this new paradigm the Experience Economy," said Ari Hoffman, CEO, Benetton U.S.A.

Implementing the Experience Economy is no small challenge. The only way for retailers to deliver a truly great shopping experience is by personalizing each customer's experience across every channel: online, mobile, and in-store. "Nomi demonstrates the strong need for retailers to develop an omni-channel view of the customer, and retailers are investing significant capital to integrate all of their consumer touch points," attests Deborah Weinswig, Managing Director, Retailing at Citi Investment Research.

According to Nomi's CEO, Marc Ferrentino, "The relationship management part of CRM doesn't work very well if you don't know your customer's preferences and habits across every channel." Ferrentino intimately understands this challenge since he formerly served as Chief Technical Architect for Salesforce.com, the premier CRM technology provider. After studying the retail landscape and seeing the disconnect between online and offline, Ferrentino joined forces with Corey Capasso, Founder of Spinback, and Buddy Media's top revenue producer, Wesley Barrow, to launch Nomi. In 2011, Spinback was acquired by Buddy Media, the world's largest social management platform. Salesforce.com subsequently acquired Buddy Media in 2012.

To support these efforts, the team has assembled an impressive Board of Advisors that includes such retail luminaries as Ari Hoffman (CEO, Benetton U.S.A.), Jerry Politzer (former CEO, Loehmann's), Bryan Eisenberg (Co-Founder & Chairman, Web Analytics Association), Michael Osborne (former CRO, Bazaarvoice) and Peter Fader & Eric Bradlow (Co-Directors, Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative).

"We are thrilled to work with Nomi's team of veteran entrepreneurs to address this critical need in the enormous retail market," added Chris Fralic, Partner at First Round Capital. "Nomi has quickly penetrated the market and we are eager to help catalyze its expansion with this financing." Nomi is currently hiring. To learn more, visit: http://www.getnomi.com/ About Nomi Dedicated to helping retailers create a unified view of their customers across all channels, Nomi leverages current store infrastructure to integrate real world customer behavior into existing CRM, loyalty and e-commerce platforms. Nomi's solution empowers retailers to recognize and reward loyal customers both online and in-store. Based in New York City, the company was founded by veteran Salesforce.com and Buddy Media executives. For more information, visit: http://www.getnomi.com/. Follow us on Twitter at @GetNomi.

Contact: Schuyler Brown Director, Marketing (646) 580-4076 schuyler@getnomi.com SOURCE: Nomi mailto:schuyler@getnomi.com

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