ProfitLogic, the industry-leading provider of Merchandise Optimization solutions, today announced that Bloomingdale’s, a division of Federated Department Stores (Nasdaq: FD) and leading department store retailer, will expand its use of ProfitLogic’s solutions to include analysis of additional merchandise categories through ProfitLogic’s pricing and in-season management capabilities and the capability to enable regional pricing.  Bloomingdale’s will also use Store Clustering Optimization, one of a spectrum of ProfitLogic’s Analytic InSights, to strategically group its stores into appropriate clusters.

Bloomingdale’s decision to enable region-level pricing was based on its experience over the past year with ProfitLogic’s Markdown Optimization solution to support chain-level merchandise management.  Using the insights and recommendations from Markdown Optimization has resulted in improved merchandising processes and inventory management.  With the expansion, Bloomingdale’s merchants will gain greater visibility of in-season merchandise performance, and will be assisted by advanced “what if” scenario testing to examine the financial trade-offs for different pricing actions.  

“With this expansion, Bloomingdale’s will leverage its recent experience utilizing customer demand insight and analytics to continue a successful drive toward merchandising innovation and improved performance,” said Tom Ebling, Chairman and CEO of ProfitLogic.  “We look forward to being an important part of Bloomingdale’s continued success.”

About ProfitLogic’s Analytic InSights Analytic InSights are a collection of hosted product offerings that assist retailers on two fronts.  First, they help retail executives make more informed strategic merchandising decisions based on a detailed understanding of customer demand.  Second, Analytic InSights empower planners and allocators to more effectively execute merchandising objectives by providing strategic analysis, assessment and guidance.  ProfitLogic’s Analytic InSight for Store Clustering Optimization ensures that stores are grouped appropriately for assortment, allocation, pricing and promotion decisions.  For more information and a list of Analytic InSights, please refer to our recent press release: ProfitLogic Expands Merchandise Optimization Solution Suite with Insights that Turbo-Charge the Merchandising Process.

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About Bloomingdale’s Bloomingdale’s, a division of Federated Department Stores, was founded in 1872 and operates 36 stores in California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. 2003 annual sales were $1.861 billion. For website access, log onto bloomingdales.com.

About ProfitLogic ProfitLogic provides an industry-leading suite of Merchandise Optimization solutions designed for retailers whose priority is getting the highest return on inventory investments.  ProfitLogic’s solutions provide merchants with day-to-day operational decision support and workflow for making better-informed assortment execution, allocation and fashion replenishment, promotion, pricing and markdown decisions. ProfitLogic has delivered fast, flexible solutions with significant financial benefit to industry leading retailers such as American Eagle Outfitters, AnnTaylor, Bloomingdale's, Charming Shoppes, Gap Inc., including: Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy, Gap International and Gap Outlet; JCPenney, Lerner New York, Marshall Field's, Meijer Stores, Northern Group Retail, Sears, ShopKo Stores, Target Stores and Toys R Us.  For more information about Cambridge, Mass.-based ProfitLogic, call 617-218-1900 or visit www.profitlogic.com.