Radnor, PA, March 13, 2009 -- During difficult economic times, it can be a boon in any industry to be able to maximize sales and profits and squeeze additional savings out of the business. Leading apparel manufacturers Byer California, Dreamgirl, Fire, Quiksilver and others have turned to AptClarity LLC for business analysis dashboards powered by QlikView that enable them to reduce costs, obtain vital insights and more effectively manage key aspects of their business.

Key Facts:

AptClarity Dashboards leverage QlikView for visual analysis of operations, sales and supply chains

Apparel customers include Byer California, Dreamgirl, Fire and Quiksilver Dreamgirl estimates $200,000 in savings as a result of visibility delivered by the Dashboard

AptClarity provides clients in the apparel industry with rapid, low cost deployment of business intelligence applications based on QlikView. Named the market's fastest-growing business analysis solution, QlikView gives people the information they need to make optimal decisions today - at a fraction of the cost of traditional BI solutions.

Built using the firm's domain expertise in the apparel industry, AptClarity Dashboards work with most industry-specific business systems. They help clients easily perform sales, financial, operational and supply chain analytics, making it easier to correct - and prevent - potential trouble spots, identify trends, and improve bottom line results. As a result, AptClarity's clients have experienced better visibility into sales and distribution channels, product trends, customer profitability, retail sales patterns and promotions performance.

"The sheer magnitude of information that an apparel manufacturer has to sift through and analyze to make smart decisions can be overwhelming, and these days decisions can no longer be made on 'gut instinct' alone," said Christopher Scharff, CEO of Dreamgirl International. "Within the first week of use, I began to make decisions differently as a result of the exceptional visibility and speed provided by the AptClarity Dashboard. I estimate our immediate savings at more than $200,000."

The following are snapshots of a few of AptClarity's apparel industry clients:

Byer California, a brand manufacturer of girls and women's apparel for large department stores and chains such as Macy's, uses a sales and order entry system that has been fine-tuned for one thing: accurately booking and fulfilling orders. However, the reports based on this transactional data lacked depth and provided little context for decision-making. The Dashboard deployed by AptClarity allows for the analysis of historical performance so that production planning can be more efficient, and sales performance at specific retail chains can be properly analyzed. "Our industry has seen a lot of consolidation in recent years, so comparative store sales and bookings over time can be a challenge. The dashboard lets us compare apples to apples to see what the sales performance really is with the current iteration of the customer," said Joel Feldman, President and COO at Byer.

Dreamgirl International is one of the fastest growing lingerie manufacturers in the US. Better visibility into sales trends vs. inventory and production plans led the company to realize over $200,000 in savings almost immediately upon deployment. Since then, Dreamgirl has used AptClarity's analysis tools to manage the performance of sales programs for their external reps, leading to increased sales. The financial, sales and inventory information extracted by the tools is so reliable, it is used in the regular audits performed by the company's bankers.

Fire is one of the fastest growing brands of dresses and sportswear for teens and young women, with customers that include Nordstrom and Dillard's. The AptClarity Dashboard enables Fire management to easily identify best sellers and compare year to year booking performance by rep, customer and product category. The greater visibility offered by the QlikView-powered application allows them to be more aggressive and agile in their pricing plans for their top sellers, keeping them a few steps ahead of the competition. In addition, improved insight into how product lines are performing has resulted in more accurate production planning.

For Quiksilver, the leading global manufacturer of surf-inspired apparel and accessories with annual sales over $2 billion, AptClarity initially implemented a Chargeback Management Dashboard which has directly improved the bottom line. Chargebacks are invoice deductions retailers take upon payment to their suppliers for a variety of reasons including markdown and advertising allowances, and penalties. With the Chargeback Dashboard, Quiksilver can analyze deductions by reason, across product lines and by customer, leading to improved processes, higher collections and timelier resolution. Quiksilver also uses the AptClarity Dashboard for comprehensive sales analysis to provide visibility across product lines and divisions, to view booking and sales performance by multiple variables such as season, sales rep or region, and to analyze customer profitability at the click of a button.

"There are a lot of BI tools on the market today, but what is appealing about our industry-specific Dashboards and QlikView is the power and flexibility of the solutions we can deliver, and how quickly we can do it," said Kirk Feldman, managing partner at AptClarity. "Our approach allows us to deploy an application in a week, which quickly changes the client's perception about the results they can achieve. Instead of managing by the seat of their pants, our clients get vital insight and can make better, faster decisions, all while reducing the costs associated with gathering and analyzing information. It's a powerful tool for maximizing company performance."

"The challenges facing apparel manufacturers aren't the same today as they were in the past," said Peter McQuade, vice president of alliances at QlikTech. "These days, agility and flexibility in identifying issues and making decisions can be the difference between success and failure. AptClarity offers the rich toolset and domain expertise to help customers compete more effectively, armed with the accurate and timely information they need."

About AptClarity

AptClarity provides comprehensive analytic solutions for Apparel and Footwear Wholesalers and Retailers; Metals/Steel Processors and Distributors; and Commercial Insurance Companies and Agencies. As a recognized QlikView partner and leader in these markets, the firm's deep industry experience, industry specific Dashboards, unique point of view and value-focused approach enable customers to quickly reduce costs and improve critical business results. AptClarity joined QlikTech's Qonnect global partner program, which expands the availability of QlikView through alliances with more than 500 solution providers around the world, in 2003 as a Resell partner. For more information visit http://www.aptclarity.com.

About QlikTech

QlikTech is the business answers company. Its flagship product, QlikView, enables organizations of all sizes to unlock the value of their data to make better decisions that improve business results. Unlike traditional BI solutions, QlikView delivers immediate value with payback measured in days or weeks rather than months, years, or not at all. Through QlikView's disruptive, in-memory associative approach, business users have experienced unprecedented success and satisfaction. QlikTech is the only company in this market that offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. QlikTech grew by 50% in 2008 and has more than 10,500 customers in 92 countries and over 700 partners worldwide. For more information, please visit www.qlikview.com.

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