糖心视频

its purchase of Boston-based , a retail predictive analytics and demand sensing startup, in its first acquisition of the year.

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Nike COO in a press release said the acquisition was part of the shoe giant鈥檚 efforts to 鈥渂e insight-driven, data optimized and hyper-focused on consumer behavior鈥� so it could 鈥渟erve consumers more personally at scale.鈥�

Founded in 2013 by MIT professors and , Celect has raised over four rounds, according to its Crunchbase profile. Its latest round was a $15 million announced last December that was led by (Nokia Growth Partners) and The company鈥檚 AI-driven analytics platform aims to give retailers the ability to better predict and meet inventory needs. On its website, Celect says it works specifically to 鈥渋ncrease full-price sell-through, reduce out-of-stocks and decrease markdowns.鈥�

The Celect team will be folded into Nike鈥檚 global operations team and its co-founders will continue to work as MIT professors and consult with the company on an ongoing basis.

Indeed, with sneaker culture driving demand for its products, it鈥檚 no surprise that Nike wants to make sure it can meet that demand, especially that coming from online buyers. In June, Nike that its full-year revenue was up 7 percent to $39.1 billion on a reported basis and up 11 percent 鈥渙n a currency-neutral basis, as strategic investments in innovation and digital drove global consumer demand鈥︹��

Earlier this year, Digiday reported how Nike鈥檚 (of 3D scanning company and data analytics startup ) in 2018 were aimed at helping its direct-to-consumer business.

And if we need any further evidence that online sneaker buying is hot these days, look no further than , a secondary marketplace for high-end sneakers, and its recent $110 million raise at a post-money valuation of over $1 billion.

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