Global Head - Corporate Communications & Brand

DOUGLAS Group selects Centric PLM for innovation. Published: 22/09/2026 DOUGLAS Group selects Centric Software to drive Corporate Brands innovation. DOUGLAS Group, Europe's leading omnichannel premium beauty retailer, has selected Centric Software's Centric PLM(TM) to modernise and scale its Corporate Brands product development operations. The partnership forms part of the retailer's enterprise-wide digital transformation strategy, with a focus on innovation, collaboration and regulatory compliance. Centralising product development. The DOUGLAS Group is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. Through its commercial brands, DOUGLAS, NOCIBÉ, Parfumdreams and Niche Beauty, the Group serves customers across Europe. Its business operates through online platforms and around 1,970 stores across 22 countries. The Corporate Brands business represents an important part of its overall portfolio. As this business expanded, DOUGLAS Group faced increasing complexity across product development. Manual processes also created challenges for internal teams, suppliers and regulatory stakeholders. Product information, approvals and documentation moved across multiple processes. This made visibility, traceability and standardisation harder to maintain at scale. Growing regulatory requirements and supplier collaboration needs further highlighted the need for a more structured approach. Centric PLM to support Corporate Brands. DOUGLAS Group selected Centric PLM after evaluating several solutions. The company identified Centric's expertise in cosmetics and personal care as a key factor. Its Corporate Brands capabilities also supported the selection. The platform provides Product Information File (PIF) management, regulatory compliance and workflow governance. Its end-to-end product lifecycle management capabilities also offer a centralised approach to product development. The platform is designed to help teams manage product information and workflows through a single system. Its configurable structure can also support the evolving requirements of the Corporate Brands business. valantic has been selected as the implementation partner. The company will provide technological expertise and industry knowledge to support deployment and process improvements. Lena Krömer, SVP Corporate Brands at DOUGLAS Group, says, "As our Corporate Brands business continued to grow, we recognized the need for greater transparency, consistency and control across our product development processes. Our priority was to find a scalable PLM platform that could centralize product information, strengthen regulatory compliance and establish a foundation for future growth while transforming fragmented processes into a connected and collaborative product development ecosystem." Improving supplier collaboration and compliance. Centric PLM will bring supplier collaboration, compliance management and product traceability together within one platform. This approach is expected to provide DOUGLAS Group with greater visibility across its innovation workflows. It will also create a central source of product information. Lena Krömer adds, "Centric PLM stood out for its ability to combine supplier collaboration, compliance management and end-to-end traceability within a single platform. It provides the scalability, visibility and single source of truth we need to accelerate innovation and enable the continued growth of our Corporate Brands business". The implementation is expected to help DOUGLAS Group reduce time to market for Corporate Brands products. It will also support stronger supplier relationships and improve visibility across product innovation workflows. At the same time, centralised product information will support compliance and regulatory governance. Supporting future growth. Fabrice Canonge, CEO at Centric Software, says, "We are proud to partner with DOUGLAS Group and valantic on this strategic initiative. By combining deep cosmetics and personal care expertise with advanced regulatory capabilities, Centric PLM provides DOUGLAS Group with the foundation to streamline product development, strengthen compliance and accelerate Corporate Brands innovation. We look forward to supporting the company's next phase of growth." Through the collaboration, DOUGLAS Group aims to create a more connected product development ecosystem. The initiative will support its Corporate Brands business as it scales innovation across the European beauty market.

Centric Software has launched Centric AI, integrating its artificial intelligence solutions to accelerate product lifecycle decisions for retailers and brands. The platform debuted at NRF 2026: Retail's Big Show Europe in Paris. The company said clients using Centric AI alongside its other solutions reclaim 90 to 98 per cent of time previously spent on manual work. This has resulted in 2 to 5 per cent gains in gross margin and a 5 per cent increase in sell-through rates through improved pricing, assortment and inventory decisions. The launch comes as retailers and brands move AI from experimentation into daily operations, with growing focus on measurable business impact. Centric AI serves fashion, luxury, footwear, consumer electronics, food and beverage, cosmetics and multi-category retail sectors.

Centric Software has unveiled Centric AI, a new artificial intelligence platform for product lifecycle decisions, which it will showcase at NRF 2026: Retail's Big Show Europe in Paris from 15–17 September 2026. The platform aims to automate decision-making processes from product concept to commercialisation for retailers and brands across fashion, luxury, electronics, food and beverage, and other sectors. Centric AI combines product data, workflows, and industry expertise with conversational interactions and agentic workflows. According to the company, customers using Centric AI alongside existing Centric solutions have reclaimed 90–98% of time previously spent on manual tasks. Customers also report 2–5% improvements in gross margin and up to 5% gains in sell-through from faster pricing and inventory decisions. The platform includes features such as AI Companion for natural language queries, AI Agents for task automation, and specialised applications for product development.