Southern Tide Ranks No. 27 on Forbes Magazine's Annual Top 100 "America's Most Promising Companies" List

GREENVILLE, S.C., Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Representatives from Southern Tide, a Greenville, S.C.-based manufacturer of a rapidly-growing lifestyle brand of apparel, announced today the company was ranked No. 27 by Forbes Magazine on its annual "America's Most Promising Companies" list. Forbes' list of America's Most Promising Companies features 100 privately held up-and-comers with compelling business models, strong management teams, notable customers, strategic partners and precious investment capital. The 2011 America's Most Promising Companies list will be unveiled in the December 19 issue of Forbes Magazine.

Southern Tide was the only South Carolina-based company to be recognized on the list and was ranked second in the apparel category behind a California-based retail company, which was ranked No. 21.

"Sizing up younger, privately held companies is hard: Their fortunes can change very quickly and there's a dearth of public data," says Forbes Executive Editor Brett Nelson. "We took a more comprehensive approach to evaluate their health and potential."

To sharpen its search, Forbes teamed up with CB Insights, a Manhattan-based data firm that tracks investment in high-growth private companies. With $650,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation, CB has developed complex software called Mosaic that mines myriad online sources (from press releases and social networks to job boards and court filings) to come up with one, algorithmically derived score that measures a private company's health. Forbes married Mosaic's data-crunching with old-fashioned reporting to assemble a list of rising stars with bright growth prospects. To view the complete the list, please visit www.forbes.com/ampc.

"Being recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of America's top 30 most promising companies is an exciting accomplishment for the Southern Tide team," said Jim Twining, CEO of Southern Tide. "This honor is due to the dedication and loyalty of Southern Tide associates, our retail partners and customers, all of which have contributed to our success and growth. We look forward to carrying this momentum into the new year."

SOURCE Southern Tide