Premium Fashion Retailer

Turning tariff pressure into competitive advantage

A premium global fashion retailer with strong U.S. demand faced mounting pressure as new import tariffs reshaped the economics of cross‑border commerce. Duties calculated on full retail prices eroded margins, while unexpected fees at checkout undermined shopper confidence and conversion.

To respond quickly without compromising its direct‑to‑consumer experience, the brand needed a new operating model—one that could reduce tariff exposure, absorb compliance complexity, and scale efficiently in a volatile trade environment.

About the Retailer

This premium fashion retailer operates a global direct‑to‑consumer ecommerce business, serving high‑value international markets with seasonal, margin‑sensitive inventory. Protecting brand experience while managing cross‑border costs is critical to sustained growth.

The Challenge

  • Rising U.S. tariffs
  • Duties applied to retail prices
  • Declining checkout conversion
  • High operational burden
  • No local U.S. entity

The Solution

  • ESW B2B2C Merchant of Record
  • Wholesale‑based duty calculation
  • Fully landed checkout pricing
  • Compliance and risk transfer
  • Rapid, scalable go‑to‑market

  • +50%

    QoQ sales value growth increase

  • +34%

    Monthly order volume growth

  • +14.5%

    Checkout conversion rate increase

The Challenge

Rising U.S. tariffs significantly increased the cost of importing finished goods directly into the U.S. market. Absorbing these costs would impact margins, while passing them on to consumers risked conversion and brand loyalty.

At the same time, the retailer needed to maintain control over pricing, brand experience, and customer relationships—making traditional wholesale or distributor‑led models unattractive.

The Solution

The retailer partnered with ESW to deploy a B2B2C Merchant of Record model for its U.S. ecommerce operations.

Under this structure, ESW purchases goods from the brand at wholesale price—meaning import duties are calculated on wholesale values rather than retail. ESW also assumes full legal, tax, and compliance responsibility in the destination market, while delivering a fully landed, transparent checkout experience for U.S. shoppers.
This allowed the brand to reduce tariff exposure, protect margins, and maintain a seamless direct‑to‑consumer front end without establishing a local entity.

A Scalable B2B2C Growth Model

With ESW’s B2B2C model in place, the retailer transformed tariff disruption into a repeatable, scalable growth strategy.

ESW absorbed the operational and regulatory complexity of cross‑border commerce, enabling the brand to act quickly in response to trade policy changes, restore shopper confidence, and capture peak seasonal demand. The result was a structurally more efficient model that aligned financial resilience with customer‑first commerce.

"The core value we delivered was a reduction in duty costs, enabling the brand to pass those savings directly to shoppers — driving stronger customer loyalty and, ultimately, top line growth."

ESW Account Team

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Why Choose ESW?

We Remove the Risk and Unlock the Ambition.

We provide an enterprise-grade ecommerce platform — standardised for scale, yet configurable for your exact market strategy and supply chain needs. We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all. We use a composable approach to architect an end-to-end worldwide operation that fits your business.

AI-driven intelligence and automation optimise decisions, adapt to local complexity, and future-proof all your commerce surfaces. We absorb the complexity and evolve with your ambition.

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