ESW Case Study
ICONIC US FASHION BRAND.
CONQUERING DTC IN CANADA
This world-famous fashion house had a wholesale arm in Canada that sold exclusively to local retailers. The brand sought to capture existing demand for their products and cultivate direct consumer relationships by leveraging their existing US inventory and website to open a frictionless ecommerce channel for Canadian shoppers. However, they lacked the necessary technology and infrastructure and realized developing it in-house would take years.
As the Canadian market is worth CAD$674 billion dollars successful entry via cross-border ecommerce was of strategic importance to the brand.
The Challenge
The brand needed a rapid way of reaching the Canadian market and fulfilling orders without compromising its brand or requiring extensive in-house development. They selected ESW because of the company’s experience in localization in over 200 markets, its speed to market capability, and the bespoke capabilities ESW was able to provide for the company, such as a ‘ship from store’ solution.
The Solution
ESW worked closely with the brand to ensure that Canadian shoppers would have a domestic equivalent brand experience, localized to make checkout smooth and seamless. ESW developed a robust solution that could handle increased logistics and supply chain demands during peak periods and unexpected events like COVID-19, when order volume increased by over 400%.
One of the brand’s key requirements was an omnichannel solution that would leverage SKUs held in-store, in addition to their warehouses. This approach both increased efficiency and enabled the brand to offer a wider array of items, sizes and price points. To support the great online experience that shoppers would expect, ESW also implemented an efficient returns process that allowed them to issue refunds within about 48 hours.
ESW BUILT A SOLUTION THAT ACHIEVED THE FOLLOWING:
Capturing existing demand and expanding brand awareness, reach, and conversions in an international market
Localized currency and checkout, with transparent duties and taxes so shoppers were not hit with hidden fees just before completing their purchases
Providing a domestic-equivalent experience for international shoppers, including aligning online prices with offline prices
Delivering a fast shipping and returns solution and expediting refunds, including duties and taxes
Enabling omnichannel, including a ship from store solution, which allowed the brand to offer a wider range of SKUs to Canadian shoppers.
Building brand loyalty and increasing customer lifetime value by providing a seamless experience consistent with the brand’s other touchpoints vs. a disconnected marketplace experience
UNLOCKING MAJOR
DEMAND
IN A CRITICAL
MARKET
Ensuring a domestic experience on a cross-border ecommerce site allowed this brand to enter the Canadian market quickly, without friction, and enabled the company to build on existing brand awareness. The seamless shopper experience helped increase customer loyalty and conversions through a robust product offering, a smooth checkout, and reduced shipping and returns lead times.
This well-known fashion house has seen remarkable results since implementing ESW’s solution, including:
Web traffic
+
0
%
Sales orders
+
0
%
Conversion rates
+
0
%
Ecommerce the way it should be
A complete direct-to-consumer and marketplace ecommerce solution live in weeks, not months
- Feature-rich architecture plugs into your back-end or front-end systems
- Merchant and Seller of Record to ease compliance
- Shared success model for predictable costs