Swedish designer brand Casall has marketed workout clothing and gear since its inception in 1984. Even though the company has had its own online store since the end of the 1990s, it felt like it had not really kept up with development — and only 1% of the company’s sales were through its own channels.
Digital channels — key to reaching international market
“Right before I started working at Casall, a new design manager and a new brand manager were also hired. The first thing we asked ourselves was who the consumer is and what his or her values are. Based on this information, we produced a new brand platform.”
Jon Lööf realized that in order to develop the brand and promote growth, the company’s digital presence needed to be developed. Casall needed to begin focusing on its own channels instead of relying entirely on distribution.
“We knew that our digital channels would become the cornerstones of our international expansion, so we focused our efforts there.”
Challenges during requirements specification and implementation — multitude of lessons learned
Deciding on a new e-commerce solution was one thing but knowing exactly what was needed was not as straightforward.
“A great deal of the legwork had already been done when I came to the company. I more or less inherited the order for a new e-commerce solution. For this reason, it took a while before I understood what we actually needed from the new solution.”Jon Lööf and Casall learned a lot during the requirements specification and implementation phases of the new e-commerce solution and are today in a position to advise other companies on the brink of a similar investment.
“It is important to work through the order thoroughly. What role is e-commerce to have? What is the objective of the new e-commerce site? When specifying requirements, don’t focus on what you want to do with the online store or the site, but rather on what you want to do with the brand.”
Great start with good basics — but still a lot left to do
Litium’s cloud-based e-commerce platform was ultimately selected, in large part because Litium was perceived as a stable player with a great reputation in the industry. Sales are more frequently being conducted online, but Jon Lööf recognizes that there is still a lot left to do to improve the company’s chances of reaching its objectives.
“Our current online store is based on Litium’s e-commerce platform and includes an integrated CMS. However, we have not connected the PIM segment to the platform yet. This will be the next obvious step. As it stands today, we take care of product management manually, which is arduous. We want to get closer to our consumers and be able to introduce new products and offers on a more continuous basis. I am also looking forward to having a PIM system in place to simplify the process of adding new markets as we continue to grow internationally.”
Before Casall’s new investment in e-commerce, the company’s digital presence consisted of two separate websites: one that provided inspiration and one that was a separate online store. In order to achieve the best possible conditions for the investment to succeed, the two parts were merged to blend inspiration with e-commerce.
“Integrating content and products enabled a better e-commerce experience. Now we want to fill the page with even more relevant content for our customers.”
Acclaimed award winner — with already measurable results
Thanks to the thorough legwork that was done in relation to both the brand and the needs analysis, Casall’s new e-commerce solution is a success story.
“The feedback on our new e-commerce solution has been extremely positive, especially in terms of visual aspects such as the imagery and design. Since Casall is a designer brand, we are particular about our online shop reflecting this, so it is especially gratifying that the new site received the Svenska Designpriset award for its functionality and attractive design.”
Even though Casall’s new e-commerce solution is not even a year old, the company can already see clear results from the new online store and site.
“I am very pleased with our new e-commerce solution. We have only scratched the surface so far but are already doubling last year’s sales every month.”
