Case Studies

In the late 1990's, Benchmark Brands was one of the first footwear retailers to fully engage in business-to-consumer (B2C) e-Commerce. While its initial e-Commerce website iterations were successful and showed great promise in the online business model, they were lacking several key components that were barriers to business scalability. Some core improvement areas targeted by Benchmark Brands management included better site content management functionality, improved merchandising capabilities, integration with its eCometry multi-channel retail backend system, Canadian/USD pricing management, and a more reliable, robust and stable platform upon which to grow the business.

Benchmark Brands management determined that it wanted to outsource the critical architecture and development of the new e-Commerce solution, but also include its own employees on the project team in order to eventually take over the administration, maintenance, and enhancements of the solution. Benchmark Brands interviewed the leading e-Commerce and website development firms in Atlanta and selected Northridge as its partner for the engagement.

Northridge and Benchmark Brands created a collaborative project team including key members of both companies. The team analyzed the business requirements as provided by Benchmark Brands company management and formalized those requirements into a series of deliverable documents. After a four-month development and testing cycle, the team launched the new FootSmart.com website including all of the functional and technical improvements identified in the design deliverables.

Northridge and Benchmark Brands launched the new e-Commerce solution and recognized almost immediate increases in site transactions and revenue. The new website provided a more stable and user-friendly platform that translated into a greater number of consumers willing and able to engage in business on the site. The new FootSmart.com website has proven to be a major success as Benchmark Brands has continued its market-leading position, more than doubling its revenue since the launch of the site.