How Ampersand transformed Secret Sales into an off-price marketplace for high street and luxury fashion
Secret Sales’ Marketplace Transformation, a Black Friday case study.
In 2018, Secret Sales had a vision to become an off-price marketplace for high street and luxury fashion. Their legacy platform however, was built based on a flash sales business. Significant redevelopment was needed to support the new business model, including migration from a custom-built stack to a flexible, scalable ecommerce platform. With no dedicated technical team in-house, they needed a technology partner to turn this bold, new vision into a reality. In the spring of 2019, Secret Sales briefed Ampersand to transform the retailer’s site in time for Black Friday – less than six months away.
From day one Ampersand knew they couldn’t simply retire the existing platform and start over. We had to work with Secret Sales’ existing platform to define the scope of the Accelerator – it was the only way to re-platform in time for Black Friday. We set about building an Accelerator solution that included a number of specific features; an integrated view of their marketplace and warehouse products in a PIM, search and merchandising capabilities, as well as competitive pricing and a marketplace offering from Mirakl. They also used Magento Page Builder to create brand stores that offered a richer shopping experience for customers.
“Ampersand understands the fine balance between working at pace and following a process to ensure quality, usually you can’t have both.” Andy Christodoulou, Head of Product
Introducing new product management and data mastering processes reduced operational costs dramatically, while relevant brand-based content and visual merchandising enhanced the entire shopping experience. By moving from flash sales to a brand-driven marketplace business, Ampersand created more than just a website – they built the foundations for Secret Sales’ transformation and growth.
Perhaps most crucially, their Accelerator approach meant the site went live before the Black Friday deadline. It turned out to be their most successful Black Friday to date.
To find out how Ampersand can transform your business visit them online here.
