Overcoming adversity and achieving eCommerce success

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SLAM’s eCommerce manager discusses how working with trusted partners has enabled the company to secure 20% growth in the last few months despite the challenges of Covid.

SLAM, the global sportswear brand loved by sailors, continues to win new customers and secure significant growth, despite the ongoing lockdown restrictions and disruption to business. Corinne Noca, the eCommerce Manager at SLAM, talks to ZeroGrey and Kooomo about adapting to consumer changes, optimising its online offering and maximising sales at this uncertain time.

Corrine discusses the ongoing impact of the pandemic: “Here in Italy, the situation is continuing to influence our daily business life and lockdowns have actually led to an increase in online sales - not only for essential goods but also for secondary goods, such as clothing. This is because the desire of many people to remain safe in their homes has been driving an increase in customers visiting our website.

“SLAM did not want to initially take advantage of this situation, so in March we decided to stop all promotional discounts and free shipments. This was done to avoid overloading the postal system, so couriers could focus on more urgent deliveries of medicines, masks and food. In April, we had to make the decision to take advantage of our eCommerce site, as it was the only available sales channel we had to grow the business.

Corrine explains the brand’s successful digital strategy: “I have been in charge of the management and coordination of our online store since 2016. When I started, the website had not been updated, so we turned to ZeroGrey to help improve our online offering and support our business objectives. The decision to trust a third-party eCommerce provider was necessary, as there was no department within SLAM that was capable of building an eCommerce platform from scratch.”

Corrine continues: “We have been working closely with ZeroGrey for 4 years now and we are currently using the Kooomo platform for all product marketing, billing, customer support and store management services. Today, it is certainly more than a supplier, it is a trusted partner that we cannot do without and they have always supported us by meeting the exact needs of our company. To achieve our digital marketing strategy goals, we also had to include the right blend of content from our other partners, such as Meloria and TWOW.

“The combined eCommerce expertise of ZeroGrey and Kooomo has given us everything we could possibly need to overcome the ongoing disruption caused by the pandemic and expand our customer base. We have seen 20% increase in online sales which continues to grow beyond our previous expectations and I believe this is because we have prioritised investing in powerful online solutions and services to meet our customers’ needs.”

Corrine concludes: “All companies can gain a great deal of experience by working closely in partnerships with businesses from different sectors. Both ZeroGrey and Kooomo have given us the advice and tools we need to optimise our online store and support our customers through this exceptionally difficult situation. Hopefully, this will ensure our continued growth and success, long into the future!”