Strategic plan to reignite the growth of a digital footwear brand
Summary
ST strategy helped the company overcome a period of stagnation and define its strategic plan.
Digitally native brands enjoyed years of rapid growth thanks to social media and direct sales. After that first stage, many of them hit a ceiling: growth slows down and the organisation is not ready for the next step.
FootwearD2C* is a footwear brand made entirely in Spain that sells almost exclusively through its own online shop, with a loyal community built on social media. A profitable company, but with stagnating sales.
ST strategy helped the company develop a full strategic plan to reignite growth.
A profitable digital brand
Overcoming stagnation
An organisation ready for the next step
The full story
Opportunity
After several years of growth, sales had stalled and the partners were questioning how and where to keep investing.
The diagnosis identified a lack of leadership and decision-making, heavy reliance on the founders for design, production calendar and stock issues, dependence on few manufacturers and an organisation without defined roles.
The company needed to put its house in order and activate new growth levers.
Axes of change
With the partners’ trust, ST strategy acted as strategic adviser and designed a plan with several axes, notably:
- Internal organisation: New functional organisational chart with brand, operations and sales leads, roles and tasks matrix and workflows for brand, orders and design.
- Online and offline customer acquisition: Optimisation of the digital channel and opening of new physical channels such as pop-up stores, fairs and own points of sale.
- Product, brand and internationalisation: Expansion of the offer, stronger positioning and purchase journey, and prioritisation of international markets.
Recommendations
The plan was translated into a business plan with an accelerated growth scenario and a calendar of actions prioritised by urgency, impact and investment. Recommendations included:
- Roll-out of the new organisational chart and regular partner meetings with defined KPIs.
- Standard operating procedures for key tasks.
- Supplier diversification and better production and stock planning.
- SEO, marketplace presence and customer retention actions.
- Testing physical channels before opening own stores.
* The confidentiality of our clients is a priority of the company. Although we have changed their names, the information is real.