Retail Reinvented

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of an online retailer selling gas and electric copper lanterns.

What challenge were you trying to address with Retail Reinvented?

We had a fairly robust business for several years and then had a downturn. The person who helped with online operations had moved on to another business, so I was looking for someone to help rebuild us back to where we were.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started off by addressing minor needs and then we moved into major rebuilds. We were originally on Magento 1 for the cart system we were using, and we needed to move to Magento 2. They helped us move to the new platform and then they did a site redesign and developed it for me.

From there, they’re now doing SEO work for us and helping with online advertising campaigns through Google and retargeting ad efforts. They work on PPC and organic search.  

What is the team composition?

I work mainly with Perry (President & CEO), who has 2–3 people who help him. Mary (Product Manager & Blog Writing) does the design and content, and Sebastian (Technical Team Lead & E-Commerce Developer) does backend work. There are a couple of people who work on the project.

How did you come to work with Retail Reinvented?

I was using a service and found Perry. We worked on a monthly basis together and I was happy with his work, so I engaged him on a full-time basis.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $75,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around August 2018 and our engagement is ongoing. 

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Their work has definitely contributed to an increase in sales that we’ve seen. In the first year, our sales increased by around $120,000 and this year we’ve doubled last year’s total already, so they’ve had a huge impact. 

How did Retail Reinvented perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done very well. They do a great job communicating with us. A lot of other companies that I’ve worked with don’t take the time to listen to what we need. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Other companies take a cookie-cutter approach, but my products are more specialized. Retail Reinvented understands what I need and does a tremendous job of listening and providing results. They focus on my needs and it makes the biggest difference. I’ve worked with many other companies who promise the world but actually make it worse, and that’s not the case with Perry’s team. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of. They’ve been pretty good and I don’t have any complaints. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Explain to them what you need and expect. Be open with them about your idea of what you want, they’ll be able to help you. If they have all the information, they take it very well and do a good job with it. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the program manager at Ardmore Home Design. I manage web, app, and ERP development.

What challenge were you trying to address with Retail Reinvented?

We lacked internal resources for e-commerce development and support. Shifting priorities led us to start expanding into the e-commerce space and streamlining the ordering process for our B2B clients and the customer service department.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They cleaned up the code and fixed the issues we were having with our website.  Since then, we've worked with them to develop brand new B2B e-commerce websites on Magento Enterprise, they've done some ERP modifications through Sage X3 for us, and configured our web services as well. Most recently, they've provided marketing services. 

What is the team composition?

I have direct contact with three people: Perry (Digital Marketing Strategist), Sebastian (Technical Team Lead/E-Commerce Developer), and Louise (ERP Developer). They have others working on their team as well. 

How did you come to work with Retail Reinvented?

They were already engaged with the company when I joined. We originally hired Retail Reinvented to clean up code on an existing e-commerce website we were having trouble with.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent upwards of $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in 2017, and it is ongoing.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

In general, they have been able to reduce a lot of manual work for our internal resources through e-commerce, and ERP development. They go above and beyond to do more than meet basic requirements. For example, when we had issues with the ERP and the consulting agency wasn’t being cooperative, Perry expanded his team to include developers specifically for the ERP. Since then, the efficiency of our project has improved. 

How did Retail Reinvented perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re extremely responsive. We use a ticketing system, and Jira, for project management. We communicate via email, Zoom chat, Slack, text messages, and phone calls. They are very timely, for the most part.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They never refuse any task presented and easily grasp what we need, regardless of complexity. Sebastian is an exceptional developer that understands our business process. He requires very little explanation of new tasks. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They tend to overpromise on delivery dates. It’s a small price to pay for the level of service we receive, but it can be frustrating. Perhaps they need additional developers to help keep up with the workload.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In general, it is a good idea to have a primary point of contact assigned to coordinate with any development team. It helps minimize confusion of priorities.