One of the world’s top footwear brands has been a long-standing Elastic Suite brand partner since 2014. Through both direct-to-consumer and retail partners around the globe, this brand generated over $7 billion in sales through footwear, apparel, and accessories, up more than $3 billion in 8 years. Despite supply chain issues, the brand’s focus on wholesale sales continues to pay off as brick-and-mortar sales increase quarter over quarter in North America and beyond.   

Starting in 2018, the German brand saw an average increase of 103% on three key wholesale performance indicators. Based on average year-over-year Elastic business intelligence analytics: 

• total orders increased 76%  
• total shipments increased 92% 
• total units increased 140% 

Here are four ways that Elastic has directly supported this exciting growth. 

Custom Collection Builder & Whiteboard Feature  

First, the US wholesale team started off by using Elastic’s Custom Collection Builder. By curating product assortments built for individual retailers, sales reps expose buyers to new products, increasing order value. But beyond cart or order size, a greater product mix improves in-store merchandising.   

The visual aspect of enhanced line presentations is key to the B2B sales effort.  They’ve taken advantage of enhanced assets and brand storytelling in the custom collection builder to go beyond traditional B2B ecommerce. By coordinating with the marketing department, the wholesale collections receive the same attention to branding that direct-to-consumer sites do.  

Offline Order Forms & Order History Micro-sites 

Emphasis on the technical side of the B2B sales cannot be overlooked. By using Offline Order Forms (called OLOFs) in the field, sales reps can place orders quickly and efficiently. This also allows for near-constant communication with the brand’s enterprise ERP system and always up-to-date inventory information in the field.  

Using order history data helps sales reps continue to customize and tailor their suggested orders for retailer buyers. Using past order data, in conjunction with retail sell-through information, helps sales reps build order proposals that hold greater sell-through value.   

Continue Education & Account Management 

Another key area of success for many Elastic platform users and brand partners is continued education. By working closely with Elastic’s Account Management and Professional Services teams, the brand has created a team of educated Elastic power users.  

An example of exceptional platform usage was the customized whiteboard training our Account Managers created. By giving its reps the tools to create outstanding merchandising whiteboards and in-store planograms, the brand continued its commitment to visual wholesale sales, empowering its rep force.  

Continued Growth  

As industry leaders, it’s no surprise that this brand goes beyond traditional sportswear and footwear for both direct-to-consumer and wholesale product lines. Between launching new brands, such as an outdoor-focused line, and partnering with professional athletes and pop culture figures, the brand is constantly innovating its products. Their continued commitment to brick-and-mortar and wholesale sales further this brand experience and consumer connection.  

This brand’s growth in the wholesale channel is mirrored in its expanded partnership with Elastic Suite. Because of the success the American reps have had with the platform, Canada’s network of sales reps and retail partners is also using it. The Canadian sales reps and retail partners were onboarded to the Elastic platform in the summer of 2022.   

This brand’s golf brand has seen sustained wholesale growth, like many other manufacturers in the rapidly growing channel. The expansive network of North American retailers and sales reps will be onboarded to the Elastic platform in the fall of 2023.