A retailer established more than 60 years ago which is one of the best-known names in the leather goods trade has appointed Manchester agency Fluid Digital to support further growth in its burgeoning online sales.
Fluid won the brief to provide Magento development and support for Lakeland Leather, which despite its traditional beginnings in the Lake District, has been recognised as one of the best multi-channel online retailers.
The innovative company, which started life as a small shop in Ambleside in 1955 won Multi-Channel Retailer – Under £25m at the Drapers Digital Festival earlier this year. Online sales represent a huge growth opportunity for Lakeland and Fluid will be maximising this potential.
Managing director Martin Foster said that he had been impressed by the knowledge of ecommerce and the Magento platform within the specialist team at Fluid.
He said: “Our Magento ecommerce site will remain at the heart of our digital strategy so it was vital that we appointed the right company to provide support and ongoing development. The technical expertise of Magento within Fluid was what won us over and their close relationship with the platform and passion for maximising its benefits really shone through.”
Adam Hindle, managing director of Fluid which is on the cusp of moving into a new Manchester city centre HQ, commented: “Lakeland Leather is the perfect example of a traditional and long-established company that has moved seamlessly into the online world and is seizing all the opportunities it has to offer. We can’t wait to get started in supporting and developing its current ecommerce offering and are excited to see where this innovative brand can go next.”
Lakeland Leather is currently crowdfunding to raise capital for investment in its next stage of growth. It involves the selling of company shares to customers and suppliers. Customers get to share in the company’s success and suppliers benefit from bigger orders due to the growth.
