From offline to online

With the launch of an inspiring Webshop and an extensive DIY universe, Anna and Clara’s wonderful world has gone digital, much to the delight of Søstrene Grene’s customers, followers, and fans.

Cozy living room scene featuring a light gray sofa adorned with decorative pillows, a round green side table with a marble top, a vase filled with vibrant tulips, and a coffee tray with mugs and fruits, complemented by potted plants and soft curtains.

Results

+ 125 mio

in online revenue in less than 12 months.

5,5 millioner

sold products online—equivalent to 15,000 per day.

13%

constitutes online of total revenue.

Strategy

In recent years, Søstrene Grene has pursued an ambitious and extensive expansion plan, meaning that today customers can visit “Anna and Clara’s wonderful world” in more than 240 stores across 16 European countries. At the same time, they have been working purposefully to build a strong presence on social media, where they alone have over 2 million followers on Facebook.

As the next natural step, Søstrene Grene has embarked on a comprehensive digitalisation of the business. The foundation is a new omnichannel strategy, which initially expands the business with online commerce and a large digital universe where customers can find inspiration for DIY projects.

At Vertica, we have been involved throughout the entire strategy process, and in close collaboration with Søstrene Grene, we have translated the strategic ambitions into a roadmap, of which we have now executed the first steps.

A laptop displaying an online home decor shopping website, featuring various products including flowers, vases, and furniture items, placed on a round wooden table beside a wooden chair in a well-lit room.

A colorful wall display featuring a red tomato, a white onion, and a blue ribbon, accompanied by a plate adorned with red tomatoes, all set against a soft pink background with gentle shadows.

A smartphone displaying an online shopping app with a focus on modern chairs, resting on a neutral-toned surface with a pink chair leg partially visible.

A stylish beige round coffee table with sleek black legs, topped with a decorative yellow bowl and two stacked books titled "Nordic Winter" and "Modern Dried Flowers," placed on a light wooden floor.

Colorful ceramic bowls and plates featuring cherry patterns, with fresh cherries inside the smaller bowl, arranged on a textured green background.

A laptop displaying a product page for tableware, featuring a light green pitcher and a vibrant red checkered cloth, placed on a soft green sofa against a pale green wall with elegant paneling and abstract wall art.

A wooden shelf displaying three clear glasses with gold rims, a shiny silver vase, and a green ceramic mug with a playful handle, against a light green wall.

Objective

All Søstrene Grene stores are designed according to the same unique concept—meaning that customers enjoy the same sensory store experience, no matter where in the world they visit Søstrene Grene.

The ambition has been to transfer the in-store experience to an online universe. In other words, customers should encounter the same aesthetic, whimsical, and sensory world, whether they visit Søstrene Grene via the webshop or a physical store—and the goal is to create experiences following the motto: “Experiences like no other.”

The solution’s graphic design was developed by Hello Monday.

Words from Søstrene Grene

We’ve gone through a major digital transformation at Søstrene Grene over the past 18 months, creating an entirely new system landscape that forms the foundation for our digital journey. It’s always nerve-wracking when you first switch everything on, but honestly, it has exceeded all expectations. We’ve faced very few challenges since going live, and our customers have responded fantastically to the webshop, even surpassing our most optimistic forecasts.

Rasmus SkjøttChief Digital Officer Omnichannel

A smartphone displaying a product page for a framed poster featuring floral artwork, positioned on a round orange table, with a partially visible pastel illustration of lemons and flowers on paper beside it.

The technology

The e-commerce and inspiration site itself is built on a scalable omnichannel platform.

From a technical perspective, the solution has been developed with a unified commerce approach and is composed of building blocks from different systems, ensuring it collectively includes all the necessary channels and functionalities. At the same time, the systems have been selected according to a “best of breed” strategy, avoiding unused functionality. Finally, the solution is built with a headless architecture, making it fully prepared to support all of Søstrene Grene’s omnichannel ambitions.

Together, the solution represents Søstrene Grene’s new digital presence across all 16 of their markets, with e-commerce currently enabled in Denmark and Germany

Words from Søstrene Grene

The next step on our journey will, of course, be to further develop our platform with new and improved functionalities to ensure ‘Experiences like no other’ – just as we will actively work on various forms of integration with our many wonderful stores. This is only the first step on a long and exciting journey!

Rasmus SkjøttChief Digital Officer Omnichannel

Launch

Although Søstrene Grene’s e-commerce solution and DIY universe went live while Denmark was in lockdown due to COVID-19, it was an immediate and resounding success, exceeding all expectations.

Just minutes after the launch, Søstrene Grene halted all marketing for the site, as customers were sharing the news about the webshop themselves. Within the first 24 hours, more than one item was sold every second.

Cases

Digital solutions developed in close collaboration