Floorball specialist Klubbhuset realised early in its growth journey that inadequate system support that crashed when sales increased was not sustainable for growth. After switching to Viskan E-commerce Platform, it has not only gained a stable foundation for its e-commerce and been able to multiply its sales. It has also been able to add B2B sales, strengthen the customer experience with value-adding integrations, and bring more structure and control to the business.

Background

Klubbhuset is one of the world’s largest floorball retailers. Since launching in 2001, the company has offered a wide range of floorball products, clothing and footwear from Sweden’s and the world’s leading brands. Klubbhuset has physical stores in Uppsala, Stockholm, Karlstad, Falun, Umeå and Gothenburg, as well as a central warehouse in Gothenburg, where its e-commerce operation is also based. Klubbhuset sells its products to consumers, clubs and businesses alike.

Challenges

Klubbhuset’s first e-commerce solution could not deliver the stability the business needed. When traffic increased during peak seasons and campaigns, the system often crashed and caused sales issues. The existing system also required a lot of manual work, taking time away from more value-creating tasks. It also had limitations when it came to integrations with ERP and warehouse systems that could have improved efficiency.

Opportunities

With Viskan E-commerce Platform, Klubbhuset has gained a stable foundation for its e-commerce that can handle sales, inventory, CMS and mailings without issues. The platform also enables B2B sales to clubs and businesses. Thanks to the ability to add simple third-party integrations, Klubbhuset has been able to introduce value-adding functionality to its e-commerce.

Solution

With a stable foundation for its e-commerce that ensures sales always work, Klubbhuset has been able to multiply sales during peak periods such as Black Friday. The ability to manage both B2C and B2B sales in the same e-commerce platform makes it easier for Klubbhuset to meet the needs of all its customers. Third-party integrations for gift cards, among other things, have helped increase sales even further. As an added bonus of the system change, Klubbhuset has also started working in a more structured and systematic way, making the business more efficient.

Multiplied sales with a stable e-commerce platform

Floorball specialist Klubbhuset is passionate about its field. Strong commitment and a close relationship with floorball enthusiasts, clubs and businesses, combined with a willingness to invest even in challenging times, have made Klubbhuset a strong brand and one of the world’s largest floorball retailers. Today, the company has six physical stores and a strong e-commerce operation, but in the beginning the online business struggled because of inadequate system support.

The previous e-commerce solution struggled to handle peak loads and often crashed during high season and campaigns. The system was also difficult to work with and required a lot of manual effort. Here’s how Klubbhuset’s Head of E-commerce, Pontus Allansson, describes the situation:

”Aside from the downtime that held back sales, it was complicated and time-consuming to get things done in the system. We felt we weren’t getting the support we needed for our e-commerce. When we had to choose between upgrading the existing system or getting a new one, we felt we wanted to work with a larger company with broader expertise. We wanted a safe, reliable platform that didn’t crash as soon as we ran campaigns.”

Klubbhuset chose Viskan E-commerce Platform as the new solution for its e-commerce, and already when the system was replaced in 2019, the company could see an impact on sales:

”Viskan’s e-commerce platform is a reliable foundation we can trust. Thanks to it, we’ve been able to step up with more campaigns and larger volumes. A platform in itself isn’t what makes a company grow, but a bad platform can make a company fall apart. Now we don’t feel any barriers and know it works exactly as it should when we want to push harder. Today, our Black Friday sales are five times higher than before we switched to Viskan. We get strong, dependable support and it works brilliantly.” says Pontus.

Viskan E-commerce Platform provides straightforward support for both B2C and B2B e-commerce

Today, Klubbhuset uses the full Viskan platform for its e-commerce. From inventory management, CMS and product management to email campaigns and add-on services. The fact that Viskan E-commerce Platform can also handle B2B sales was another important factor when Klubbhuset changed systems, since it also sells to businesses and clubs:

”It was a bonus that Viskan also supported B2B. We can use the same system for both our B2C and B2B e-commerce, and it’s easy to use. It’s simple for us to target specific products and the volumes that matter to B2B. For customers, the flow is the same, except B2B does not go through Klarna’s checkout. We also know that Viskan can handle our needs if we need more features or the ability to manage larger volumes in future.” says Pontus.

99.98%

uptime with Viskan

90%

growth since moving to Viskan

40%

traffic increase over the past year

Third-party integrations that improve the customer experience and increase sales

The fact that Viskan E-commerce Platform is built on headless technology and Viskan Open API, making it easy to integrate value-adding third-party tools with the platform, is something Klubbhuset has started to make greater use of. This includes ready-made solutions for customer reviews and gift cards:

”Over the past few years, we’ve started using ready-made third-party integrations. It’s an advantage that Viskan has selected strong partners they recommend, with good solutions that are easy to connect. We use Lipscore for ratings, among other things, because it gives customers confidence to be able to share their views. The biggest lift has come from an integration for a shared gift card system across both stores and e-commerce. Previously, each POS system had its own gift card solution, and the card only worked in that specific store. Now gift cards can be bought anywhere and used anywhere. Thanks to this feature, we gained extra sales in the days leading up to Christmas through digital gift cards. They became a popular last-minute Christmas present. It was great to have a ready-packaged solution for that.” says Pontus.

Klubbhuset has started working in a more structured way with Viskan E-commerce Platform

For Klubbhuset, it was a relief when it had its first Black Friday with the new system in 2019 and, instead of crashing as usual, sales worked perfectly. But increased sales thanks to a stable e-commerce foundation are not the only benefit Klubbhuset has experienced. An unexpected bonus is that the company now works in a much more structured and systematic way than before:

”We’ve learned the value of structure and control since we started using Viskan E-commerce Platform. Before, we barely had stock balances on products, and a lot depended on individual people knowing where things were. Now the system requires us to stay on top of everything and do things correctly and systematically. That benefits us in many ways as a business. We’re no longer as dependent on people holding information. Now anyone can get the right information through the system, so we can work more smoothly and efficiently. We used to trust what we had in our heads more than the system. Now we trust the system, and the process is easier.” says Pontus.

Klubbhuset feels it now has a stable platform that allows it to grow. The company also values the partnership that helps it keep developing:

”Viskan is a reliable partner and a sounding board where we can get input on the best way to do things. We have a close relationship where it’s easy for us to express what we want and what we think. We feel that Viskan listens to us and acts straight away when we need help or want to develop something. It’s reassuring to have a knowledgeable company we can bounce ideas off.”