Horze is a large European retailer of equestrian equipment that needed a more flexible ecommerce platform to support its strategy of tailored websites for each country. It implemented Demandware's cloud-based platform, which now supports 22 online stores across 15 languages. This has allowed Horze to achieve online growth of 75% from 2010 to 2012 through better customer experiences and higher conversion rates.

1. Case Study
BUSINESS
Horze is one of the largest retailers of specialty equestrian equipment and clothing in
Europe. Part of the Finn-Tack group, it serves customers throughout Europe, Russia
and the US.
CHALLENGE
To compete with local retailers, Horze needed to provide tailored websites for
each country that offer an assortment of local payment methods and promotions.
To support this strategy, the company required a more flexible and cost-effective
ecommerce platform.
SOLUTION
Horze has used Demandware’s cloud-based ecommerce platform since 2010.
The solution supports 22 online store fronts in 15 languages. Seamless integration
with back-end systems – such as merchandising and supply chain – and the latest
ecommerce features optimise the customer experience.
RESULTS
Better customer loyalty and higher sales conversion rates have contributed to an
online growth rate of 75 percent from 2010 to 2012. Horze is now able to continue
to grow its business and online offerings with a more scalable and reliable
ecommerce platform.
Industry segment
Equestrian Sports
URL
www.horze.com
Scale
150,000 orders processed
annually
Horze races
ahead with 40
percent growth
in online sales

2. 2
BUSINESS
EQUESTRIAN EQUIPMENT FOR THE DISCERNING RIDER
Horse-riding enthusiasts across Europe, Russia and the US purchase their equestrian
products and supplies from Horze.
As one of the largest equestrian retailers in Europe, Horze sells clothing and
equipment for riders of all levels – from novices to professionals. It has 20 stores
throughout Northern Europe, the majority of which are in Scandinavia.
Horze started trading in 2003 as a subsidiary of Finn-Tack – a Finnish manufacturer,
wholesaler and retailer. The brand is focused on providing high-quality products at
affordable prices. Its vision is to become the global market leader.
To achieve its goals for market domination, Horze has developed a culture based on
learning, innovation and delivering an exceptional customer experience.
CHALLENGE
PROVIDING A LOCAL EXPERIENCE FOR A DIVERSE
CUSTOMER BASE
Horze’s key business strategy for competitive differentiation and growth is to offer
as many brands as possible on an international scale. Although the company has
physical stores only in Northern Europe, it has an online presence in every European
country, as well as Russia and the US. This enables the company to reach consumers
outside its traditional geography without the capital investment associated with
opening physical stores.
Arne Christensen, Chief Technology Office at Horze, comments: “With 30 percent of
our revenues derived from online sales, ecommerce represents our biggest growth
opportunity. Our online stores enable us to broaden the geographical breadth of our
customer base and reach new markets.”
As Horze often competes with local retailers, providing a country-specific look
and feel to its online stores is key to the customer experience. “Familiarity conveys
confidence and trust, so we need our sites in the native language, with tailored offers
and product sets to suit the customer base,” explains Christensen. “We also need to
offer local payment options and currencies to simplify the check-out process.”
REINED IN BY TECHNICAL LIMITATIONS
When it launched its first ecommerce sites in 2003,
Horze used a homegrown ecommerce solution
based on an
open-source toolset. While this approach had been
successful on a small scale, the solution could not
effectively support Horze’s expansion into new
countries or its localisation strategy. Development
processes had also become increasingly costly and
complicated: every time a new website release was
launched, the company encountered various issues
with country-specific features.
“With an increasing global and online customer
base, website performance had become intrinsically
linked to the overall success of the business,”
comments Christensen. “We needed to be able to
Case Study: Horze
“Inventory quantities
are updated every
20 minutes and
orders, customer
updates and
newsletter signups
are synchronised
every 10 minutes.”
–Arne Christensen
Chief Technology Officer
Horze

3. 3
deliver maximum availability and flexibility with minimum effort and expense – and that
meant finding a new ecommerce solution.”
SOLUTION
AN INTEGRATED AND SCALABLE PLATFORM SUPPORTING
22 ONLINE STORES
In addition to overcoming its existing challenges, Horze wanted to tap into new
opportunities that would drive greater online sales.
To enable continuous innovation and move faster, Horze selected a cloud-based
ecommerce platform from Demandware. Christensen comments: “We chose
Demandware because it continually invests in developing and enhancing its solution.
This means we can take advantage of leading-edge features and functionality that
would be financially prohibitive for us to develop for ourselves.”
The platform was implemented in five countries over five months with assistance
from Demandware’s partner eCommera. eCommera helped with every aspect of the
deployment – from scoping requirements to integrating data feeds – and continues to
provide ongoing support.
Two years on, and Horze now has 22 online store fronts in 15 languages running
on the same ecommerce backend. Customers can access more than 5,000 master
products via the websites, which in total process around 20,000 orders each month.
Horze has integrated the solution with a number of internal and external business
systems to simplify key processes, such as:
• Fulfilling orders
• Processing payments
• Handling support queries
• Conducting direct marketing
campaigns
“To avoid disappointing customers with out-of-date information, data is exported from
our ERP system seamlessly to Demandware on a daily basis to enable catalogue,
price list and availability updates,” explains Christensen. “Inventory quantities are
updated every 20 minutes and orders, customer updates and newsletter signups are
synchronised every 10 minutes.”
The platform has also recently been integrated with Horze’s new
homegrown product review system to enable customers to make
more informed purchasing decisions.
Christensen comments: “Recent years have seen a tsunami
of developments in ecommerce, but as in all business, it’s still
a matter of basics. We will roll up our sleeves and continue
to do what we love, with an increased focus on the customer
experience.”
“We can respond
rapidly to customer
demand, local
events and climatic
conditions to take
advantage of the
sales potential.”
–Arne Christensen
Chief Technology Officer
Horze
Case Study: Horze

4. Demandware, Inc.
5 Wall Street Burlington, MA 01803 +1 (781) 425 1400 demandware.com
info@demandware.com
RESULTS
ON TRACK FOR A GREAT FUTURE
Horze’s back to basics approach has proven to be very successful. Since
implementing its new ecommerce solution, Horze has experienced annual online
sales growth of almost 40 percent in 2011 and 2012.
A richer online experience has been a key factor to enable this growth. Horze
customers can now make smarter online buying choices in a shorter timeframe
thanks to a number of ecommerce enhancements, including:
• An interactive one-page checkout
• Feature-rich product pages including 360-degree images and videos
• Independent product reviews from fellow equestrian enthusiasts
These and other enhancements have resulted in an increased sales conversion rate
from below one percent to more than 3.5 percent in some countries, and a 60 per
cent increase in customer loyalty.
The functionality provided by the new ecommerce platform has inspired
a new approach to marketing founded on interactive campaigns
and local content. “Promotions and offers can be created and published online in
just five minutes,” comments Christensen. “This means we can respond rapidly to
customer demand,
local events and climatic conditions to take advantage of the sales potential.”
Using Demandware Commerce’s built-in analytics, Horze can evaluate the success of
such promotions and use these findings to optimise the customer experience. As well
as energising its ecommerce frontend, Horze has improved efficiency at the backend.
A cloud-based model means developments and updates are seamless and high
availability is guaranteed.
”We have eliminated the technical limitations that were holding back our ecommerce
ambitions,” comments Christensen. “We can now focus aggressively on driving more
traffic and revenue through our online stores.”
ABOUT DEMANDWARE
Demandware (NYSE: DWRE) is a leading provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS)
ecommerce solutions that enable companies to easily design, implement and
manage their own customized ecommerce sites, including websites, mobile
applications and other digital storefronts. Customers use our highly scalable and
integrated Demandware Commerce platform to more easily launch and manage
multiple ecommerce sites, initiate marketing campaigns more quickly, and improve
ecommerce traffic.
For more information about Demandware, visit demandware.com,
call 888-553-9216 or email info@demandware.com.
THE BOTTOM LINE
> Greater customer
loyalty
> Global reach with
a local feel
> Increased sales
conversion rate
> Faster and smarter
marketing campaigns
> More efficient
ecommerce operations