Montreal-Based Browns Shoes Finds The Perfect Fit With Demandware

Leading Canadian retailer selects Demandware to power multi-brand, multi-channel commerce strategy

Demandware, Inc., a leader in on-demand ecommerce, recently announced that Browns Shoes, the leading retailer of fashion footwear in Canada, has selected the Demandware Commerce platform to power its new multi-brand, multi-channel digital commerce strategy. The company will use Demandware to launch new web and mobile commerce sites for its key banners: Browns, B2 and Browns OUTLET, and to extend a unified brand experience from its brick-and-mortar stores across all digital commerce touch points.

Browns Shoes is a family-owned business established in Montreal in 1940 and is synonymous with top international designer collections, luxurious leather goods, and exclusive street savvy fashion for ladies, men and children. Today, the company has 45 store locations throughout Canada and has plans for further expansion. Since its inception, Browns Shoes has been dedicated to providing its clientele with the best possible selection, customer service and brand experience.

Browns Shoes is replacing its legacy platform with Demandware because it enables a greater level of innovation and user empowerment, along with a reliable, secure and scalable operating environment for running its digital commerce operations. With Demandware, Browns Shoes now has the capabilities to ensure that its digital commerce channels will convey the same aesthetic value and unique consumer experience as that of its brick-and-mortar stores.

"We pride ourselves on being industry leaders and our partnership with Demandware reflects our commitment to a fast-growing ecommerce business," said David Brownstein, VP of sales for Browns Shoes. "We look forward to launching our online and mobile stores on Demandware to mirror the prestige and professionalism of our in-store customer experience."

"Our goal is to reach our customers across different touch points, while considering the unique role that each of these plays in the customer's buying cycle. Mobile, in particular, will be a key part of our strategy to create alignment between our online and physical stores," said Richard Sejean, director of ecommerce for Browns Shoes.

Browns Shoes selected Demandware because it provides a highly scalable platform for supporting its multi-brand, multi-channel strategy, including:

• A central commerce platform for developing and managing multiple branded sites across channels and geographies, including web, mobile and social, enabling a seamless brand experience regardless of channel
• Powerful commerce applications that empower a range of users, including merchandisers, marketers, developers, designers, operations, customer service and fulfillment teams
• New capabilities made available through automatic global releases
• A proven, world-class operating environment with industry-leading performance and uptime
• Built-in scalability to support intense processing loads, easily handling sudden spikes in traffic without compromising performance
• A unique business model based on partnership and complete economic alignment with clients

"Browns Shoes has built a reputation for excellence in the physical store and wants to ensure its customers receive the same brand experience across all its digital channels. With Demandware, they'll be able to continuously innovate and merchandise their sites while maintaining complete control over the brand experience," said Jamus Driscoll, senior VP of marketing for Demandware. "We welcome Browns Shoes into the Demandware family and look forward to helping them achieve their goals."

Leading the implementation effort for Browns Shoes is OSF Global Services, a Demandware solution partner. Browns Shoes also plans to leverage pre-built integrations between Demandware Commerce and key LINK partners, including Order Motion for order management. Demandware's LINK program provides access to pre-built integrations that reduce the cost and complexity of integrating these technologies, as well as speed up deployment.

About Browns Shoes Inc.
Browns Shoes, a family-owned business established in Montreal in 1940, is Canada's leading shoe fashion retailer with 45 stores across the country under the Browns and B2 banners. Browns offers top international designer shoe collections, luxurious leather goods, and exclusive fashion for ladies, men and children. With over 1000 employees, the company is renowned for its excellence in merchandise selection and customer service. Michael Brownstein, President, is the third generation to lead the business and is strongly committed to expansion, with 2 new locations and 2 store renovations scheduled for 2012.

Browns is one of the few companies that donates 10% of its pre-tax profits to charities. Chairman Morton Brownstein was recognized for his extraordinary fundraising work when he was appointed to the Order of Canada in July 2004. For more information, visit www.brownsshoes.com.

About Demandware
Demandware 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, visit www.demandware.com.

SOURCE: Demandware, Inc.