Feingeist

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10 APR 2024

B2C Shop for Spirits from Around the World

From premium wine and whisky to gin, rum, grappa, and fruit brandy – the online shop feingeist offers consumers everything their palate desires. This marks a successful online transition into the B2C segment for wine and spirits retailer Del Fabro Kolarik Digital. Delabyte executed the technical implementation of the shop based on Magento and continues to support the retailer with ongoing expansions to grow their business.

Project Milestones

  • Del Fabro Kolarik Digital commissioned Delabyte in mid-2020 to develop a new B2C shop for wine and spirits.
  • After just four months, the online shop feingeist went live and began accepting orders from end consumers.
  • A year and a half later, feingeist celebrated a comprehensive relaunch. The shop boasts a new design and, thanks to updated technical foundations, operates even more efficiently.
  • Following the relaunch, revenue numbers multiplied, and the rate of new customers increased by 188 percent.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, those seeking fine wine were largely dependent on retailers, as the hospitality industry faced repeated closures. This prompted beverage retailer Del Fabro Kolarik Digital to prioritize the development of a B2C shop for end consumers. A renowned specialist in wine and spirits, Del Fabro Kolarik Digital is among Austria's most important beverage partners for the hospitality sector. While plans for a second sales channel had long been in the works within the e-commerce department, the rapid implementation took everyone by surprise.

Feingeist – B2C Shop Goes Online in Just a Few Months

"Within 3 to 4 months, we were able to launch the first version of feingeist online," recalls Markus Steindl, CEO of Del Fabro Kolarik Digital GmbH, now responsible for online B2C business as a subsidiary of Del Fabro Kolarik GmbH. "We chose Delabyte as our service provider because we had successfully collaborated on our B2B shop several years prior."

Despite the high priority of the project, there were numerous hurdles to overcome. "The entire infrastructure in our group is designed for B2B customers. But B2C business operates differently. For example, we need much more product data," explains Markus Steindl. As a solution, the new B2C segment was outsourced to a subsidiary, leaving the group infrastructure untouched. "The clear separation helps us to be faster. Our motto is: Action is power. We set up our own processes, try things out, and place more value on speed than on meticulous planning. Many of the things we develop are now also helping the B2B world within the group."

"Choosing the right organization is, in my opinion, the most important success factor and the basis for innovation," says Markus Steindl, CEO of Del Fabro Kolarik Digital GmbH. "Of course, we also use highly complex technology. But that has never been a problem. After all, we have good and competent partners."

Relaunch with Design and Technology Update

Since the launch of feingeist, both sales figures and the customer base have gradually increased. To offer customers an even better shopping experience, there was a relaunch in October 2022. "We upgraded the Magento shop with the Hyvä theme to a new technical base and implemented numerous interfaces—for example, to accounting, CRM, and PIM systems, and to Amazon," says Aljaz Delakorda, CEO of Delabyte. "Thanks to a high-performance search based on Algolia, wine and spirits enthusiasts can now find the right items even faster."

Furthermore, individual solutions have been implemented—for example, a progress bar in the shopping cart that transparently shows customers from which amounts they receive a discount of 5 or 10 percent. "The relaunch was incredibly successful for us. We specifically aimed for a conversion-directed design. The rate of new customers has increased by 188 percent," says Markus Steindl. "But what pleases us even more is the positive feedback from customers—for example, when someone thanks for the quick delivery or praises the large assortment. This shows us that we are on the right track. And it motivates us to further improve our offerings."

Deployed Technologies

In order to create a robust and user-friendly online shopping experience, feingeist utilizes several cutting-edge technologies. Each of these tools plays a crucial role in different aspects of the ecommerce platform:

  • Hyvä: This is a modern theme for Magento stores, known for its minimalistic approach and performance efficiency. By using Hyvä, feingeist benefits from a faster, more responsive user interface, which enhances customer satisfaction and potentially increases conversion rates due to improved load times and smoother interaction.

  • Easybill: A cloud-based billing and invoicing software that simplifies the accounting process. Easybill allows feingeist to automatically generate invoices, manage payments, and keep track of financial transactions seamlessly, which is vital for maintaining an efficient operational flow.

  • Hubspot: Utilized as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, Hubspot helps feingeist manage customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle. It aids in marketing automation, streamlining workflows, and providing insights into customer behavior, which in turn supports personalized marketing strategies.

  • Akeneo: A Product Information Management (PIM) system that feingeist uses to manage and centralize product information. Akeneo makes it easier to handle large volumes of product data across different channels, ensuring consistency and accuracy in product details, which is crucial for a business dealing with a diverse range of products.

  • Cyfe: An all-in-one business dashboard app that allows feingeist to monitor and analyze data from multiple sources like sales performance, web analytics, and SEO. This integration helps the management team make informed decisions by providing a comprehensive overview of business metrics in real-time.

  • Algolia: A powerful and flexible search and discovery API that provides feingeist with fast and relevant search capabilities. With Algolia, customers can experience a highly optimized search function that quickly delivers the most relevant results, enhancing the overall shopping experience by making it easier to find and purchase products.

Each of these technologies contributes to the operational efficiency and customer experience of feingeist, ensuring that the shop remains competitive and responsive to the needs of its users.