“Since we've signed up with Zeald two years ago, our web site visits have increased well over 100 per cent."

Quick Facts Founded in 2005 by student Rob Ewan, Mr. Vintage has become a kiwi brand in its own right, with 10 per cent of sales offshore. More than 25,000 New Zealanders receive Mr. Vintage’s T-shirt of the day email – an increase of 7,500 in the past year alone. Sixty per cent of all sales are via its website www.mrvintage.co.nz

Overview

Quirky online T-shirt store Mr.Vintage has gone from the unknown to one of Generation Y’s most iconic kiwi brands in less than five years. What started out as a small ecommerce business selling T-shirts on Trade Me has now become a fully-fledged successful enterprise attracting more than 65,000 website visits per month, a funky new shop in Grey Lynn, Auckland, and a huge following on social media networks.

Background

Twenty-eight year old Rob Ewan started selling unique T-shirts featuring New Zealand popular culture via Trade Me first, and then through his own website that a friend’s friend developed. As the business grew, the site’s limitations began to restrict the business.

Rob’s keen eye for branding meant he wanted to keep the site as fresh as possible, but making changes had become labour intensive and involved paying a web developer each time.

In order to grow, Mr. Vintage needed a new website that would be easy to edit and easy to navigate around. The shopping process had to be foolproof and trustworthy, and the back end system had to be totally robust.

Solution

Zeald’s eCommerce solution ticked all the boxes – and more. Rob says, “Being able to customise the site and add functionality as the brand developed has played a big part.” For example, a live chart showing stock levels creates urgency to buy among customers. Once a product is sold out, customers can click on the ‘notify me’ link, and will receive an automated email once the product is back in stock. “This saves us time, increases sales and keeps customers happy,” says Rob.

Another example is Mr. Vintage’s ‘Reprint Me’ service. Every day, a ‘T-shirt of the day’ email is sent to customers showcasing a new and exclusive design created by one of the five Mr. Vintage designers. Rob says, “After 24 hours, that day’s T-shirt is then retired and placed in the ‘Reprint Me’ category. Customers can view this and request a reprint. It’s a great form of market research as we can see which designs receive the most votes and can then introduce that design into our core range.”

Auto responders - another Zeald function - has provided a discernible customer service edge. Rob explains, “When a customer places an order, a confirmation email along with details on delivery and our 365 day return policy is dispatched. Twenty days later, they receive a follow up email, checking they are happy with their order, reminding them of our return policy, and a request for feedback. Customers genuinely appreciate us keeping in touch, but in reality, it’s a fully automated process which requires zero work on our part.”

With the website being added to daily, Rob says it’s important to stay consistent with the brand, “but that’s easier said than done! You think your own website is perfect but Zeald recently gave us an independent review and made some suggestions as to how we could better reflect our brand.”

New media = new business

Mr. Vintage’s social media presence is the envy of many brands; it successfully uses the likes of Facebook and Twitter to keep its brand alive and in front of its target audience. “We’re big on social media,” says Rob, “and Zeald are customising our very own Mr. Vintage blog. That’s what I like about Zeald – we feed off their knowledge and they have a positive attitude about developing new functionality.”

Results

It’s been two years since Mr. Vintage and Zeald joined forces. During this time, the number of monthly web site visitors has increased well over 100 per cent to 65,000 visitors every month and automated processes have raised service levels and reinforced the brand’s iconic status.

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