Unbound Group plc has announced that its curated online multi-brand retail platform will be powered by Mirakl, the industry’s first and most advanced enterprise marketplace SaaS platform.
Unbound Group is capitalising on the digital strengths, customer loyalty and powerful database of its core trading business, Hotter Shoes, to create a new multi-brand platform serving the 55+ demographic. Hotter has been transformed in the last 3 years into a digital-first, direct-to-consumer omnichannel brand, and currently serves a growing total customer database of 4.6m, which represents 29 per cent of 55+ women in the UK.
The platform will enable Unbound Group to partner seamlessly with selected third-party brands and extend beyond its current core brand of Hotter Shoes to offer a broader range of products aligned with the brand’s DNA. Initially, the Group will launch its partner brand offering within the footwear and apparel categories, to be followed by a wellness offer.
Unbound Group’s platform will be launched later this year, with a planned introduction of the platform at the end of July 2022 and a full autumn launch in early September 2022.
Since the Group announced its partnership strategy to third-party sellers in January, it has secured a number of partner brands to join the platform, which will be announced in due course. Partner brands are being refined via a selection process based on relevancy, desirability, specialism and sustainability criteria. Once brands join the platform, they will have direct access to the Group’s 4.6m consumers, £4m technology investment and marketing campaigns. This customer base will continue to increase as the Group prioritises converting its analogue and physical retail customers to digital customers.
Ian Watson, Chief Executive Officer, Unbound Group plc, commented: “We are excited to announce we are building our new platform using Mirakl’s leading marketplace technology. We are leveraging our proven proposition to tap into the increasing number of 55+ consumers that are shopping online. Through our new platform, we are creating a Group that understands, connects with and sells to our key target consumer on a broader and deeper basis. Mirakl’s proven capabilities and scalable technology made them the obvious partner for us, bringing the technology, expertise and ecosystem that will help us to develop a truly curated platform at scale, which will be launched later this year.”
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