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 Benchmark Brands, which owns and
operates FootSmart.com, is the only integrated retail and manufacturing company
dedicated exclusively to lower body healthcare. Since 1989 the Company has been
driven by two consumer commitments: smarter, better products for lower body
healthcare; and professionalism in providing both information and customer
service to help people achieve lower body comfort.
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In the late 1990's, Benchmark Brands was one of the first footwear retailers to
fully engage in business-to-consumer (B2C) e-Commerce. While its initial
e-Commerce website iterations were successful and showed great promise in the
online business model, they were lacking several key components that were
barriers to business scalability. Some core improvement areas targeted by
Benchmark Brands management included better site content management
functionality, improved merchandising capabilities, integration with its
eCometry multi-channel retail backend system, Canadian/USD pricing management,
and a more reliable, robust and stable platform upon which to grow the
business.
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Benchmark Brands management determined that it wanted to outsource the critical
architecture and development of the new e-Commerce solution, but also include
its own employees on the project team in order to eventually take over the
administration, maintenance, and enhancements of the solution. Benchmark Brands
interviewed the leading e-Commerce and website development firms in Atlanta and
selected Northridge Systems as its partner for the engagement.
Northridge Systems and Benchmark Brands created a collaborative project team
including key members of both companies. The team analyzed the business
requirements as provided by Benchmark Brands company management and formalized
those requirements into a series of deliverable documents. After a four-month
development and testing cycle, the team launched the new FootSmart.com website
including all of the functional and technical improvements identified in the
design deliverables.
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Northridge Systems and Benchmark Brands launched the new e-Commerce solution
and recognized almost immediate increases in site transactions and revenue. The
new website provided a more stable and user-friendly platform that translated
into a greater number of consumers willing and able to engage in business on
the site. The new FootSmart.com website has proven to be a major success as
Benchmark Brands has continued its market-leading position, more than doubling
its revenue since the launch of the site.
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