Breitling Boosts Online Sales by 20% with Fluent Commerce’s Inventory Management System

Breitling, a leading luxury watchmaker since 1884, has reported a 20% increase in online sales in the U.S. following the implementation of Fluent Commerce’s centralized inventory management system. The new system also resulted in an online sales revenue increase of 15% to 30%.

Rajesh Shanmugasundaram, Breitling’s global director of digital technology, data, and business applications, highlighted the challenges the company faced with inventory tracking across its boutiques and online stores. “Customers were often unable to find the desired watch either online or in specific boutiques due to inventory mismatches,” he said.

Breitling’s previous lack of a unified inventory system led to issues in meeting market demands accurately, causing both out-of-stock and overstocking problems. The company aimed to offer an omnichannel view of its inventory to ensure customers could purchase desired products without limitations based on store availability.

To address these issues, Breitling sought a simple, easily integrated platform to unify its global markets. Fluent Commerce was chosen for its user-friendly technology and accelerators that facilitated the integration process. Thomas Hindré, vice president of EMEA Sales for Fluent Commerce, noted that Breitling initially struggled to aggregate stock information from various sources. Fluent Commerce aimed to provide a real-time view of stock availability through a single system.

The implementation took about four months, starting with a pilot program in Switzerland, Breitling’s headquarters. The program was then rolled out in the U.S., Breitling’s largest market. The integration began with individual boutiques and expanded to all Swiss retail markets within six weeks before launching in the U.S.

The results were immediate and significant: online sales of Breitling watches increased by 20% in the U.S. in the first month, and online sales revenue rose by 15% to 30%. Shanmugasundaram emphasized that while progress has been made, there is still work to be done. The ongoing expansion of Fluent Commerce’s system will focus on Europe and China, with plans to integrate the services into new boutiques globally.

Shanmugasundaram expressed his confidence in Fluent Commerce’s platform, stating, “Even if I leave the company, I would want to implement Fluent. The platform flexibility is so great.”