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Kathmandu replatformed to Shopify in four months, then went live in the middle of a flash sale. I spent years at Super Retail Group across Macpac and BCF, so outdoor is a category I have a soft spot for.
This week, I sat down with Craig Mildenhall, GM of Digital at Kathmandu. Before this, he spent years in loyalty at Loyalty New Zealand and at adidas in Europe. The migration is the big story but I love the ritual of the bell ringing (modelled on the Rip Curl Bells Beach trophy) that they rang every time they hit a milestone. He tells us why he sends his digital team into stores to test features on real customers, how they merchandise online without burying people in detail and how he's rebuilding loyalty around brand stories instead of discounts. Loads in this one.
Cheers
Bushy
EPISODE CHEAT SHEET
How Kathmandu Pulled Off a Four-Month Shopify Migration Mid Flash Sale #637
⏭️ SKIP TO THE GOOD BITS
Why Kathmandu walked away from Magento (05:28)
The four-month migration, live mid flash sale (05:55)
Splitting into a build crew and a trade crew (11:30)
Building one framework Rip Curl and Oboz can share (13:46)
Designing PDPs that show the benefit without the overwhelm (18:32)
Sending the team into stores to fix the puffer finder (27:40)
Rebuilding loyalty from Summit Club to Out There Rewards (30:05)
Mobilising the team into agile squads (42:56)
💬 QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Gut feel can still be a science. It's all built on your experience in terms of what you tested in the past."
🧠 THE BIG LESSON
How to ship a major migration without breaking the business
Most replatforms take nine to twelve months. Kathmandu did a full front-end redesign, a new Shopify Plus back-end, and a CRM move to Klaviyo in four, with a hard deadline set by their winter sale and a launch that landed mid-flash sale. They also built it with sister brand Rip Curl in mind. Here’s how they did it.
Rule 1: Split the team in two
Craig ran a dedicated Shopify build crew and a separate trade crew whose only job was keeping the business trading. They collaborated, but each had one clear mandate so neither got dragged off course.
We split the team into two. We had our Shopify crew that were purely focused on that rebuild, and then we had our trade crew, which made sure the business kept running.
Rule 2: Set a hard date and guard the MVP
The winter sale set an immovable deadline, so the team got ruthless about what shipped at launch versus what came later. Trade-offs were made, but they landed close to the MVP they scoped on day one.
We had a date and we just stuck to it. With that, trade-offs have to be made, but we were pretty close to where we started from our MVP to what we launched with.
Rule 3: Put your partner in the building
Their Shopify partner, DotCollective, sat in the Kathmandu office for weeks rather than working remotely through a ticket queue. That meant that when something broke or surprised them, they could respond immediately rather than waiting on a JIRA card.
We brought them over and sat in the office for a few weeks. Immerse us as part of the team, because partnerships are so crucial in these.
Replatforming speed on a big build doesn't come from working harder; it comes from clear mandates, a fixed scope, and removing the friction between the people doing the work. Protect the line that keeps the money coming in, and let a focused crew build behind it.
✏️ ECOMMERCE ACTION TIPS
Build a weather or moment-triggered merch moment like Puffer Time, where the homepage flips the second the weather drops (26:48)
Test new features in-store with real customers before you commit. Kathmandu cut the puffer finder from a long technical quiz to three questions after a few days of watching shoppers actually use it. (27:40)
End your product finders on a simple human question like colour, not just specs. Serving someone the right colour is probably more crucial than a technical match. (28:11)
Close your PDP accordions by default and lead with clear signals like waterproof and breathable, letting customers who want the details expand them themselves. (26:15)
Merchandise your PLPs every single day, deliberately balancing the product you want to push against the one the customer came in for, and use the adjacent colours and styles to surprise and delight. (25:27)
💾 TECH MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Shopify Plus. The new front and back-end platform Kathmandu migrated to from Magento in four months, going live mid-flash sale.
Athos Commerce (formerly SearchSpring). Powers Kathmandu's site search and merchandising, which Craig calls the most important part of the site.
Klaviyo. Kathmandu's CRM, after moving off Salesforce Marketing Cloud, used to spin up moments like weather-triggered "Puffer Time" fast.
Microsoft Dynamics 365. The core ERP that remained in place throughout the replatform, anchoring the back end while everything else changed.
Yotpo. A reviews and UGC platform, powering the customer reviews that sit on Kathmandu's product pages.
🎧 OTHER EPS YOU MIGHT LIKE
Rebuilding The Body Shop: How Kira Macleod-Finke Replatformed in 90 Days and Reignited DTC | EP520
A four-month migration sounds fast until you hear this one. If a hard deadline and a replatform under pressure is your reality right now, this is the playbook for doing it without losing the brand in the process.
The Loyalty Trap: James Hurman on What Really Drives Ecommerce Growth | EP582
Moving loyalty away from constant discounting is one thing, but the data on whether loyalty programs drive growth at all is confronting. A sharp challenge to everything you assume about points, retention and where real growth comes from.
How to Implement the Right Tech for Your Business with Teresa Sperti | EP372
Getting a replatform signed off across multiple committees is half the battle. A clear-eyed look at how to choose, justify and implement the right tech without getting sold the dream.
💬 CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
There's plenty in this one worth chewing over. Would you split your team into build and trade crews for a migration, or does that create more silos than it solves? When did you last get someone from your team in front of a real customer instead of a dashboard, and what did it change? And how do you keep a loyalty program from sliding back into pure discounting? Whether you've shipped a big replatform or you're staring down one, jump in.
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