Re:platform is the sole podcast fully dedicated to ecommerce replatforming. So, it was only natural that Aurora Commerce got involved for a chat. Interviewed by exceptionally experienced ecommerce consultants, James Gurd and Paul Rogers, our managing director and founder, Tom Cahalan, spoke alongside Quiz’s Head of eCommcerce, Haroun Saleemi, to discuss how Aurora Commerce has helped to support their brand’s growth.
As an international ladies fashion retailer, the conversation focused on how Aurora Commerce manages currencies, multiple languages and payment services. But, the chat wasn’t just technical. Throughout the podcast, Haroun and Tom both recognised that their relationship has been continuously built on mutual trust, honesty and a willingness to adapt. Fundamentally, the discussion taught us that without a strong ethos and committed company culture, a business will not last.
Listen to the podcast or read a summary below.
Haroun highlighted how Quiz started off as a small player. Working with a local, Scottish-based agency, their site was pretty mediocre and failed to be user-friendly. So, he had to look elsewhere.
When he picked up the phone to Tom, he immediately liked the attitudes and aims attached to Aurora Commerce. Not only were the options offered in line with Quiz’s budgets but also in line with their maturity level. But, it was ultimately the relationship that swiftly fostered between Tom and Haroun that sealed the deal.
When hunting for a new platform, Haroun’s priority was ensuring that he sustained direct influence on the ecommerce journey. He had no interest in being signed on as an account manager, distanced from vital decisions.
Instead, Aurora Commerce offered him the flexibility that he was looking for, filling him with confidence in the relationship.
At Aurora Commerce, we can’t be all things to all people and we know that. We can’t provide the best service for startups who are faced with a tight budget and we just don’t have the team capacity right now to support brands at the Tesco level. So, our priority is working with clients who suit us.
We’re a customer-led business who listen carefully to what our people want and remain committed to turning those desires into roadmaps. We can’t deny it, it feels great when we can go: “These are the things you asked for and so this is what we’re building.”
Platforms like Shopify are constantly offering new features. How do we compete? We listen. It sounds corny, but it’s true. We’re a feedback-led organisation. That doesn’t just mean from a product point of view, but also in terms of personal development. We embrace a company culture where our team members at any stage in their careers can lift up their hands and say “Hey, look, I think you might be wrong about that”.
We believe that if you don’t have those open, honest conversations, you won’t move forward. This starts internally with anonymous feedback read out in public meetings, enabling us to grow.
Feedback has also taught us that, in some cases, less can actually be more. Working on international with multisite, we couldn't help but get a bit carried away. When we built it, we wanted to have the ability to change everything. We wanted users such as Quiz to be able to have a product on many websites and provide them with the opportunity to customise everything from product names to prices.
But, we soon learnt that having too much control actually hindered rather than helped people. Out of the box, we have multicurrency, multilingual etc- everything you could possibly want. How that is then integrated remains the question of the day. It’s an ongoing discussion.
As Quiz has grown, many conversations have been necessary about how Aurora Commerce can help the retailer move forward. Hitting points where Haroun needs to look at potential partnerships, such as a new email provider, it has all been about working out if Aurora can fill those new gaps. But, we have reacted quickly, especially being proactive in providing new payment options.
We can’t wait for this journey to continue and see what happens next.
