E‑commerce is our most important tool, we have high demands on our platform and our supplier. It must be easy to use our e‑commerce, and simplicity is sometimes the hardest thing to achieve.
E‑commerce is our most important tool, we have high demands on our platform and our supplier. It must be easy to use our e‑commerce, and simplicity is sometimes the hardest thing to achieve.
The simplicity is the challenge in Himla's e‑commerce
In 2019, Himla launched a new e‑commerce platform together with Webbhuset, and already in the first year, turnover increased by 125%. Since then, Himla and Webbhuset have had close cooperation to keep performance updated and continually improve functionality and the shopping experience. Besides the regular monthly meetings, Himla and Webbhuset have daily contact during the most intense periods, something that is important for Himla's business and their development.
A major digital investment
Today, Himla's marketing and e‑commerce team consists of four people, with Lisa Martinis as e‑commerce manager and Yvonne Finsen as head of digital sales. Webbhuset contributes its technical expertise on the Magento platform and is an important partner to the team for continuously developing and updating e‑commerce. In 2018, Himla made a major digital investment, and it was then that the cooperation with Webbhuset began. As part of the investment, Lisa was also hired in the role of web administrator.
In 2018, Himla had been running its e‑commerce for four years, initially independently with WooCommerce as the platform. When they later searched for a new e‑commerce provider, the choice fell on Webbhuset because they had broad expertise in Magento and long experience in retail, and in March 2019, the new site was launched. The major digital investment involved both new e‑commerce and a greater focus on digital marketing, which quickly yielded results and increased e‑commerce turnover by a full 125% in the first year.
Lisa Martinis, e‑commerce manager and Yvonne Finsen, head of digital sales at Himla.
Who is Himla?
Himla was founded over 30 years ago and is a well-regarded brand within home textiles, for all rooms of the home. They manufacture most of their products in Europe and have an established network of retailers across Sweden, as well as agencies in countries such as Japan, Australia, South Korea, and Italy. They also operate two stores in the Stockholm area and one in Uppsala, where the head office is located. In 2014, Himla complemented its operations with its own e‑commerce, which is now available in Swedish and English, delivering worldwide. Himla's design and range are based on simplicity, which is consistent even in their e‑commerce.
Personal offers in the customer club
Himla is not a style; it is all styles. The simplicity of the products allows you to customize the textiles to your style and your home. The largest customer group consists of women in big cities aged 35-40 years. The e‑commerce site has a large portion of returning customers, many of whom are also members of the customer club Club Himla. The customer club receives significant focus at Himla and is an important tool in their sales work. As a member of Club Himla, you, for example, get early access to sales and can log in on himla.se to partake of unique campaigns and offers.
Increased sales of customized products
“The customer club is one of many features that Webbhuset has helped us with. E‑commerce is our most important tool, we have high demands on our platform and our supplier. It must be easy to use our e‑commerce, and simplicity is sometimes the hardest thing to achieve. A feature we launched recently and which we think made a big difference for visitors is breadcrumbs. Now it's much easier to navigate the site! And when Webbhuset added a form for customized textiles, we immediately received more leads and could increase our sales of customized products. This feature has been important for us,” says Yvonne.
Increased sales of customized products
“The customer club is one of many features that Webbhuset has helped us with. E‑commerce is our most important tool, we have high demands on our platform and our supplier. It must be easy to use our e‑commerce, and simplicity is sometimes the hardest thing to achieve. A feature we launched recently and which we think made a big difference for visitors is breadcrumbs. Now it's much easier to navigate the site! And when Webbhuset added a form for customized textiles, we immediately received more leads and could increase our sales of customized products. This feature has been important for us,” says Yvonne.
On all types of products that can be custom-ordered to individual measurements, there is now a “place customized order” button. This applies to, for example, curtains, bed skirts, bedspreads, and tablecloths. When you click the button, you come to a form where you fill in your wishes and request price information from Himla Ateljé without obligation. Within 1-2 working days, you receive a price quote, which has made more people aware of customized textiles for the home. Himla primarily works with linen, but also to some extent with other natural materials such as wool and silk.
Great focus on stable integration
When Himla started the cooperation with Webbhuset, great focus was placed on integration. Many of the tasks were then manual, and in order to save time internally, there was a strong desire to automate these tasks. This is solved by integrating the new e‑commerce with both business systems, image bank, payment solutions, and delivery solutions. With a stable integration, there is now time for other things, such as increasing the global focus and expanding into more markets.
The existing site supports receiving orders both within and outside the EU, but to be able to expand abroad and reduce administration around VAT and taxes, Himla is now planning for another site that will better handle orders from abroad. Both small and large projects are continuously underway with Webbhuset, and every month the team reviews what's planned forward, what should be prioritized, and what is required from all parties involved. This ranges from large projects and smaller adjustments to updating functions according to new laws and ensuring performance remains top-notch.
Himla represents Scandinavian simplicity and creative variations in a soulful way.
Updated CMS for increased flexibility
“For us, content is very important. We work a lot with images to inspire our customers, and we write inspiration articles based on visual material. The latest larger project that Webbhuset helped us with is updating our CMS. Now, we can manage the appearance of our e‑commerce in a flexible way, which facilitates our work and saves us a lot of time. Our new CMS has really helped us give our e‑commerce a visual uplift. We have, for example, updated the design on the homepage and our content pages to achieve a more inspiring look and work more goal-oriented and conversion-driven,” says Lisa.
“Webbhuset works proactively and comes with suggestions on how we can develop our e‑commerce. It feels reassuring that Webbhuset can recommend which direction we should take or which solution we should invest in. When a change is to be implemented, they provide alternatives on how we can proceed and what the different options will cost. It's so nice that we can talk to different people at Webbhuset depending on the type of questions we have. We not only have contact with our project manager but also directly with the developers. It's one of the reasons our collaboration works so well,” says Yvonne.
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