Roots partners with NewStore to digitally transform its omnichannel operations

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Jan 12, 2023

Canadian outdoor-lifestyle brand Roots announced on Thursday that it has teamed up with mobile-first omnichannel cloud platform NewStore to digitally transform its omnichannel operations.

As part of the partnership, Roots is now using the NewStore order management and store fulfillment solutions to reduce shipping times, improve inventory accuracy, and maximize inventory sell-through. The platform has been integrated across its digital properties and network of more than 100 retail stores throughout Canada and the U.S.

“We chose NewStore because it is a global omnichannel solution that we can extend over time,” said Sonya Thomas, VP of e-commerce and customer experience, Roots. 

“NewStore is an impressive, modern, API-first omnichannel solution. We found their technology easy to implement and it yielded immediate results,” added Ron Ijack, VP, information strategy & systems, Roots. "NewStore easily connects to the various Salesforce systems and MuleSoft/Azure middleware that we use, which fulfills an important requirement for our partner to work with our existing tech stack." 

The NewStore order management and store fulfillment solutions use proprietary routing logic to allocate order requests across Roots’ brick-and-mortar locations and distribution centers. 

The solution is expected to improve customer service levels and manage shipping costs by directing orders to the appropriate store or distribution center. Likewise, NewStore is also supporting omnichannel capabilities like buy online, return in-store. 

“As an iconic Canadian brand, Roots is held to a higher standard by its fiercely loyal customers. With NewStore, Roots’ store associates now have the tools they need to create amazing shopping experiences anytime, anywhere,” added Stephan Schambach, founder and CEO, NewStore. 

“They are one of the many great Canadian brands leading the way for omnichannel retailers everywhere, and their decision to partner with NewStore is a reflection of the activity we are continuing to see in that market.”  

Last month, Roots announced a sales drop of 8.5% for the third quarter, due to economic headwinds. The Canadian company said sales decreased to $69.8 million in the third quarter ended October 29, 2022, down from $76.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2021. In particular, DTC sales were $56.9 million, down 10.4% year-over-year.