STABILO combines content & commerce

STABILO: Europe’s leading manufacturer of writing instruments for over 160 years

STABILO is a brand that is loved by young and old around the world. The company has been producing pens, pencils, and crayons since 1855. A key part of Schwanhäußer Industrie Holding GmbH & Co. KG, it generated more than €215.8 million in the 2021/22 business year alone. It has a workforce of at least 1,500 and sells its products in over 180 countries worldwide. While STABILO’s headquarters are in Heroldsberg (Germany), the company has three production centers, in Weißenburg (Germany), Český Krumlov (Czechia), and Johor Bahru (Malaysia).

The challenge

Until 2014, all sales were indirect. The strategic decision to gain a foothold in the D2C sector as well meant that an ecommerce channel needed to be developed. . The first STABILO online store was based on a combination of Shopware 5 and Typo 3. However, as the customer base continued to grow and online business expanded, this led to a series of problems. Firstly, there were performance problems as the two systems needed to be synchronized. Then there was the additional work involved in maintaining the two platforms. All of this motivated STABILO’s decision to switch to a different store system. The company gave the following reasons for choosing Shopware 6:

• Reputable system

• German provider

• Good service provider ecosystem

• Open source technology

Shopware 6: A state-of-the-art store system

The migration to Shopware 6 meant that STABILO no longer needed to maintain and synchronize two systems. This not only reduced the workload, but also ensured improved website performance and faster loading times. In terms of admin, Shopware 6’s simple interface also offers better usability. Complexity was deliberately dialed back so that the developers could concentrate on their key tasks. Shopware 6’s API-first approach also made it easy for the business to connect and continue to use existing interfaces (ERP and PIM).

In the frontend, Shopware 6’s Shopping Experiences provide STABILO with unlimited design options for the store. The company can now adapt the pages using the layouts provided and make manual changes without any major effort. STABILO also uses the Rule Builder for marketing campaigns. It allows the company to create discount campaigns for a set number of days. STABILO can also adjust the shipping costs according to customer group (private or corporate customers) and present tailored offers to new and premium customers.

As well as optimizing the backend and frontend, Shopware 6 has had a positive impact on STABILO’s visibility. The company’s SISTRIX Visibility Index score has already improved by around 15%.

Successfully linking content and commerce

The STABILO online store sets creative pulses racing: From classic fineliner pens to highlighters, from the ergonomic “learn to write” range to overhead projector pens, STABILO offers a colorful product portfolio in the truest sense of the word. The store not only offers products for creative projects, but also has a “Creativity & Inspiration” section featuring downloadable guides for craft projects, painting, hand lettering, and more. In addition to written instructions, there are step-by-step video guides available.

Visitors to the store can also place the products they need for each project directly in their shopping cart.

In Germany, a pencil case isn’t a pencil case without a STABILO. In the online store, there is a separate “Education & Learning” section, where products designed for learning to write are attractively presented.

STABILO wins Shop Usability Award 2022

The STABILO store has got everyone talking: DISQ (the German Institute for Service Quality) rated the STABILO store highly, and the n-tv news channel described it as one of Germany’s best stores.

In October, the STABILO online store also won the 2022 Shop Usability Award in the Leisure, Hobby & Pet category.

Overall, STABILO is very happy with the results of the project. Frank Hanauer, Head of Digital Solutions & eCommerce Operations at STABILO International GmbH, commented, “Shopware 6 is the right platform for our needs because it focuses on both content and commerce. That allows us to present our brand to optimum effect and offer a unique shopping experience. The user-friendly design and features such as the Rule Builder and Shopping Experiences mean we can implement different marketing campaigns ourselves without any major technical effort.”

What next?

Now that STABILO has found its new online home, the company is planning to make further improvements to the store to boost the customer experience. It also plans to roll out the Shopware 6-based STABILO website internationally, without the commerce functionality.