Kathmandu to venture into new markets with Optimizely’s experimentation platform

Sydney, NSW – November 3, 2021 – Optimizely announced that Kathmandu, an international brand offering travel and outdoor clothing and equipment, will be partnering with Optimizely to power and scale its experimentation program.  

Kathmandu’s adventure began in 1987 and now proudly boasts 162 retail stores in New Zealand and Australia. For over 30 years Kathmandu has been providing the kit, from Hiking Shirts to Puffer Jackets and tents, so their customers can continue to get out there and explore. 

 As the pandemic accelerates eCommerce activity worldwide, Kathmandu is shifting its focus towards a full omnichannel user experience and providing great service to all customers including their growing Summit Club community.  

Falk Werner, Head of eCommerce at Kathmandu said, "We have seen our customer's shopping behaviors change during COVID, and as a progressive brand, we need to be proactive by offering the right digital experience”. He added, "When we were introduced to Optimizely's Web Experimentation, we knew that this is just what we needed to enhance our digital transformation program."  

Digital transformation is an evolving process, and Optimizely's Web Experimentation enables Kathmandu to consistently adapt and experiment to deliver a digital experience that customers want.   

"We want to make sure that we reduce friction across our digital customer journeys, but at the same time provide an engaging user experience that adds value for our customers and to do so, we need to make data-driven decisions," said Phil Criglington, Digital Optimisation & Analytics Specialist at Kathmandu. He added, "Optimizely's Web Experimentation solution allows us to future proof our tech stack and make sure we are providing a user experience based on what our customers really want."  

Previously, Kathmandu was using another solution to run their CRO program, but the team believed that the Web Experimentation gives them a competitive edge in the long run.   

"It helps that the program is easy to use so that our team can hit the ground running, but a couple of things that are also important to us are velocity and scalability", said Falk. He added, "We're always looking for ways to grow our business and exceed customer expectations. Knowing that Web Experimentation allows us to scale and run an always-on CRO program gives us confidence that we can always put our customers first."  

With more and more leading retailers like The Country Road Group, Kmart and Cotton On using experimentation to scale and grow their businesses, Kathmandu knows that they're on track to grow with their customers’ expectations.  

"In an increasingly digital world, experimentation has become an integral part of our business to grow." Falk said. He added that "We genuinely believe that as long as we continue to build the experimentation infrastructure and culture within Kathmandu and encourage the team to test everything, we'll be able to reach our ambitious goals while at the same time embrace our brand purpose to improve the wellbeing of the world through the outdoors."