Frank and Oak Scales Up E-Commerce and Fulfillment

Need to Know

• Frank and Oak has partnered with NewStore to leverage that platform’s mobile POS services, as well as its store fulfillment, inventory management, and integrated order management capabilities.
• NewStore will make it possible for customers to purchase any item from Frank and Oak, regardless of their location
• Frank and Oak is the first brand from Unified Commerce Group to partner with NewStore

Analysis

Canadian clothing brand Frank and Oak has launched a new omnichannel initiative that will make its products available to purchasers worldwide, regardless of their location.

Frank and Oak has partnered with NewStore to leverage its Omnichannel Platform, which will enable the clothing retailer to replace its existing order management system with integrated e-commerce and store inventory. Frank And Oak will have a single system for all inventory, orders, and customer data, enabling the same shopping experience for all customers globally.

NewStore will also allow Frank and Oak to replace all of its in-store POS systems and will allow the retailer to offer mobile checkout, while providing endless aisle, store fulfillment, inventory management, cash management capabilities, and more, via its iPhone apps.

The NewStore partnership is the first of its kind for the Unified Commerce Group, which counts Frank and Oak as one of its brands. UCG was founded in 2020 with the aim of building a portfolio of purpose-driven DTC brands and helping them scale up.

Dustin Jones, co-founder and CEO of UCG, said in a statement that, despite being founded as a “digitally native brand”, Frank and Oak has struggled to successfully implement omnichannel capacities in the past. “NewStore will be critical to removing any remaining friction, for customers and associates, enabling us to fuel our expansion globally with an omnichannel approach,” he said. “This partnership helps UCG to accomplish a key part of our vision—to provide a truly seamless omnichannel experience to our customers around the world.”

Stephan Schambach, founder and CEO of NewStore, said in a statement that “Omnichannel is essential to DTC brands” like Frank and Oak. “On the NewStore platform, Frank And Oak will be able to run their stores more like a website, with e-commerce style payments, rich data collection, and deeply personalized experiences,” he added.

Seamless, mobile-friendly, omnichannel shopping experiences have proved critical for retailers in recent months, as retailers look to gain a leg up in an increasingly competitive e-comm environment. Cadillac Fairview is among the brands that have recently boosted their app-based shopping capabilities: in June, the retail developer launched an “immersive” shopping app, Live by CF, that lets shoppers connect with the stores inside its malls. And earlier last year, in April, Shopify introduced Shop, a one-stop e-comm app that allows customers to browse Shopify merchants, make purchases, and track orders, all in one place.