LØCI is changing the game.
They literally make sneakers with vegan materials, repurposing materials from ocean and land plastic. That’s wild! And they’re doing it in a way that actually looks good, which is not often the case for “sustainable” brands.
There’s a stigma that if you go sustainable, you’ll compromise on vibes. But not LØCI. In this case study with LØCI: We sat down with Ross Allsop, the shoe brand’s head of eCommerce, to discuss how the brand has exploded in the last few years, why the return solutions landscape sucks (except Swap obvi), and how Swap’s recycling product helps LØCI stay true to it’s brand promise.
Let’s dive in.
You can’t always get what you want
Ross is an eComm veteran; the man has seen it all. And used it all.
So, frankly, he knows how to spot mediocre Returns software from a mile away. And Ross could never find a platform that offered a happy medium between price and functionality.
You either get a cheap system with no meaningful features, or an enterprise system that’s expensive and cookie-cutter.
It’s a losing battle. If you take the cheap route, you get what you pay for. If you go the expensive route, what-you-see-is-what-you-get, where no one will be flexible for you.
In LØCI’s case, before Ross arrived, they were using a local competitor — “we were doomed from the start.”
Their platform wasn’t set up to support LØCI’s custom needs. Like many brands, there’s often an inflection point early on when you suddenly start growing, and it’s great. But unless you have implemented stability beforehand, you might face some consequences post-sale.
LØCI wasn’t set up to manage the volume they were about to see flood in.
What’s worse than paying for something? Paying for something that doesn’t properly work! And that was LØCI’s experience.
From day one, Ross knew he needed to stabilize LØCI’s eComm tech stack, and automating the post-purchase experience was at the top of the list.
So, LØCI knew Swap was the right solution.
Ross implemented Swap straightaway as a preventative tactic to prepare the business for growth, and he hasn’t looked back.
When you’re a UK brand and your main customers are US-based, returns can be a pain the a**.
If something’s returned cross-border, you’ve typically got two options. Either:
Heavily discount the product
Or eat the cost and discard it
Both options suck!
