Case study

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Countries

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Going Global with Saleor: E‑Commerce Replatforming for Breitling

01 Story

Founded in 1884, Breitling has long been synonymous with precision and innovation in the watchmaking industry. What began as a small workshop dedicated to crafting accurate chronographs has evolved into a global brand known for its pioneering spirit and commitment to excellence.

Breitling’s journey is marked by a series of groundbreaking achievements, including inventing the form of the modern chronograph, equipping the first pilot’s watch with a circular slide rule, sending the first Swiss wristwatch into space and the first dive chronograph underwater.

In their pursuit of excellence, Breitling is now embracing digital transformation to composable commerce to ensure that customers worldwide enjoy the same precision and modern-retro elegance online as they do in person.

breitling.com

brand since 1884,

technologies from 2019

02 Mission

Great Digital Experience for a Global Luxury Market

Breitling is driven by a mission to create exceptional products and experiences with better materials, manufacturing, and packaging. They were looking for a tech partner who could bring that same level of excellence into their digital presence.

With our support, Breitling is now positioned to become a leading success story in digital transformation, building a sustainable and future-proof technology stack. We are proud to have joined this journey.

03 Goals

Empower Team Independence

Give teams the freedom to operate on their own, cutting back on IT dependency and driving faster innovation.

Speed Up Time to Market

Harness the composable architecture to roll out updates and launch features at lightning speed, fueling brand global growth.

Expand Global Reach

Replatforming to Saleor and setting up a scalable platform to power Breitling's growth into new markets and quickly adapting to different regional needs.

Elevate Customer Experience

Deliver a consistent and premium experience across all touchpoints, reflecting the luxury and quality that Breitling stands for.

The project's goals went beyond implementing new technology. We aimed to empower non-technical teams with more control over their e-commerce stack and reduce their reliance on IT. By enabling them to work independently, we want to foster a more agile environment and accelerate Breitling's innovation.

Michał Ociepka,

COO at Mirumee

04 Challenges

Scalability Limitations

Breitling’s previous e-commerce platform struggled to scale with the company and restricted Breitling's ability to expand its offerings. Replatforming to composable architecture was essential to support future growth and create a more scalable and flexible solution.

Team Independence and Operational Flexibility

A key challenge was enabling various departments to work autonomously without relying on IT for every update. By replatforming, Breitling aimed to empower teams such as marketing, sales, and merchandising to manage content, create landing pages, and execute other tasks using pre-built components, speeding up new initiatives.

Complex Business Processes

Bringing various tools together into a unified, composable commerce ecosystem was especially challenging due to Breitling's unique processes. Many of these processes required custom integrations and close collaboration with our partners to ensure smooth operation.

Consistent Omnichannel Experience

Bridging digital and in-store experiences was crucial to building consistent brand experience across multiple touchpoints. To achieve this, Breitling needed highly customized services that would personalize the customer journey using data-driven insights and enable both online-to-offline and offline-to-online capabilities.

Multicurrency & Multipayment Support

In the global luxury market, offering secure and flexible payment options is non-negotiable. At the same time, finding a one-size-fits-all solution is nearly impossible. We had to adjust existing payment systems and develop custom solutions to handle complex, high-value transactions.

Security Vulnerabilities

The legacy system contained numerous poorly written APIs, which could lead to critical security vulnerabilities, including data leaks. Strengthening data protection was one of the top priority during the replatforming.

Localization for DACH Region

A major challenge was adapting the e-commerce platform to comply with the specific payment regulations and consumer expectations of the DACH region. We had to revise the checkout process to ensure it was perfectly aligned with local standards like two-factor authentication, payment installments, and GDPR Compliance.

06 Technology

Screenshots of finished ecommerce platform

07 Collaboration

Tailored Project Methodology

A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work with established organizations. Instead of enforcing rituals, we focus on deeply integrating with existing structures. With Breitling, we crafted a workflow that balances agile practices with clear milestones and structured planning, ensuring rapid development stays aligned with their processes.

Working Hand-in-Hand with Partners

Close cooperation with partners is critical for projects of this magnitude. Breitling’s new ecosystem harnesses cutting-edge technologies from industry leaders like Akamai, Contentful, and Vercel. Proactive collaboration ensured seamless integration and resulted in a solution perfectly aligned with Breitling’s vision.

08 Results

Migration to Saleor

Replatforming to a composable commerce system for Breitling was a rewarding challenge, given the complexity of their business processes and extensive infrastructure. We had to develop a custom order flow to integrate with the new Saleor platform and ensure everything functioned smoothly.

We combined the best-in-class tools and specialized external services, including:

Contentful - headless CMS for flexible content management
Vercel - complete platform for deploying and hosting web applications
Akamai - distributed cloud computing platform for faster and secure web content delivery
SendGrid - cloud-based email delivery and management service
Riskified - AI-powered fraud management and risk intelligence platform
Avalara - automated tax calculation and compliance software

This allowed us to meet the bespoke requirements of the luxury market and create an e-commerce ecosystem as unique as Breitling's brand itself.

The result is a robust composable platform that enhances security, improves the customer experience, and supports Breitling's expansion on global markets like USA and Canada.

We’ve built and customized over 15 services tailored specifically to our needs, enabling online-to-offline and offline-to-online capabilities that seamlessly bridge our digital and in-store experiences.

Rajesh Shanmugasundaram,

CTO at Breitling

Custom Back-Office Platform

We transformed Breitling's internal system from a basic order management tool into a powerful app that supports a wide range of operations and improves employees productivity.

Originally designed to help Phone Sales Agents process orders, the app includes Point of Sales (PoS) management and advanced CRM features. Although these features existed in the previous version, the old system was inefficient and suffered from an unintuitive interface and poor user experience.

Now, managers can easily track and manage orders and customer data through a user-friendly dashboard. This custom solution streamlined back-office operations and enhanced both employee and customer experience.

A custom back-office platform empowers our customer service, merchandising, and last-mile teams to operate more efficiently and deliver an exceptional customer experience at every touchpoint.

Rajesh Shanmugasundaram,

CTO at Breitling

Headless Storefront Development

We implemented a headless architecture that empowers Breitling to fully customize their storefront according to their brand vision.

This decoupled approach allowed us to focus on building the backend infrastructure, providing a robust, scalable foundation for key e-commerce functionalities, including:

Product Details Page
Product Listing Page
Checkout
Payments
Homepage
Shopping Bag

By implementing a holistic strategy, we granted business and creative teams the freedom to design and innovate their storefront without dependence on technical departments. This autonomy allows them to innovate faster and adapt swiftly to market trends and customer demands.

Staying ahead in today’s market requires agility, flexibility, and speed. This platform empowers business functions to operate independently, without waiting for tech, allowing them to experiment and innovate faster.

Rajesh Shanmugasundaram,

CTO at Breitling

Personalized Global Checkout

The newly developed Global Checkout system for Breitling is one of the most advanced in the industry. It sets a new standard for e-commerce, particularly within the luxury market, where seamless customer experiences are paramount.

To handle the complexities of Breitling's global operations, the new checkout integrates advanced features, including:

pre-orders,
custom straps and extended warranties,
comprehensive tax calculations,
fraud protection powered by Riskified,
integration with external services like SendGrid, Riskified, and Adyen.
customized shipping rules, delivery scheduling, and gift options.

The headless front-end layer and composable architecture allow for a smooth, unified checkout experience that aligns perfectly with Breitling's commitment to excellence.

We've built a solid digital foundation for Breitling's global e-commerce expansion. The composable architecture allows the company to implement new features and quickly respond to market demands. This approach fosters long-term agility and flexibility to expand into new markets faster than ever.

Michał Ociepka,

COO at Mirumee