Rocky BrandsIncrease Customer Demand Worldwide

Company Overview

As a seller of premium outdoor footwear, Rocky Brands’ online retail story is one to boast about. The manufacturer not only sells direct to consumers but also has acquired an impressive line of brands over the course of its 80-year history. Durango, Georgia Boot, and Lehigh Outfitters are all part of the company’s merchandise mix, as is Rocky’s own unique brands of boots, gear and
apparel.

The company has developed strong relationships with retailers over the years and maintains a thriving e-commerce business on marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.

To say it all came easily, however, would be a misrepresentation of the hard work that went into the company’s current success. Business may be booming now, but there have been plenty of hurdles to overcome along the way.

The Situation

A big factor in Rocky Brands’ decades of strong growth has been the company’s ability to adapt to market changes. Since it was founded in 1937, the company has transitioned from factory to manufacturer, and from manufacturer to beloved niche brand.

So when it became clear that the growth of e-commerce was picking up some serious steam, the team knew it was time to expand its presence on Amazon, eBay, Walmart and — most importantly — Google.

“As fast as the internet is growing, it’s not a good idea not to be on those marketplaces,” explained Michael Harper, Rocky Brands’ wholesale internet account sales manager.

There was just one problem. Rocky Brands’ vast supply chain meant consumers were getting inconsistent, mixed messages across channels.

“[We] would have so many different drop-shippers who would list products for us on those websites,” Harper lamented. “Customers would get a mixed signal of what, exactly, the
product was, and what it was used for.”

It was time to take back control of the company’s product content.

To achieve this, Harper focused on three key goals. When a consumer goes to Google to search for a product, he needed to ensure that:
• it’s available
• the product message is right
• an order can be placed as quickly as possible

In other words… Harper wanted to get the right product listing to the right consumer — on the right channel, at precisely the right time.

The Solution

To start, going after Google was a must.

“It’s the largest search engine in the world,” Harper said. “Why not have your products listed there?”

Harper knew it wouldn’t be enough to simply upload products on Google. He wanted to be sure Rocky Brands’ listings would surface across the entire Google ecosystem, from
Google Search to Google Shopping to the Google Assistant.

There was only one way to do this: through Google Shopping Actions. And for that, Harper turned to ChannelAdvisor.

He says the company “sought out ChannelAdvisor” — and with good reason. The e-commerce platform has been designed to help brands and retailers sync listings with Google Shopping Actions, and offers full order management support with the Google Orders API. It’s the easier, faster way to ensure a successful launch with the program.

The Results

It didn’t take long to confirm that Rocky Brands had made the right move.

“We’re growing at such a rate that we’re literally doubling month after month after month,” Harper says of their initial results.

And now, with ChannelAdvisor to simplify the process of expanding to new channels, the company is growing on numerous marketplaces around the world.

“When we started, we were doing roughly a thousand dollars a month,” says Harper. “Now we expect to do hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.”