Member Article

New look digital presence for 50-year-old Yorkshire brand

A Yorkshire heritage brand has launched a new-look digital presence as the company marks 50 years in business.

Leeds-based Yarwood Leather supplies luxury upholstery leather to some of the world’s most prestigious brands, including Emirates, Morgan Motor Company and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. But while the organisation’s printed literature has long been symbolic of the calibre of Yarwood’s craftsmanship and client-base, the website simply did not reflect the quality of the brand.

The team therefore turned to Mirfield digital marketing agency The Bigger Boat, to undertake the online overhaul.

The three month project has seen the site switch from a somewhat cumbersome Magento build to a fresh WordPress platform. Stand-out features of the new website include a bolder use of project imagery, integration of a craftsmanship video, greater use of case studies and an intuitive colour picker for interior designers and refit specifiers.

Already, statistics show a marked improvement on the previous site’s performance, with sample orders up 50%, the conversion rate up by 60% and organic traffic up by 20%, when compared to equivalent 2016 point-in-time figures.

Commenting on the project execution, The Bigger Boat’s co-founder and account director Andy McCaul said: “We actually became very familiar with the Yarwood business, as we were initially appointed to optimise the old site. But there were a number of flaws that had to be addressed. The aesthetics and navigation did not consider the user experience, seemingly simple updates were time-consuming to administer, and increasingly, the capabilities of the old version of Magento were becoming quite restrictive.

“The decision was therefore made to move to a new site, more befitting of modern customer expectations, CMS requirements and the luxury feel of the brand itself.”

The Bigger Boat’s services have now been retained to support Yarwood with paid search activity, conversion rate optimisation and fine-tuning as required.

Elaborating on the finished product, Yarwood’s marketing manager, Laura Wood said: “We’re delighted with the more impactful front-end of our beautiful new website but, aesthetics aside, this project has been all about results. In the modern world of digital marketing, sites need to perform, and the heightened engagement and conversions, which we’ve seen almost instantly, are indicative of the true value of our new online presence.”

Established in 1967, Yarwood Leathers is based in Morley, Leeds, and has an on-site laboratory, cutting room and sewing department, plus in-house embroidery and debossing team. The 50-year-old business provides an array of bespoke services to well-known brands within the hospitality, commercial furniture, aviation and transport sectors, to name just a few.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katie Mallinson .