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~ ChannelEngine ~

suppliers that worked with these guidelines already, but we What would you say is the main obstacle to your
felt it was not fair. Thus, we chose to negotiate with them, online growth?
join forces, and change the way things were being done into “I think it is the way we have our current company
a more responsible way from an environmental perspective. organisation. As a brand, we are really strong in B2B
By doing this, we not only help our suppliers and production because we have been gathering experience in this for many
partners to keep on doing business but also, we truly impact years in the offline world. But we do not have that level of
the industry by introducing a change,” says Daniel. organisation for digital. Once we organise ourselves around
the digital, I think we could increase our growth a lot
Why is it that Petrol talks about offering denim because we do have a lot of potential,” Daniel says.
craftsmanship?
“When we talk about ‘denim craftsmanship,’ it is because Daniel continues: “We know our trade and Petrol as a brand
we have been refining the perfect fit for the last 30 years. is a powerful player. I would say that there is a lesson here to
Denim clothing is our main product. Our denim designers be learned: you always need to invest first in the systems and
are really passionate people. Our Head of Denim, Dave, we people before you grow in digital. Because the digital world
call him ‘Denim Dave,’ is really stoked about denim design, is really competitive, and yes, you can work with a lot of
and you can feel and see that in our product: a love, a caring, solid IT partners and services, but you need a solid backbone
a passion for a particular look and feel. inside your company on your own systems. Finally, I think
people need to realise and always remember that growing
For example, we always try to offer a special denim finish digital in turnover is far easier than growing in profit.”
and quality in our products, that sometimes is also an
homage to the past, to beautiful craftsmanship techniques Petrol and ChannelEngine: The gas and the engine combination
from the past of denim clothing, like a particular kind of for global success!
seam, a unique type of pocket, details of quality that will
showcase our denim heritage and our passion for offering a “Petrol has placed its trust in ChannelEngine for its
high-quality product, even when we are price-wise a mid- e-commerce adventure. And it has been a strategic and
range brand.” profitable alliance. Alongside ChannelEngine, Petrol is
setting up and executing a solid marketplace expansion plan.
Was it a COVID-related decision to go digital? A challenge Petrol is totally committed to achieving.”
“Petrol started in 2015 with a webshop, and we added the
first marketplace in 2020. And I think it took us so long Do you think that for a brand nowadays, it is vital to
because we were having such strong results offline that the have e-commerce?
company never felt it had to push into digital. However, I “Yes. I would say that it even goes beyond that. It is not only
think COVID did push us more in the digital direction. having e-commerce where you can sell, but it is also having a
But also, we saw that all other brands had a longer online meaningful online presence because your potential customers
presence, and will search and
we were betting “ONCE WE ORGANISE OURSELVES research for your
everything into a brand online
AROUND THE DIGITAL, I THINK WE
single market: the through many
offline. channels: social
COULD INCREASE OUR GROWTH A media, websites,
Therefore, we marketplaces, search
decided, as a brand, engines, and so on.
LOT BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A LOT
to jump into the Thus, you need
digital world, and I to be there, to be
think it gave us an available in those
amazing advantage OF POTENTIAL” same channels your
to do it so late in potential customers
the game because will be.”
we now know what works and what doesn’t, and with the
help from the right partners, we can now grow really fast Why has Petrol chosen ChannelEngine as a partner
and really strong. Currently, we are pushing for full digital for its digital expansion?
growth even though we know that this year is kind of a “Let me start by saying that I have worked with
COVID-correction year. However, we have had a positive ChannelEngine before, and the reason why we choose
growth rate – which by the way, goes against the current them is more the people that work in ChannelEngine than
market trend, but we would like to grow more because we the technology. Technology-wise, many other companies
honestly believe we can.” could have provided either similar or very similar levels of

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