“Quanta ensures that the sites are always live and proactively reports any issues, all without needing a development team. The websites are optimized daily and we can demonstrate to management the business impact of web performance.“
Gautier Dudault — Digital and E-commerce Director, FBD Group
Key Facts
- Leading kitchen retailer with over 30 years’ experience
- 400 stores worldwide.
- 1 central website factory services 4 retail brands.
Challenges
- Eliminate finger-pointing and paralysis: Multiple service providers and add-on technologies make it difficult to view the objective effect of each on-site performance.
- Provide frictionless online customer experience to facilitate purchases.
- Reassure franchises that FBD Group’s websites are fully optimised to bring qualified leads.
Solution
- Quanta performed numerous load tests at the pre-production stage to ensure the websites could handle peak traffic.
- The Quanta platform monitors all company sites and proactively reports on issues.
- Quanta’s Performance Gurus provide ongoing support and continuous optimization advice.
Benefits
- 360-degree visibility on all aspects of the site, plus support and guidance from Quanta Web Performance Guru.
- Better cooperation among digital teams and service providers with no more finger-pointing.
- Faster resolution of performance issues.
FBD Group Boosts Digital Strategy with Quanta
Kitchen retail giant uses Quanta to ensure optimum web performance and a top-of-the-range digital experience.
With over 30 years of experience in kitchen retail, FBD Group encompasses four distinct brands—Ixina, Cuisine Plus, Vanden Borre Kitchen and Cuisines Références. The group’s transparent pricing model and its pioneering technology showrooms disrupt the typical codes associated with the industry. With already over 400 stores internationally, FBD Group has aggressive plans for expansion, aspiring to hit one billion euros in revenue by 2020.
Web Performance as the Key to Website Success
FBD Group’s online presence deals with multiple territories and brands, high-ticket prices and content-rich pages. Its primary goal is to actively recruit franchisees and then to support them through effective lead generation.
“Our websites are at the core of our digital strategy,” explains Gautier Dudault, Digital and E-commerce Director at FBD Group. “To make it a success, we must provide a top-of-the-range online experience.”
From the beginning, the company was aware of the critical role web performance plays in a website’s success, particularly with regards to sales.
“We need to capture purchase intent and reassure customers at the time of a high-ticket, high-consideration purchase. Slow loading causes friction in the customer journey and is highly likely to lead to website abandonment,” said Gautier Dudault.
Getting it Right From the Start
Previously, each of FBD Group’s brands managed their websites independently. To pool costs and efforts, and share best practices among brands, the company decided to converge all of the sites and manage them from a single site factory. FBD Group called on Quanta at the preproduction stage to ensure a successful and serene launch.
“Web performance directly impacts the user experience, SEO, leads, and sales. It was something we needed to get right from the beginning,” said Gautier Dudault. “You don’t want to buy a car and then realize it maxes out at 60 miles per hour!”
FBD Group uses all the latest third-party technologies and services to create a stellar online experience. However, this previously meant a lack of overall visibility and issues of governance. The company required actionable metrics on each site element to justify its presence and ensure optimal performance.
“We are increasingly data-driven and ROI focused, but it is easy to lose sight of efficiency. We need an objective view of performance to be able to hold true to our commitment of providing an outstanding digital experience,” adds Gautier Dudault.
Quanta performed numerous load tests at the pre-production stage to ensure the websites would be able to handle peak traffic. Bottlenecks and potential issues were troubleshooted ahead of time, eliminating finger-pointing among different teams and service providers later on.
“Quanta showed us that our load time was subpar, particularly for mobile users. After identifying the causes, Quanta helped us remedy the issues, so we had peace of mind at launch time, knowing our sites were fully optimized,” said Gautier Dudault.
Complete Visibility and Control for Ongoing Optimization
FBD Group now has a continuous comprehensive view of all aspects of its websites thanks to Quanta’s detailed performance reports. Collaboration between FBD Group’s internal digital teams and additional service providers has been greatly facilitated, particularly with regards to resolving performance issues. The group also benefits from ongoing support from a Quanta Web Performance Guru, who is on hand for further performance optimization advice.
“The software is easy to set up and lives up to its promise of optimization and peace of mind. The service that comes with Quanta is second to none,” explains Gautier Dudault. “Quanta ensures that the sites are always live and proactively reports any issues, all without needing a development team. The websites are optimized daily and we can demonstrate to management the business impact of web performance. Our franchisees are reassured that we are furthering their business aims and that their prospects and customers are guaranteed a frictionless journey.”