The challenge
Active Safety sells the gear working people trust their bodies to: Steel Blue and Blundstone boots, 3M safety equipment, FXD and Bisley workwear, Bollé eyewear, fourteen brands in all, through physical stores, e-commerce, and a B2B sales representative network serving trade and industrial accounts.
The customer base was solid but transactional. Tradespeople bought when something wore out, from whoever was nearest. There was no systematic reason to come back to Active Safety specifically, and the digital channels weren't pulling their weight against the counter trade.
What I did
- Built retention into the email program. Automation and segmentation that treated a site foreman, a workshop buyer and a retail walk-in differently, right offer, right product cycle, right time, improving customer retention by 20%.
- Drove the digital storefront. Content, campaigns and optimization that lifted online visits 45%, turning the website into a genuine second counter.
- Unified marketing across every channel the business sold through. Stores, e-commerce, websites and the B2B rep network, with sales collateral and campaign material that worked in a retail aisle and a site office alike.
- Positioned the brands deliberately. Market research and brand-positioning strategy across a portfolio where each label held a different place in a tradesperson's mind, premium boots vs. everyday workwear vs. specialist PPE.
- Ran the stakeholder web. Fourteen brand principals, external agencies and contractors, coordinated so campaigns shipped on time and on brand.
The results
- 20% improvement in customer retention through email automation and segmentation
- 45% increase in online visits
- A single coherent marketing function across stores, web and B2B reps
- Full-portfolio brand positioning grounded in market research
Why it matters
Retention is the quiet profit engine of retail and e-commerce. This role shows the lifecycle-marketing muscle, segmentation, automation, offer timing, that translates directly to any business where repeat purchase drives the economics.