Bernhard Kohl (BK) is Austria’s largest cycling specialty store, offering a wide range of products and services for cycling enthusiasts. Founded by former professional cyclist Bernhard Kohl, the company prides itself on expert advice and top-quality service. At the Bernhard Kohl, customers find not only their perfect bike but also a team of experts and enthusiasts who share their passion – both in their online shop and offline, in the physical store. This includes a carefully curated selection of bikes, accessories, components, apparel, and everything a cyclist’s heart desires, personally designed and selected by Bernhard Kohl.

The brief.

Bernhard Kohl faced significant challenges with their outdated and isolated website and webshop systems, leading to high maintenance costs, security risks, and missed marketing opportunities. The existing systems could not be updated individually, necessitating a comprehensive overhaul. With the deadline for the webshop relaunch approaching due to the phasing out of their current payment provider support, the project aimed to create a seamless, unified platform that addresses ongoing security and maintenance concerns. Our main objective was to develop a new, integrated webshop and website that would not only replace the existing systems but also enhance the overall customer experience, leveraging modern technologies to connect the online and offline BK worlds effectively.

The solution.

To identify problem areas and set objectives we started with our usual requirements engineering and scoping workshop. A technical analysis revealed the need for a modern, integrated solution. The new website and webshop were developed using a headless CMS (Storyblok), a progressive web app frontend (Vue Storefront), and a robust e-commerce platform (Magento Commerce). The new system integrated previously separated website and webshop and added features that priorly were only available in the physical store. Key enhancements included improved navigation, a unified customer account system and seamless third-party system integrations such as merchandise management and appointment bookings. The modern architecture ensured scalability and cost-efficient maintenance.

The outcome.

The comprehensive redesign and relaunch of the Bernhard Kohl website and webshop resulted in several significant achievements:

1. Consistent & cohesive Bernhard Kohl brand experience.

2. Scalable and expandable system facilitating further development, 3rd party integrations and cost-efficient maintenance.

3. Improved user experience, SEO and conversion rates.

4. Magento e-commerce solution integration to overcome limitations of WooCommerce.

5. Storyblok headless storefront implementation for a modern and flexible frontend content management experience.