How Petit Bateau Japan Reclaimed Control with Shopify Plus

Background

Petit Bateau is a French apparel brand founded in 1893, known for its quality basics and childrenswear. Its Japan subsidiary launched in 1997 and grew steadily through brick-and-mortar stores. By 2020, online orders equaled half of all sales, driving the need for a flexible e-commerce foundation.

The Challenge

The original Japanese e-commerce site was built and maintained by an external vendor. Over nearly a decade, custom code and patches created a complex, black-box system. Any new feature required lengthy scoping, development time and high costs. Server instability slowed page loads and occasional downtime during maintenance hurt customer trust and conversion.

Choosing a New Platform

In early 2023, the team set a goal: “Take back control.” They evaluated multiple platforms used by the global brand but landed on Shopify Plus for its intuitive admin, one-click app installs and rock-solid infrastructure. The priority was a solution the lean team could manage without constant vendor support.

Implementation

The migration plan included moving product catalogs, customer records and order history into Shopify. A headless architecture was chosen: the front end was rebuilt in-house to match brand standards while Shopify handled checkout, payments and inventory.

• Data export from the legacy platform
• Theme customization and testing in a sandbox
• Integration with LINE for member logins
• Deployment of Shop Pay and domestic payment methods
• Automated workflows via Shopify Flow

Results

Within six months, the new site was live. Key metrics climbed steadily:

• Site visits rose by 5% year over year
• Average order value increased 10%
• Average items per purchase grew by 8%

The team now updates banners, runs promotions and refines checkout flows without waiting on an outside vendor. Staff morale is high: they see their changes immediately in reports and on the live site.

Looking Ahead

Next steps include deepening personalized messaging via Klaviyo and testing unified commerce concepts, but with a cautious mindset shaped by past overreach. The focus remains on building solutions that fit the Japanese market and in-house capabilities.