How Shopify Plus Fueled Flying Tiger Copenhagen’s Fivefold Online Growth

Background

Flying Tiger Copenhagen launched its first physical shop in central Copenhagen in 1995. Founders Lennart and Suz Lajboschitz envisioned a venue that offered playful homeware items at friendly prices. The model was simple: source everyday goods with quirky designs and rotate the range frequently. By 2024, the chain had reached 950 locations in 36 countries and employed over 7,500 people. While brick-and-mortar remained a pillar, web sales emerged as a priority for the team. Each regional site was managed separately, and optimization efforts were scattered. Customers expected a smooth online visit that matched the in-person experience. Their site struggled under traffic spikes. Legacy systems caused delays in updating product pages and prices. All this created a clear need for an overhaul.

Challenges

Prior to the relaunch, Flying Tiger Copenhagen relied on a highly manual enterprise solution. Teams spent hours each week on basic tasks like creating product pages and adjusting layouts. There was no central hub for handling multiple markets. Payment options had to be configured one by one, and local tax rules were managed in spreadsheets. Customers faced inconsistent checkout flows, leading to cart abandonment. Marketing teams lacked agility to push region-specific promotions quickly. They also wanted to roll out new features without waiting for months of development sprints. The company needed a unified platform able to handle multi-currency checkouts, automated tax calculations, and flexible content updates without heavy coding.

Solution

Flying Tiger Copenhagen chose Shopify Plus and Shopify Markets to centralize global operations. This cloud-based solution offered a single store where each market could have custom domains, languages, and pricing. Partner agency fusefabric led the migration, completing the launch in one afternoon. They set up 27 country storefronts in 18 languages and integrated a third-party tax engine, Avalara, to streamline compliance across Europe. The team also enabled express payment options like Apple Pay and local digital wallets. Thanks to Shopify’s ecosystem of apps, the brand could extend functionality gradually and avoid a big-bang release, reducing risk and technical debt. With the new setup, non-technical staff could update content, test promotions, and manage inventory within the admin dashboard.

Implementation Details

The technical rollout began with data migration. Product information, customer records, and order histories were transferred into Shopify’s database. Fusefabric utilized APIs to connect Shopify back into existing ERP and supply chain systems, maintaining stock accuracy across all channels. They also configured Avalara to calculate taxes automatically. Custom scripts handled legacy coupon codes to preserve active promotions. Post-launch, the team trained internal users on the platform’s interface and built documentation for ongoing releases. Continuous deployment pipelines were set up so code changes could be pushed safely to production in hours rather than weeks. Short feedback loops with QA ensured that bugs were caught quickly.

Results

Since upgrading to Shopify Plus, Flying Tiger Copenhagen saw website sales grow fivefold. Traffic on their online store tripled while conversion rates doubled. The new checkout flows and express pay options cut cart abandonment significantly. Integration with enterprise systems reduced manual work for operations staff and finance teams. They now reconcile transactions faster and resolve payment issues with lower overhead. Site performance improved, and marketing teams deployed localized campaigns without technical backlogs. Overall, the shift accelerated time to market for new features from months to weeks, helping the brand stay agile amid unpredictable consumer trends. Floor staff in stores also noticed a rise in click-and-collect orders, blending digital and physical channels smoothly.

Looking Ahead

Moving forward, Flying Tiger Copenhagen plans to expand Shopify Markets into new regions while adding deeper personalization. They aim to roll out local payment methods in Asia and Latin America and launch region-specific loyalty programs. There is also an initiative to integrate a customer service chat tool directly into the storefront for real-time support. Data teams will tap into Shopify’s Analytics API to feed dashboards for executive reporting. The brand is set to iterate frequently, leveraging the Shopify ecosystem to test new modules and scale smartly as customer expectations evolve globally. Overall, the project laid a foundation for dynamic growth and smoother operations across markets.