When design elegance meets operational excellence: an insight into Louboutin’s omnichannel journey

Founded by its eponymous designer, Christian Louboutin remains an independent fashion house at the very intersection of luxury and innovation. With more than 150 boutiques worldwide, a strong digital presence, and a diversified portfolio spanning women’s shoes, men’s shoes, leather goods and even beauty and eyewear, the brand’s global presence is growing fast.

With this global demand, however, also comes logistical complexity: with hundreds of new items and styles launched each season, but limited stock in boutiques, and the constant need to meet the shifting habits and expectations of a highly discerning clientele, the challenges are sizeable.

Recently on stage at NRF Europe, Odile Szabo, Chief Omnichannel Officer at Christian Louboutin, explained the challenges of a customer base that is becoming increasingly omnichannel focused: “95% of visitors entering a boutique have already browsed our products online. Omnichannel is no longer optional, it’s the norm,” she explained.

Unifying Louboutin’s physical and the digital offerings

Touching, trying on, and seeking personalised assistance and suggestions is central to the world of high-fashion and the physical ‘boutique experience’ remains irreplaceable to Louboutin. While store stock is constrained by the size of the shop, e-commerce, on the other hand, offers unlimited assortment depth but lacks that all-important element of human interaction.

For Louboutin, the challenge was to bring these two channels together in a way that complemented each other, in order to deliver a seamless experience for both the Louboutin sales associates and their customers.

Managing a cultural and technological shift

Recognising that true omnichannel capabilities required solid technological foundations, Odile Szabo and her team evaluated several options before choosing Manhattan’s Order Management System (OMS). This implementation of this strategic project involved the entire organisation, from retail and logistics, to finance, IT, and HR. After a scoping phase, rollout began in Louboutin’s largest single market, the USA.

The first step in the change management process was to allow boutiques to access e-commerce stock. “It was a major cultural shift. Where a sales associate once had to say no to a client, they could now fulfill the request immediately.”

The second step reversed the flow: enabling e-commerce to tap into the stock available in the boutiques. The result was a sales uplift far beyond expectations and rapid adoption thanks to the tool’s simplicity and the extensive cross-functional stakeholder management that had already been undertaken.

The impact was immediate: significant online sales uplift from unlocking boutique inventory that had previously been ‘sleeping,’ a seamless customer experience, especially during peak periods such as sales and launches, and significant time savings for customer services, which manage remote sales, payments and refund through the OMS.

Odile Szabo was keen to emphasise that where store teams had initially shown cautious to the technology, they quickly saw the benefits: increased sales, reduced customer friction points, and simplified operations. “The biggest challenge was changing mindsets. Boutiques had to learn to share their stock and see the OMS as a positive lever for their operations.”

The only constant is change

Following its North American success, Christian Louboutin is now rolling out Manhattan’s OMS in Europe, applying the same methodology, starting with boutiques, then extending to e-commerce.

The Maison is also experimenting with new features, such as temporary stock protection during highly anticipated launches and catwalk shows ensuring that e-commerce fulfillment does not come at the cost of in-store stock and the overall Louboutin brand experience. It is also extending the benefits of Manhattan’s OMS to department store partners in North America too.

The Louboutin-Manhattan OMS deployment is not just a technology project—it is a catalyst for transformation, enabling Christian Louboutin to deliver on its omnichannel promise while staying true to its standards of excellence and distinction.

“Omnichannel is a never-ending journey. With Manhattan, we’ve found a partner capable of guiding us every step of the way,” finished Szabo.