Golden Goose, an Italian luxury lifestyle fashion brand, has leveraged Board to support its rapid growth, which required a complete overhaul of its distribution strategy. This transformation involved developing and managing new sales channels and complex item planning through a revamped approach to allocation and replenishment. Board also enables advanced forecasting capabilities, providing Golden Goose more accurate view of demand to help optimize sales and inventory. Warehouse coverage is now consistent across all sales channels and regions, bolstering the anticipation of demand and reducing stock-outs.
Background
Golden Goose is a Next Gen global luxury company founded on a passion for all things that are “perfectly imperfect”, authentic and unique.
Born in 2000, it operates at the intersection of luxury, lifestyle and sportswear. It is specialized in the sourcing, design, and distribution of sneakers – some of which have become icons in the market – as well as apparel, bags, and other accessories. High quality, attention to detail and a “lived-in” look have become the distinctive features of Golden Goose.
With the ambition of bringing Italy’s “hand-made tradition” to the world, the brand blends artisanal craftsmanship with “Made in Italy” manufacturing, creating products that combine Italian wearability with an urban vintage flavor. Today, Golden Goose, whose products resonate deeply with a new generation of luxury consumers, has a community of 1.5 million Dreamers. Golden Goose is present in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and APAC, with over 200 stores and a strong online and wholesale distribution.
In 2007, following the success of its first sneaker model, Golden Goose began rapid expansion. Initially, the company worked through wholesale distribution. With the opening of the first retail store in 2013 the company shifted to a retail-centric approach, expanding its physical stores globally and establishing a strong international presence, particularly in Europe and America.
Such rapid expansion required a comprehensive transformation across processes, structures, and systems, as well as a shift in perspective both technically and culturally. These changes were essential to sustain further retail development in a dynamic market while maintaining a flexible, merchandise-driven approach focused on customer needs throughout the creative and development processes.
Embracing rapid growth and organizational change
In 2019, Golden Goose partnered with SDG Group to redefine corporate roles, optimize diverse sales channels, and identify key operational needs from a retail perspective. One of the most important needs was streamlining distribution control and adopting a flexible, data-driven solution for store replenishment. Another pressing requirement was improved production planning to manage high-demand items, anticipate sales peaks, and ensure operational efficiency while maintaining high service levels.
Board was selected for its scalable, integrated planning capabilities that could adapt to Golden Goose’s evolving needs. The implementation, completed in seven months from initial analysis to full go-live, was phased to provide immediate results, with the solution later extended to other departments and regions.
Increasing efficiency through advanced item planning and replenishment
The solution optimized item planning and allocation and replenishment processes by defining product requirements based on planned coverage and stock availability across the network. For allocation and replenishment, the focus was on rebalancing stock efficiently, reducing excess and obsolete inventory, and maximizing profitability through precise, data-driven decisions.
By leveraging advanced forecasting capabilities, Golden Goose gained deeper insights into demand patterns, which allowed for optimized production planning and inventory management. The solution provided the company with the tools to:
- Manage peak demand and seasonality
- Run What-If scenario planning based on suggested orders
- Automate administrative tasks, reducing manual workload and increasing accuracy
This forecasting and cross-validation system enables users to make informed, independent decisions by providing access to real-time data and optimal solutions.
Improved allocation and replenishment for omnichannel success
Board’s data-driven model greatly improved Golden Goose’s responsiveness to market demand, allowing the company to make better allocation and replenishment decisions across channels, stores, and product lines. The system’s high level of automation and accuracy has empowered Golden Goose to dynamically adjust stock across its global network, ensuring consistent service levels while minimizing markdowns and waste.
The system has been effective in supporting continuous item production, ensuring consistent stock visibility and order management on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.
Results and future plans
The adoption of Board has enabled Golden Goose to achieve significant improvements in inventory management, production planning, and operational agility. By ensuring stock availability across channels while reducing excess inventory, Golden Goose has enhanced its ability to respond to market fluctuations and customer demand.
Looking forward, Golden Goose plans to further expand its use of Board geographically and across additional sales channels. Future developments include evolving the solution toward an OPI (One Pull Inventory) approach to allow greater flexibility in stock management across regions, responding even faster to market needs and further reducing leftover inventory at the end of each season.
