OSPREY LONDON achieves 48% YoY revenue surge since switching to Centra

Born from a belt and £500 in seed money, OSPREY LONDON was founded in 1980 by Graeme Ellisdon, who remains CEO and at the heart of the brand to this day. Now a recognised name in luxury leather goods, OSPREY LONDON is rooted in British heritage and proudly founder-led. The collection spans handcrafted leather bags, apparel, and timeless accessories—from scarves and belts to silk ties and sunglasses.

With multiple sales channels, including 13 brick-and-mortar stores, and a global wholesale network, OSPREY LONDON needed its DTC flagship store to be an immersive destination where customers could fully experience the essence of the brand.

Store banners and red flags

OSPREY LONDON had a strong retail presence but its digital identity was dated and Lana Rush (Head of Marketing) was brought on to bring the brand into the modern era. However, Lana immediately faced challenges in implementing subtle changes to the look and feel of the online store, which had been built on Magento in 2016.

OSPREY LONDON partnered with Grebban to redefine its digital presence, setting the strategic direction and overseeing the implementation of a new digital flagship store with a focus on positioning the brand towards a full-price proposition. When it came down to selecting an ecommerce platform, the team considered a few options but chose Centra for its flexibility to create a fully customised shopping experience, streamlined UI for managing multiple markets, and scalability to continuously evolve. 

Another key factor in the decision? The people behind Centra.

OSPREY LONDON successfully migrated from Magento to Centra and launched its newly-designed digital flagship store on-schedule in under six months—perfectly timed for peak season. 

Crafting a future-proof tech stack

Working together with Grebban, OSPREY LONDON took a holistic approach to reimagining its digital future. Together, they mapped out everything the brand needed for now and the future. This strategic vision wasn't just about meeting immediate demands—it was about ensuring scalability and long-term flexibility.

Empowering marketing with the flexibility of headless

With Magento, the marketing team had no direct control over the online store—every content update required developer intervention. For a brand like OSPREY LONDON that’s built on style, originality, and craftsmanship, this limitation stifled creativity. Without the ability to manage the site’s design, messaging, and content, the brand’s story couldn’t fully come to life.

With a composable approach, the marketing team has regained full control over OSPREY LONDON’s content, seamlessly integrating with Storyblok’s CMS—free from technology limitations that once constrained their creativity.

Paired with Centra’s powerful reporting features, this newfound flexibility allows the team to iterate and optimise content based on real-time data.

One platform, multiple markets

Cross-border expansion is top priority for OSPREY LONDON, with a recent launch of DTC in the US—a key market for the brand. However, the team is committed to a thoughtful, strategic approach when expanding into new markets.  With a focus on storytelling through content, as well as hyper-localisation, the team can ensure that each audience has a tailored shopping experience, with multiple markets easily managed from a single backend.

Inspiring discovery, achieving growth

When tech meets creative vision, growth follows. OSPREY LONDON’s goal in replatforming was to ‘inspire discovery at every click’. With its digital flagship store now truly reflecting the unique character of OSPREY LONDON, the results are remarkable. Q1 revenue rose by 48% year-on-year, online conversion rates increased by 13%, and website traffic has doubled since migrating to Centra.

OSPREY LONDON is also leveraging the ‘halo effect’ of wholesale to drive traffic to its DTC channel. The brand recently partnered with a wholesale distributor in the USA, making products available in 39 stores across a new region and tapping into a new customer base to fuel DTC growth.

Most importantly, OSPREY LONDON has successfully achieved its key objective: positioning itself as a full-price brand. With Centra, OSPREY LONDON has aligned its creative strategy, operations, and business goals, paving the way for future growth.

OSPREY LONDON’s tech stack: