Centra see’s rapid growth as digitization accelerates

The Covid‑19 pandemic has accelerated the pace of digitization for brands within the fashion and retail segment. As a result, the fashion geared e‑commerce platform Centra has seen a rapid increase in demand from brands looking to flip the switch and completely digitize both their Direct‑to‑Consumer and Wholesale operations. To meet demands, Centra has strengthened their onboarding team with three new employees and look to add three more before the end of Q2. Four new brands are going live on the platform during the first week of April: Self Cinema, Northern Playground, Paula Beachwear, and the rising resort brand OAS. 

"The hard truth is that brands that rely on a brick and mortar based model will have a very tough time moving forward, while brands that flip the switch and invest in digitizing their business will be the winners. This was already a fact before the pandemic, but now we’re seeing this change happening overnight instead of over a couple of years. There’s been a rapid increase in demand from brands looking to digitize their business and we are working very hard to help them make the switch as fast as possible”, says Centra’s CEO Martin Jensen.

The increase in demand has been significant for Centra’s digital showroom. Brands as well as purchasers within the fashion industry have relied heavily on trade shows for showcasing and selling their spring and fall drops to retailers. These trade shows are now cancelled all over the world which makes digitizing wholesale crucial for the survival of the business.

Martin Jensen continues:

"Cancelled trade shows and a challenging time ahead for smaller brick and mortar retailers will force brands digitize, think big, and move towards retailers that are digital or at least have a digital approach to their purchasing. Our digital Showroom allows brands to sell to global retailers 24/7, which opens a lot of new opportunities while adding efficiency to their sales teams amidst these challenging times."