Australia – Designer brand Paul Smith has partnered with enterprise headless CMS Storyblok to modernise and future-proof its website and customer experience.

Paul Smith’s team developed the new back-end internally, while eCommerce specialist agency Limesharp built the front-end, implementing Storyblok’s headless CMS technology.

Additionally, Paul Smith’s content teams are benefiting from more flexibility and are able to update designs and layouts, schedule content, implement bulk updates, and access data in multiple ways all by themselves.

Storyblok’s headless technology allows Paul Smith to connect its CMS with a vast array of external apps, such as Larevel for middleware, Magento for eCommerce, Cloudinary for digital asset management (DAM), and Klevu for search, product recommendations, and visual merchandising.

Paul Smith’s partnership with Storyblok comes as the team sets out to transform the way they approach and communicate with their customers, re-establish their brand, and rebuild their website to emulate the unique customer experience of their flagship store in Los Angeles. Most importantly, the business wanted a solution to future-proof its online business and help it remain relevant for the next fifty years.

Hannah Bennet, head of digital at Paul Smith, said, “When we decided to switch to a headless CMS, we had a lengthy review process of headless platforms, analysing Contentful, Prismic, and GraphCMS, among others. We wanted to find the right mix of composable architecture, easy integrations, ease of use, and flexibility.

She added, “We found that Storyblok was the most established vendor with great developer support. Storyblok also has some fantastic, unique features, such as the visual editor. It supports improved performance and provides our teams so much flexibility and freedom. It was an easy decision to make.”

Meanwhile, Dominik Angerer, co-founder and CEO at Storyblok, also said, “At a time of economic uncertainty, the role of flexible and efficient marketing with a high ROI is becoming increasingly important as businesses seek to respond to new requirements and trends with agility.”

“Our recent work with Paul Smith is a perfect example of this. The vast capabilities afforded by our headless CMS architecture enabled its legendary brand to achieve a new online look, recreating the customer experience from its unique physical stores. It also places the business in a good position to easily evolve its digital presence with new tech innovations,” he added. 

Singapore – Mobile technology company Grab has partnered with payments technology company Circle Internet Financial (Circle) to bring the first-ever Web3 customer experience in the country via the launch of ‘Grab Web3 Wallet’ in the Grab app. 

Through this partnership, Circle’s new Web3 Services platform is integrated into Grab’s mobile app. With this, Singapore-based users can now set up a blockchain-enabled wallet, earn rewards and collectibles, and use non-fungible token (NFT) vouchers.

Circle Web3 Services aim to help both existing Web 2.0 internet companies and new pure-play Web3 start-ups safely and easily bring the power of stablecoins, digital assets, and smart contracts to consumer and enterprise applications.

Launched as a pilot for the SG Pitstop Pack, the ‘Grab Web3 Wallet’ supports the use of these NFT vouchers at popular stores and adventures in Singapore during the F1 Singapore Grand Prix. Furthermore, the collaboration between Circle and Grab supports the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Project Orchid initiative as a real-world demonstration of purpose-bound money.

Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO at Circle, said, “Circle is focused on partnering with global-scale consumer internet brands to bring everyday utility to users. Piloting our technology with Grab’s customers brings us closer to realising the full potential of responsible digital asset innovation.” 

Meanwhile, Dante Disparte, chief strategy officer and head of global policy at Circle, shared, “Circle is thrilled to partner with Grab to accelerate adoption of blockchain-powered innovation and support Singapore’s forward-thinking vision as a leading global hub for responsible digital asset innovation.”