Case Study: The Cambridge Satchel Company cuts platform costs and returns to profitability with Shopify Plus (Shopify)

The Cambridge Satchel Company, saddled by millions in platform costs, focuses again on fashion—not tech

The Cambridge Satchel Company, founded by Julie Deane in 2008, grew into a cult fashion brand but was being held back by its previous ecommerce platform (Salesforce Commerce Cloud). Massive platform and development costs—about £3 million annually—made scaling unprofitable and forced the team to spend more on tech than on making and marketing bags.

In 2017 the company replatformed to Shopify Plus, simplified its tech stack with affordable plugins, moved dispatch back into its factory, and adopted new features like AR shopping. The switch cut costs, reduced reliance on large dev teams, enabled multi‑currency storefronts, and put the business back on track—projected to break even by the end of 2019—letting the team refocus on products and growth.

The Cambridge Satchel Company

Julie Deane

Founder and Chief Executive Officer