For Northern Grip, a family-owned vintage store, shipping internationally meant navigating expensive courier services, clunky interfaces, and endless comparisons. Until they discovered Swotzy.
Northern Grip is a family-owned vintage store in Latvia, specialising in high-quality vintage goods, particularly items crafted 20 to 50 years ago. Each piece is carefully checked and restored to delight vintage enthusiasts online in the USA, Canada, and Western Europe markets.
Additionally, Northern Grip has two physical stores in Riga. These stores not only cater to local vintage lovers but also charm visitors with their unique atmosphere and hosting pretty cool events, making them a must-visit during your trip to Riga.
Northern Grip caters to international markets through a combination of website sales and sales on the Etsy marketplace, which has been highly instrumental in increasing its brand awareness, reaching a wider and more diverse customer base that leads to better sales opportunities. It also comes with its challenges, including increased shipping complexity and a need for simple and affordable shipping management solution.
“Prior to discovering Swotzy, our biggest hurdle was navigating the labyrinth of traditional postal courier services. Not only were they considerably expensive, particularly for International shipments, but their online interfaces were also far from optimal.” / Danute Jankovska, Northern Grip, Head of Export Development
The lack of user-friendly design meant NorthernGrip team found themselves grappling with multiple systems and logins, simply trying to compare carrier shipping rates.
Lauris Rutkis, Swotzy līdzdibinātājs un vadītājs atzīst: "Northern Grip ir patiešām lielisks piemērs, tam klientam, kura dēļ būvējam mūsu risinājumu. No savas pieredzes loģistikā zinu, cik izaicinoši var būt veidot attiecības ar vairākus kurjerpastiem vienlaikus, it īpaši bez lielas IT komandas, kas spēj apstrādāt visus tehniskos aspektus. Mūsu galvenais mērķis ir piedāvāt vienkāršu un efektīvu sūtījumu piegādes risinājumu, ļaujot klientiem, kā Northern Grip, veltīt visu savu laiku savas uzņēmējdarbības attīstīšanai, nevis pavadot neskaitāmās pārrunās par piegādes cenām piegādes cenām, lēkājot starp neskaitāmām platformām".
Northern Grip was among the first Swotzy customers to start implementing Shopify integration into their workflow with the goal of reducing the need for manual shipment detail entry and partially automating the process of purchasing shipping labels, further improving their efficiency in handling deliveries.
The impact was immediate and impressive.
Within the first month alone, Northern Grip saw their shipping costs drop by an average of 25%. But the real wins came on specific routes—where savings reached between 50–70%. All without sacrificing delivery speed or service quality.
For a business shipping vintage pieces to customers across three continents, those savings add up fast.
“Swotzy offered the ideal solution for our needs—a unified platform that streamlined the process of comparing and selecting the most suitable shipping options. The platform gives us a simple yet effective shipping management tool, allowing us to efficiently handle our distribution needs across various online sales channels."
But it wasn't just about the money. The platform itself transformed how the team worked.
"The efficiency with which we could process shipments improved significantly. I'd also like to commend Swotzy's interface—it's exceptionally intuitive. A recent addition to our team was able to master it after just one shipment, a testament to its user-centric design." / Danute Jankovska, Northern Grip Export Development Manager
Today, whether a customer is browsing from Brooklyn, Toronto, or Berlin, they can trust that their carefully selected vintage piece will arrive quickly and affordably – thanks to a shipping solution that's as thoughtful as the clothing itself.
Northern Grip is a family-owned vintage store in Latvia, specialising in high-quality vintage goods, particularly items crafted 20 to 50 years ago. Each piece is carefully checked and restored to delight vintage enthusiasts online in the USA, Canada, and Western Europe markets.
Additionally, Northern Grip has two physical stores in Riga. These stores not only cater to local vintage lovers but also charm visitors with their unique atmosphere and hosting pretty cool events, making them a must-visit during your trip to Riga.
Northern Grip caters to international markets through a combination of website sales and sales on the Etsy marketplace, which has been highly instrumental in increasing its brand awareness, reaching a wider and more diverse customer base that leads to better sales opportunities. It also comes with its challenges, including increased shipping complexity and a need for simple and affordable shipping management solution.
“Prior to discovering Swotzy, our biggest hurdle was navigating the labyrinth of traditional postal courier services. Not only were they considerably expensive, particularly for International shipments, but their online interfaces were also far from optimal.” / Danute Jankovska, Northern Grip, Head of Export Development
The lack of user-friendly design meant NorthernGrip team found themselves grappling with multiple systems and logins, simply trying to compare carrier shipping rates.
Lauris Rutkis, Swotzy līdzdibinātājs un vadītājs atzīst: "Northern Grip ir patiešām lielisks piemērs, tam klientam, kura dēļ būvējam mūsu risinājumu. No savas pieredzes loģistikā zinu, cik izaicinoši var būt veidot attiecības ar vairākus kurjerpastiem vienlaikus, it īpaši bez lielas IT komandas, kas spēj apstrādāt visus tehniskos aspektus. Mūsu galvenais mērķis ir piedāvāt vienkāršu un efektīvu sūtījumu piegādes risinājumu, ļaujot klientiem, kā Northern Grip, veltīt visu savu laiku savas uzņēmējdarbības attīstīšanai, nevis pavadot neskaitāmās pārrunās par piegādes cenām piegādes cenām, lēkājot starp neskaitāmām platformām".
Northern Grip was among the first Swotzy customers to start implementing Shopify integration into their workflow with the goal of reducing the need for manual shipment detail entry and partially automating the process of purchasing shipping labels, further improving their efficiency in handling deliveries.
The impact was immediate and impressive.
Within the first month alone, Northern Grip saw their shipping costs drop by an average of 25%. But the real wins came on specific routes—where savings reached between 50–70%. All without sacrificing delivery speed or service quality.
For a business shipping vintage pieces to customers across three continents, those savings add up fast.
“Swotzy offered the ideal solution for our needs—a unified platform that streamlined the process of comparing and selecting the most suitable shipping options. The platform gives us a simple yet effective shipping management tool, allowing us to efficiently handle our distribution needs across various online sales channels."
But it wasn't just about the money. The platform itself transformed how the team worked.
"The efficiency with which we could process shipments improved significantly. I'd also like to commend Swotzy's interface—it's exceptionally intuitive. A recent addition to our team was able to master it after just one shipment, a testament to its user-centric design." / Danute Jankovska, Northern Grip Export Development Manager
Today, whether a customer is browsing from Brooklyn, Toronto, or Berlin, they can trust that their carefully selected vintage piece will arrive quickly and affordably – thanks to a shipping solution that's as thoughtful as the clothing itself.
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