Kathmandu’s Move to Shopify Plus: A Turning Point for Enterprise Ecommerce?
When New Zealand’s biggest clothing retailer quietly replatforms to Shopify Plus, it’s worth paying attention.
Kathmandu, doing close to a billion dollars in annual revenue, is the kind of enterprise that would traditionally land on Salesforce Commerce Cloud or SAP Hybris. These platforms are known for deep customization, full control, and heavyweight infrastructure. So seeing Kathmandu on Shopify Plus? That’s not just a replatform. That’s a signal.
Enterprise Ecommerce Is Changing
For years, Shopify was seen as the fast, agile platform for smaller DTC brands. Great for speed. Great for growth. But not serious enough for large, complex retailers.
That’s no longer true.
Kathmandu’s shift reflects a broader trend: enterprise brands are rethinking the real cost of ownership on older systems. Slower releases, heavy development costs, outdated UX, and clunky backend workflows have led many to reassess what “enterprise-ready” actually means in 2025.
Shopify Is Ready for Scale
There’s no way a business the size of Kathmandu would make this move without confidence in the platform. This migration means Shopify can now offer:
- Global commerce infrastructure
- Enterprise-grade performance and security
- Deep integration capabilities through APIs and custom apps
- Flexible frontend design and brand control
- Efficient operations for large, distributed teams
This wasn’t a casual choice. A migration like this would have involved extensive security audits, integration planning, technical deep dives, and cost-benefit analysis.
They still chose Shopify.
This Isn’t a Theme Job
Don’t mistake the simplicity of Shopify’s brand for what’s actually powering Kathmandu’s setup. There will be a highly customized frontend. There will be multiple layers of backend services, probably microservices, ERP connections, and external APIs.
But the important part is this: all of that complexity is being supported by Shopify as the foundation. The core of the experience is still managed within a platform that’s known for speed, reliability, and ease of use.
What Other Enterprises Can Learn
If you’re running ecommerce for a large retailer or wholesaler, Kathmandu’s move is a wake-up call.
The platform you choose impacts more than just your website. It affects internal workflows, your ability to launch campaigns, how fast you can adapt to market shifts, and how hard it is to train new team members.
Shopify Plus has reached a point where it is often more flexible and lower friction than traditional enterprise stacks. For the right kind of business, it can be both powerful and lightweight.
From Local to Global
This might look like a local New Zealand brand moving platforms. But it’s actually a global story.
More and more large businesses are trading complexity for agility. They’re choosing speed, operational simplicity, and modern tooling. And Shopify is stepping into that gap.
Kathmandu moving to Shopify Plus isn’t a one-off. It’s a clear sign that the platform can handle enterprise requirements at the highest level.