Maxbo
With over 60 building supply stores and a history stretching back to 1649, Maxbo is part of Norwegian building tradition. Now they are taking a major digital step forward, having chosen Pearl Commerce as their partner to realise their ambition of becoming Norway's most successful building supply chain, online as well.
The Challenge
Building supply chain Maxbo holds a strong market position with over 60 Maxbo, Maxbo Stormarkeder and Maxbo Proff building supply stores across the country. The company is part of Løvenskiold Handel, a group with roots going back to 1649.
Maxbo's eCommerce team highlights four factors behind their strategic commitment to digital commerce:
Changing customer needs and expectations
Their customers are increasingly shopping digitally, both professional tradespeople and private consumers. They expect a seamless experience between digital channels and physical stores. If Maxbo does not meet these expectations, competitors will take market share.
Strengthening competitiveness
Building and retail is an intensely competitive industry. Digital commerce enables differentiation through strong digital customer experiences, a broader assortment than physical stores offer, and the ability to tailor offers and communication based on customer data. All factors that give Maxbo better conditions to win and retain customers.
Efficiency and profitability
A strong digital commitment drives efficient order and goods flow, reduces the need for manual processes, better utilises the store network, and enables more precise marketing based on data analysis. This delivers lower costs and higher profitability.
Strategic long-term thinking
Digital commerce is no longer an add-on. It is a fundamental part of the business model. For Maxbo, investing in digital channels secures future market relevance. Greater focus on the interplay between physical and digital commerce creates value for customers and strengthens the company's position against both pure-play online retailers and traditional competitors.
What did Maxbo look for in a new partner?
The Maxbo team states they had a clear set of criteria when evaluating potential partners. The goal was to find a player who not only delivered technology, but who could also serve as a long-term strategic partner.
They highlight the following criteria as essential to their process:
Digital competence and innovation
- Solid experience within eCommerce, omnichannel and digital customer journeys.
- The ability to develop new solutions and keep pace with market expectations.
Flexibility and scalability
- Technology that grows with Maxbo and customer needs.
- Solutions that adapt to a rapidly changing market, with seamless integration towards logistics, inventory and customer data.
- The ability to support both consumer and professional markets.
Business value
- Competitive cost models and a focus on return on investment.
- The ability to deliver tangible results and documented value.
Cultural and strategic alignment
- A partner who shares Maxbo's customer promises and values.
- Understanding of the building supply market and their customers' needs.
- A genuine willingness to build a real partnership, not just a supplier relationship.
Long-term development capacity
- The capacity to accompany Maxbo on a digital journey over time.
- A focus on continuous improvement, innovation and future growth.
We chose Pearl Commerce because of their solid digital competence and ability to innovate across technologies. They understand our customers and have been a valuable sparring partner we can challenge with complex problems. Together we completed a migration in record time, while simultaneously advancing the digital transformation and launching MaxBonus, Maxbo's new loyalty programme. The pace has been high, but Pearl Commerce has delivered on all fronts, with impressive quality and execution. Pearl Commerce is a strategically important partner for Maxbo, and one we look forward to building with in the years ahead.
Erik Hegerlund, Head of eCommerce, Maxbo
The Start of a New Partnership
We began the collaboration by conducting a Pre-project, giving Pearl Commerce the opportunity to familiarise itself with Maxbo's current digital commerce efforts, from strategic objectives and operational workings to system architecture, as well as a thorough evaluation of the existing eCommerce solution from both a technical and UX perspective. This insight then formed the foundation for our recommendations to Maxbo's leadership on what to prioritise going forward. During spring and summer 2025, the collaboration has progressed strongly.
Migration Phase
Following the Pre-project, we initiated the migration of Maxbo's existing eCommerce solution. We moved their online store from their previous agency to Pearl Commerce, taking over responsibility for application management, further development, advisory services, support, design and operations. We are now the customer's full-service agency for digital commerce.
New Loyalty Programme
In parallel with the migration, we launched our first new project together: the development of Maxbo's new bonus programme, MaxBonus.
We have been responsible for integrating the eCommerce solution with Maxbo's customer master system, delivered by our partner Evidi. The solution itself is built on Voyado, another partner we work closely with. We have also been responsible for implementing the customer club experience within the online store itself.
User Experience (UX)
Maxbo has a highly ambitious focus on the professional market, with a dedicated B2B eCommerce solution. Business customers can view their own pricing, payment terms, manage different roles and access controls, track all orders, access project accounting, retrieve relevant product documentation, and create quotes with their own company logo that can be exported to PDF and sent to clients, to name a few features.
The B2B solution is a highly feature-rich and complex platform, but it also reflects its age and faces several challenges that stand in the way of Maxbo's ambitions for the professional market. For example, mobile optimisation has not been adequate.
We have therefore undertaken a complete redesign of the professional solution. The objective is not simply to make incremental improvements, but to create a preferred working tool that professional customers genuinely enjoy using.
