Global Domination with Magento: Creating Dynamic Multi-Brand Stores for Success

Introduction

The trend of online shopping has penetrated almost every business imaginable, be it B2B, B2C, or D2C. The demand for eCommerce, therefore, has led retail enterprises and SMEs to create multiple websites in Magento for multiple products or to create multiple brands. This is to serve better and create a separate identity for niche markets selling unique items. This concept is often called a multistore strategy that drives businesses to opt for Magento 2 multistore development services.

This blog is for you if you are a fresher to the concept of multistore development strategy. We will review it and see why multichannel selling in Magento is preferred!

What is Magento 2 Multistore Development?

Before getting on with the development part, it is important to understand Magento 2 multistore also known as multi-brand store in Magento.

Multiple Stores of Multi-Brands Store in Magento: Explained for Beginners

Magento 2 multistore is a feature that allows eCommerce enterprises or SMEs to create multiple online stores in Magento 2 platform for selling but manage all of them using a single dashboard or admin panel. This also empowers the admin to manage the backend of the organization along with inventory for every eCommerce store created.

Who Can Use Magento 2 Multistore Feature? – Business Applicability Explained

Magento multistore development feature helps you scale the business and accelerate the revenue streams. Regarding the applicability, it is perfect for the needs and goals of eCommerce businesses outlined below:

1. Existing eCommerce businesses running multiple Magento stores wishing to manage through a single Magento platform.

2. For those, who have multichannel selling in Magento ideas and want to streamline and centralize multistore operations from the start.

3. Businesses catering to different customer segments or locations using similar or different products based on demands.

4. Enterprises or Groups with multiple brands to maintain individual identity and needs.

5. Businesses looking to sell products globally in multiple countries with diverse languages, currencies, tax classes, etc.

Multistore Environment Set Up in Magento: The Basics

Every single Magento installation is provided with three layers of customizable entities to choose from. Magento 2 multistore architecture offers these three components (briefly explained below) to choose from while setting up individual Magento installations:

Magento Multisite (Website)

A domain you purchase and build upon for managing multiple Magento 2 stores. You can also have multiple domains on a single installation for managing all easily.

Benefits:

• Magento’s multisite feature allows you a common payment mode for shipping that can be shared with all stores.

• It’s simple! Go to configuration and set the price you want to be globally shared.

• Magento’s multisite advantage over multistore is that it contains only customer data regardless of product category and details.

• Perfect for businesses that operate distinct brands or serve different markets seeking centralized management.

Magento Multistore

This will allow merchants to manage multiple stores under a single Magento installation. For example, consider a clothing brand offering a wide range of products under the “Men” and “Women” categories. Being pragmatic in such modern times related to customer experience, two separate stores for Men and Women categories are not preferred.

Benefits:

• Sell multiple and categorized products and services using a single web domain.

• Deliver the real look and feel of a store offering all available products.

• Have the power to control all your online stores from one place.

Magento Store View

Store Views in Magento are different presentations of the same store. They allow you to display your store in different languages, with different currency options, or with other localized settings. Store Views are part of a single Magento store and share the same product catalog but present it in different ways based on the user’s preferences.

Benefits:

• Magento Store View allows you to display your store in multiple languages based on target market and demographics.

• You can mainly focus on textual and design modifications instead of functionality changes.

• Easily add the preferred shipping method by adding a category to it. No need to add a separate shipping method.

Multistore Implementation in Magento 2: Configuration Steps

Step 1: Creating a New Category

• Create “Categories”. The default root category will be used, as the same catalog will be shared by other sites.

• Go to Catalog > Categories > Manage Categories

• Create a new category and set it to active.

Step 2: Creating a Website

Once you create the category, you need to create a new website.

• Go to the Store > All stores > Click “Create Website”

• After creating the website, create a new store and select the root category for this store.

• After creating the website and store, you need to create a store view. Add all information and create a store view.

• Go to store > Configuration > General > Web

• Change the website from the top of the page.

• Now you need to enter the base URL and secure the base URL of the website.

• You need to perform the same steps for all the websites you created.

• Save the configuration of all the websites.

Here we encounter two scenarios. The first scenario involves installing a project using the normal Magento 2 setup, while the second scenario involves using the Warden Docker setup for the Magento project. We will focus on adding multi-store functionality.

Step 3: Adding Multistore Functionality

1. To begin, create a file named ‘stores.php’ in the ‘app/etc’ directory of your project setup. Inside ‘stores.php’, add the following code:

2. After adding the above code to your ‘stores.php’, you will need to make changes to the ‘composer.json’ file located in the root path of your project. Open ‘composer.json’ and add the following code:

3. If your project setup is based on Warden Docker, there is an additional file you need to modify. Look for the ‘.warden’ directory in the root path of your project. If you can’t find it, make sure to enable the ‘Show Hidden Files’ option in your file manager. Once you locate the ‘.warden’ directory, navigate into it and open the ‘warden-env.yml’ file.

4. Inside the ‘warden-env.yml’ file, make the following changes:

5. Once you have made all the necessary changes, run the ‘setup:upgrade’ command. For Warden users, it is essential to first bring down the Warden and then bring it up again to refresh all container images.

Result: The new domain to manage multistore will be enabled to access the multiple domains of multiple Magento stores.

Core Features: Magento’s Multi-Brand Stores Solution

Every eCommerce business needs are unique and we recommend owners to engage with a top Magento eCommerce development company to visualize feasible solutions. However, review the core features of Magento 2 multistore solution below:

Separate Domains: Usage of individual domains or subdomains for every product-specific site.

Single Admin Panel: A centralized administrative panel or dashboard to operate and manage multiple operations for all your Magento stores.

Shared Customer Data: Keep all your customers’ data in a single place to be shared across all your stores as and when needed.

Independent Store Views: Flexible store views can be applied to every store created allowing you to provide a unique appearance, different language, and specific product offerings.

Unified Management: Keeping your core tasks central to a single platform to create new stores or manage multiple created stores for critical tasks like inventory management, order processing, etc.

Independent Checkouts: Online buyers can purchase products by finishing checkouts on the same website without interacting with other sites.

Distinct SEO & Marketing: Merchants can set up each store with a distinctive SEO and marketing strategy.

Magento 2 Multistore Development: Other Benefits

Consistent Branding

Creating a consistent brand image is crucial for success. Magento 2 allows businesses to maintain a uniform design and branding across all their stores, reinforcing the identity of each brand within the larger portfolio.

Targeted Marketing

With multiple stores in Magento 2, businesses can tailor their marketing strategies for each brand, catering to specific target audiences. This personalized approach can significantly improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

Efficient Resource Utilization

Magento 2 multistore development enables businesses to share resources such as payment gateways, shipping methods, and customer databases across all stores. This efficiency results in cost savings and a more seamless customer experience.

Scalability and Flexibility

As businesses grow, Magento 2 multistore solution scales effortlessly. Whether expanding to new geographic regions or launching additional brands, the platform offers the flexibility needed to adapt to changing business requirements.

To show a real-world example, let us go through a case study.

Case Study: A Multi-Brand Magento Platform Developed to Sell Diverse Consumer Products Globally

Being a global Adobe Silver Partner, Bytes Technolab is a trusted Magento eCommerce development company that was approached by the popular ACG Group based out of the USA. Let us dig a bit deeper into the Magento Multi-Brand Stores management project that was led by expert Magento certified developers for

Project Brief

ACG Group (Alliance Consumer Group) is an MNC that is focused on selling consumer products with diverse brands. Brands like NEBO (flashlights and other lighting solutions), TRUE (pocket knives, pocket tools, and everyday carry gadgets), iPROTEC (lights, lasers, and optics), Skeeterhawk (all-natural pest defense products), THAW (personal heating products), and HALO (power banks) were having separate domains and management.

Problem Statement

• The client wanted to maintain distinctive branding for all the product-specific domains but wanted to manage multiple operations using a centralized platform.

• Also, the solution was required to enhance the admin users’ efficiency, and easy front-end management related to currency and language preference modifications.

Key Implemented Features

• Integration and deployment of multi-website for each brand.

• Multi-lingual website integration for each of the brand stores.

• Salesforce integration for ERP/CRM functionalities implementation.

• Warehouse management module integrated with Avalara Tax.

• Meta Pixel (Facebook Pixel) integrated to run and optimize ad campaigns.

• Dynamic GP ERP software integrated with the centralized admin panel to streamline inventory management.

Project Highlights

• Strategic brand positioning by implementing multi-brand stores with tailored functionalities, optimized marketing campaigns, and designs that resonate with the customers.

• Delivered unified platform experience as per the business requirements.

• Every brand was empowered with efficient store management features and flexibility.

• Global market outreach was increased via multiple languages, currencies, and location-based product offerings.

Result

The client experienced a sharp spike in market outreach and revenue generation within the first month since launching a Magento 2 multi-brand store management feature.

Find out what we did: Explore the full case study here!

Why You Need Top Magento Specialists to Get It Done?

Expertise and experience matter when it comes to simplifying complex eCommerce development projects. As the products, stores under the same umbrella, and locations increase, suddenly a lot of complexities come into consideration to deliver a flawless Magento 2 multistore development project.

This is why we recommend you to contact or hire Magento eCommerce developers from us with flexible engagement models. They will understand and propose a solution that will meet all your tailored business needs and guide you to grow further in your business.

Tips from Our Magento Team: Checklist for Owners

Magento 2 multistore development project needs to involve some inevitable considerations for the owners. Find the listed below:

Crystal clear and strategic planning: Outline your business structure, be it management of multiple brands, product range, or target markets, and define ways to present it digitally.

Select a trusted hosting solution provider: Look out for a hosting provider with enough resources to build and manage multiple stores. A quick tip would be to opt for dedicated hosting.

Domain Configuration: Ensure proper configuration is done for each of the stores to present them distinctively or as individual brands as per your business structure.

Centralized Database: Confirm to create a unified and shared database that centralizes the handling of data across all stores with access to user and product information.

Design Consistency: Brand consistency directly depends on maintaining design consistency. A chosen theme with minor product-specific theme modifications ensuring coherency in design would be good.

Shared Checkout: Provide flexibility and power to your end users when they shop from any of your stores but let them finish off the purchase via a shared checkout.

Custom Payment Configuration: Gain trust and loyalty by configuring individual payments for every store. This must align with the targeted user group and location with multi-currency support and pricing rules.

Store-Specific SEO Optimization: Individual stores will require a unique SEO strategy. Optimize the content, design, keywords, and Meta details to target specific consumers and increase visibility by doing so.

Have a Project to Configure Multistores in Magento?

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