Canadian retailers face mounting pressures from economic uncertainty, changing consumer behaviors, and the ongoing need for digital transformation. However, one iconic brand stands out, demonstrating how a brand can achieve success in this environment through a comprehensive omnichannel retail strategy.

Roots Corporation, also known as Roots Canada, is a beloved Canadian lifestyle brand known for its heritage and quality craftsmanship. Over the past few years, it has emerged as a compelling case study in how traditional retailers can successfully navigate the complex landscape of modern retail through strategic omnichannel implementation.

Recently, the brand recorded its third consecutive quarter of year-over-year sales growth, growing sales by 6.7% in Q1 2025 and reaching 40 million Canadian dollars.

Here, we’ll explore how Roots navigated through some challenging times to achieve omnichannel success.

The Foundation of Roots' Digital Resurgence

Naturally, the brand’s current state is the result of several strategies working in tandem. The most important of those strategies are the brand’s leadership and technology transformations, as well as its store support and resource allocation strategy.

Strategic Transformation Under Expert Leadership

The cornerstone of Roots' omnichannel success can be traced to strategic leadership changes that began in late 2023. The appointment of Leslie Golts as Chief Marketing Officer marked a pivotal moment in the company's digital transformation journey.

Golts brought over 15 years of marketing and communications leadership experience from iconic global beauty brands including Unilever Canada and L'Oréal Canada. She represented exactly the type of expertise needed to guide a heritage brand through modern retail challenges45.

"She is a talented leader that will play a critical role in advancing the company's marketing initiatives,” said Meghan Roach, President & Chief Executive Officer.

Golts' has a background in developing and executing celebrated global campaigns, including work on the Dove beauty brand. These experiences provided her with the skills necessary to create compelling brand narratives that resonate across multiple touchpoints.

This expertise has proven invaluable as Roots works to reinforce its market position while expanding its digital footprint.

Technology Infrastructure as the Backbone

Roots' omnichannel success is also built upon a robust technological foundation.

The company's partnership with NewStore allowed it to implement a sophisticated order management and store fulfillment system. It uses proprietary routing logic to allocate order requests across brick-and-mortar locations and distribution centers.

This allows Roots to improve customer service levels while managing shipping costs by directing orders to the most appropriate fulfillment location.

"Roots’ store associates now have the tools they need to create amazing shopping experiences anytime, anywhere,” said NewStore founder and CEO Stephan Schambach in a news article.

The integration capabilities of this platform are particularly noteworthy, as it seamlessly connects with Roots' existing Salesforce systems and MuleSoft/Azure middleware. This enables the company to maintain operational efficiency while supporting advanced omnichannel capabilities such as "buy online, return in-store” (BORIS), which drives foot traffic while improving customer convenience.

Resource Optimization and Store Prioritization

Roots' strategy also features a sophisticated approach to resource allocation that prioritizes high-potential locations while eliminating underperforming assets, which sometimes involves closing stores. Although store closures are never pleasant, this disciplined strategy allows the company to focus its resources on locations that demonstrate strong brand resonance, customer engagement, and long-term profitability potential.

"These investments are guided by data-driven insights and a clear focus on financial returns,” said a Roots spokesperson on a June 2025 earnings call. "At the same time, we are maintaining financial flexibility to ensure we can respond quickly to evolving market conditions and opportunities.”

This strategy aligns with broader retail trends. For example, successful omnichannel retailers often optimize their physical footprint to support the overall customer experience rather than maintaining locations purely for coverage.

The company has also invested significantly in new store designs that include refreshed merchandising layouts, digital screens, and flexible fixtures. These investments allow for regular changes to highlight seasonal stories.

The "Thoughtful Gifters" Campaign

Roots' 2024 holiday campaign, "Anything Roots, Everything Holidays," represents a masterclass in consumer-centric omnichannel marketing. Here’s what makes it so brilliant.

Consumer Psychology and the Canadian Spirit

The campaign was built upon Canada Post's research showing that 52% of Canadian shoppers identify as "thoughtful gifters," according to an article by Strategy. These are consumers who believe in the power of thoughtful gestures over lavish spending.

Instead of focusing on technology or flair, Roots tapped into insights about their customer base and created a campaign that spoke to them. The overarching message of the campaign was, "anyone can count on Roots for thoughtful gift-giving.”

"This year’s campaign takes that connection to the next level, drawing inspiration from universally Canadian, nostalgic moments,” said Golts at the time. "Designed to feel like a holiday card, each scene represents a familiar, heartfelt experience that brings people together.”

Multi-Channel Execution and Experiential Integration

The campaign's execution involved sophisticated omnichannel coordination across multiple touchpoints. The strategy included out-of-home (OOH) activations across major Canadian cities including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Ottawa. It also featured strategic presences in key malls such as Toronto Eaton Centre, Sherway Gardens, Rideau Centre, Chinook Centre, and Pacific Centre, the Strategy article said.

Digital partnerships with Amazon Prime, Netflix Canada, and Rogers TV expanded the campaign's reach, while social media engagement across Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram), Pinterest, and TikTok ensured comprehensive digital coverage.

The multi-platform campaign was a perfect demonstration of how brands must orchestrate touchpoints to create cohesive and truly omnichannel brand experiences.

The Power of Experiential Retail

The campaign's culmination in the "Anything Roots Post Pop-Up" experience at The Well in Toronto represents the evolution of experiential retail within omnichannel strategies. This immersive greeting card experience allowed customers to write personalized holiday greeting cards that Roots would mail free of charge.

"Taking the time to handwrite a holiday card goes beyond the words written—it’s a heartfelt gesture that shows the recipient they’re truly valued and cherished,” said Leslie Golts. "It’s a meaningful act that’s sometimes forgotten in our increasingly digital world.”

This activation successfully bridged the brand’s digital and physical experiences. More importantly, it succeeded in creating meaningful brand interactions that extended beyond traditional retail transactions.

Key Success Factors for Your Omnichannel Retail Strategy

Retail and eCommerce brands can learn a lot from Roots’ example. The brand’s success illustrates that effective omnichannel strategies require excellence in multiple areas, such as customer-centricity, data integration, and agility.

Customer-Centricity and Brand Narrative

Brands must prioritize customer needs and preferences above technological capabilities. Roots focused on creating compelling brand narratives that resonate across multiple touchpoints. This reflects an understanding that modern consumers expect consistent, meaningful interactions regardless of channel.

This also aligns with research by Oracle and NetSuite showing that 66% of consumers prefer hybrid shopping experiences that combine online and in-store elements.

Data Integration and Intelligence

The company's investment in unified data infrastructure through its NewStore platform demonstrates the critical importance of breaking down data silos in omnichannel retail. By creating a single source of truth for all retail data, Roots can make more informed decisions about inventory allocation, customer service, and marketing effectiveness.

The implementation of a unified commerce architecture is now a broader trend in the retail industry as well. Many organizations are choosing systems that eliminate fragmentation between front-end customer experiences and back-end operations.

According to a report by Shopify, retailers can see up a 22% reduction in total cost of ownership with this type of architecture compared to "traditional retail solutions.”

Agility and Continuous Optimization

Finally, Roots’ ability to respond dynamically to market conditions is notable for its focus on making the best use of available resources. This is evidenced by its strategic store closures and data-driven resource reallocation strategy.

Although store closures are often viewed in a negative sense, Roots’ dedication to efficiency demonstrates the importance of agility in omnichannel retail. The company regularly reviewed store performance and made data-driven improvements, which reflects best practices in omnichannel management.

Conclusion: A Blueprint for Omnichannel Excellence

Roots Corporation's omnichannel transformation provides a practical blueprint for others. It demonstrates how heritage brands can successfully navigate digital transformation while maintaining their authentic identity.

As the retail industry continues its digital evolution, Canadian brands must successfully compete on the global stage through thoughtful omnichannel strategies that honor their heritage while embracing innovation.

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To learn more about how your brand can improve its omnichannel strategy, don’t miss eTail Tornoto 2025. It’s happening from October 7^th through 9^th at Hyatt Regency Toronto.

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