Lids, a global billion-dollar leader in athletic apparel, provides shoppers with opportunities to express themselves, whether by representing their favorite team or styling a custom hat. The company operates a complex ecosystem spanning eight commerce websites across five distinct brands, with over 1,200 retail locations worldwide, offering everything from team merchandise to personalized headwear.
In 2022, Lids needed more than a development agency—they required a strategic partner who could navigate Shopify's enterprise tools and bridge their digital and physical retail experiences. After careful consideration, they partnered with Arctic Grey to onboard their brands to Shopify and create seamless connections between online shopping and in-store experiences. The partnership flourished, and as of 2025, Arctic Grey continues to act as an extension of the Lids team.
Since partnering with Arctic Grey and implementing Shopify, Lids has achieved remarkable results across their portfolio:
- 120% increase in conversion rate for CustomLids.com
- 119% increase in total orders for CustomLids.com
- 34% increase in total sales in six months for Ebbets Field Flannels
- 46% increase in average order volume for LidsHD.com
- 33% increase in active subscribers for Lids Access Pass
The challenge: Managing a complex multi-brand ecosystem
Operating eight websites for five unique brands presented enormous challenges for Lids. Each brand maintained its own identity, customer base, and business goals, requiring tailored solutions and constant attention. The Lids ecommerce team needed a partner who could handle this complexity while helping them focus on innovation and growth.
My main goal was to find a partner who would collaborate with us on all the development work for our websites, not just execute tasks but also help us build our sites.
Each brand faced distinct challenges. CustomLids.com struggled with an outdated product customizer that actively hindered sales—customers couldn't save designs, use templates, or even get accurate previews of their final products. Ebbets Field Flannels needed to migrate to a modern, mobile-first platform without losing its authentic, vintage aesthetic while elegantly managing complex inventory distinctions between ready-to-ship and made-to-order products.
LidsHD.com, operating as a "drop site," required exceptional reliability with weekly (sometimes daily) content refreshes before each product release. Meanwhile, Lids Access Pass faced the daunting task of migrating over 1.2 million customers from a cumbersome legacy system that couldn't efficiently manage loyalty across multiple channels.
These diverse challenges demanded a unified approach that could maintain brand individuality while creating operational cohesion—a perfect case for Shopify's flexibility combined with expert implementation.
The solution: Tailored digital experiences with enterprise-ready capabilities
Arctic Grey approached each brand's unique needs with custom solutions while maintaining a consistent Shopify foundation. For CustomLids.com, they completely rebuilt the product customizer on a Shopify 2.0 theme, creating a powerful application that transformed the customer design experience. Users can now save designs for up to a year, use pre-set templates, and view realistic previews of fonts and thread colors from a fast, mobile-friendly interface.
"Probably my favorite thing about working with Arctic Grey... is their flexibility," says Jen. "With five businesses, we could be doing something different for each one any day. They have been amazing at adapting to our needs. They also offer valuable suggestions for improving our business. Despite the chaos, they are always on board and able to help us in all the ways we need."
A key innovation was unifying Lids' digital and physical commerce channels through Shopify's extensible platform. The "Lids Lab Customizer,” developed in collaboration with Lids' production and ecommerce teams on Shopify’s extensible platform, powers not only the online experience but also self-serve kiosks across all physical Custom Lids locations worldwide—effectively bridging online and in-store customization.
For Ebbets Field Flannels, Arctic Grey crafted a custom user experience honoring the brand's rich heritage while embracing modern technology. They optimized the theme, integrated AI-powered product suggestions, and implemented intelligent navigation and filtering that blended strong branding with superior user experience.
LidsHD.com received on-call site management with Arctic Grey acting as a true extension of the Lids team, ensuring immediate assistance for urgent issues and handling the seamless execution of frequent updates before each product drop. For Lids Access Pass, they migrated the loyalty program to Shopify using Ordergroove for subscriptions and custom APIs to synchronize loyalty statuses across all connected storefronts and physical locations.
Behind all these solutions, Arctic Grey ensured meticulous synchronization between Lids' enterprise resource planning (ERP) and warehouse management system (WMS), even syncing inventory across multiple separate online storefronts in real-time—showcasing their comprehensive approach to creating a truly unified commerce ecosystem on Shopify.
The results: Multiple growth areas across multiple brands
Arctic Grey hasn't just improved Lids' websites—they've transformed how the entire retail empire operates. CustomLids.com experienced a 120% increase in conversion rate and a 119% increase in total orders. For Ebbets Field Flannels, strategic updates led to a 34% increase in total sales within six months and a 24% lift in conversion rate. Meanwhile, LidsHD.com saw a 36% increase in gross sales, a 46% increase in average order volume, and a 23% increase in conversion rate. To cap it off, Lids Access Pass has enjoyed a 33% increase in active subscribers.
Working with Shopify has truly empowered us at Arctic Grey to deliver real, impactful solutions for clients like Lids. We've brought together eight of their websites across five distinct brands, creating a unified system that's cohesive overall but still honors each brand's unique vibe.
The transformation extends beyond metrics to fundamentally change how customers interact with Lids. The hat customizer rebuilt on Shopify now powers both the website and self-serve kiosks in every physical Custom Lids store worldwide, creating a seamless connection between online shopping and the brand's 1,200+ retail locations.
With all eight online stores now orchestrated on Shopify and more on the horizon, Lids is positioned for continued growth in a competitive market. The partnership has created a foundation for omnichannel excellence that balances innovation with the brand's commitment to self-expression and authentic fan culture—ensuring Lids remains the premier destination for headwear enthusiasts worldwide.