9
Sites Launched
Headless/Composable Commerce for 9 K2 Brands
K2 Sports was being forced off a dying Demandware stack, but they still wanted each brand to feel distinct while finance & operations wanted one manageable engine underneath everything. I led the program and solution architecture that turned that mess into a headless multi-brand model, with BigCommerce powering commerce, WordPress and Contentstack powering the front end, and Avante plus Quivers staying the source of truth.
At-a-Glance
One Engine, Many Brands
This was a forced replatform, but it became something much more valuable. I turned a brittle migration problem into a reusable headless commerce pattern that let nine K2 brands share one backend engine while still preserving brand-specific front ends, regional logic, and business-user control.
75%
Faster Site Creation
90%
Faster Publishing
2
Custom Integrations
Problem Statement
Forced Migration, No Plan
Demandware was sunsetting, reconciliation across systems was too manual, and nobody had a clean answer for how Quivers, Avante, payments, CMS, SEO, and nine storefronts were supposed to work together in SaaS. Marketing wanted every brand to keep its own look and feel. Finance and operations wanted one reliable engine under everything. The business needed a model that could move at speedboat speed without turning headless commerce into an engineering science project.
Client
K2 Sports
Industry
Sporting Goods • Multi-Brand Commerce • Headless
Timeline
2020
Tools Used
BigCommerce
Contentstack
WordPress
Quivers
“
“The challenge wasn't just replacing Demandware. It was making 9 storefronts, multiple systems, and business users all work together in one system.”
Nicole Phillips
Director of eCommerce, K2
My Role
Program Manager & Solution Architect
I owned the multi-brand architecture, integration strategy, program execution, and the political work required to get 9 storefronts moving on one clean model. I was the architecture lead, the traffic cop, the SEO & cutover risk manager, and the one person pulling the right people together to make the hard calls.
Headless CommerceProgram LeadershipMulti-Brand ArchitectureIntegration Strategy
9
brand sites
$1.5M
program budget
4
team size
1
shared engine
I Made Headless Commerce Work for Business Users
K2 didn’t need another platform swap. It needed a multi-store, multi-brand ecosystem built from scratch that could serve marketing, finance, and operations without forcing BigCommerce to do an ERP’s job.
I turned 9 stores into one manageable system, pushed our partnership team to approve a custom Quivers and Avante integration with BigCommerce, and solved the DNS and SEO problem so the front end stayed clean without sacrificing search equity.
1
Built the unified API and proxy pattern behind a 9-store, multi-brand headless ecosystem.
2
Protected Avante & Quivers as system-of-record layers instead of letting the commerce platform absorb the wrong responsibilities.
3
Solved DNS, 301, and SEO continuity so the migration didn't destroy organic traffic or brand coherence.
This is one of my clearest examples of building bleeding-edge architecture while still making it operable for marketing, finance, and operations.
Solution
Headless, But Actually Operable
I designed a model where one commerce backend powered multiple brand experiences. BigCommerce ran commerce. WordPress and Contentstack ran the front end. Avante and Quivers stayed the source of truth.
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This Was a Headless Multi-Store Monolith in Disguise
This wasn’t a simple headless commerce build. It was a multi-store system made to feel like one clean brand experience. The challenge was keeping the architecture disciplined enough for finance and operations while still giving each brand room to feel distinct.
I could see the full picture across APIs, storefronts, source systems, business users, and migration risk, then make the tradeoffs hold. That’s what kept the solution together and made it reusable for other multi-brand clients.
1
The architecture let 9 brands behave like one manageable system without looking like one generic front end.
2
The solutioning pattern became a downstream reference for future BigCommerce multi-brand work.
The win was bigger than a migration. It was turning a forced move into a reusable architecture the business could actually live with.
Impact
Speed, Scale, Lower TCO
We gave K2 a cleaner operating model, faster storefront creation, faster content velocity, and less dependence on engineering.
Launch Speed
Business Control
Lower TCO
Launch Speed
Business Control
Lower TCO
Launch Speed
Business Control
Lower TCO
9
Sites Launched
75%
Faster Site Creation
90%
Faster Publishing
2
Custom BC Integrations
Before & After
K2 moved from a brittle multi-brand migration problem with too much manual reconciliation to a manageable headless commerce model.
Before
Fragile Model
- Demandware was dying + K2 had no clean multi-brand SaaS plan.
- Reconciliation across systems was too manual & noisy.
- Marketing flexibility & operations were pulling in opposite directions.
After
Reusable + Operable
- 9 sites launched in under 9 months on one reusable headless pattern.
- Site publishing accelerated by 90%.
- K2 gained more control w/o engineering bottlenecks.
1
Designed One Engine
I built the architecture pattern that let 9 storefronts share one backend commerce model instead of fragmenting into separate implementation projects.
2
Kept the Truth in the Right Place
I made sure Avante & Quivers remained the source of truth so the business could scale without breaking data discipline or inventing fake system ownership.
3
Made It Work at Speed
I pulled the right people together to deliver two custom, platform-wide BigCommerce integrations and a headless experience layer that could move fast without collapsing into chaos.
Implementation
Delivery Phases
How I Made the Portfolio Manageable
The program had to move fast across platform scoping, storefront migration, and launch.
Phase 01
Diagnose
Mapped gaps across Demandware, reconciliation pain, source-system ownership.
Phase 02
Architect
Defined the shared engine, centralized API, proxy, and source-of-truth model.
Phase 03
Protect
Solved the DNS, SEO, and routing risks so the migration wouldn't destroy traffic.
Phase 04
Launch
Rolled the architecture across 9 storefronts while keeping system truth stable.
Phase 05
Scale
Left behind a reusable multi-brand pattern that K2 and BC applied to future work.
Phase 01
Diagnose
Mapped gaps across Demandware, reconciliation pain, source-system ownership.
Phase 02
Architect
Defined the shared engine, centralized API, proxy, and source-of-truth model.
Phase 03
Protect
Solved the DNS, SEO, and routing risks so the migration wouldn't destroy traffic.
Phase 04
Launch
Rolled the architecture across 9 storefronts while keeping system truth stable.
Phase 05
Scale
Left behind a reusable multi-brand pattern that K2 and BC applied to future work.
Phase 01
Diagnose
Mapped gaps across Demandware, reconciliation pain, source-system ownership.
Phase 02
Architect
Defined the shared engine, centralized API, proxy, and source-of-truth model.
Phase 03
Protect
Solved the DNS, SEO, and routing risks so the migration wouldn't destroy traffic.
Phase 04
Launch
Rolled the architecture across 9 storefronts while keeping system truth stable.
Phase 05
Scale
Left behind a reusable multi-brand pattern that K2 and BC applied to future work.
“
“What Jim built was bigger than a migration. He created one clean engine behind nine brands, cut the noise between systems, and made the whole portfolio more manageable.”
Nicole Phillips
Director of eCommerce, K2
Recognition
Press & Accolades
The proof is simple: the pattern held up, BigCommerce reused it, and it kept showing up publicly as a model for multi-brand headless commerce.
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