Industry: Footwear & Fashion Retail | Company Size: 5,000+ employees | Headquarters: Italy
Challenge: Manual catalog production across 40+ markets | Solution: Pagination Cloud for automated catalog generation
The Challenge: Managing Product Catalogs Across 40+ Markets
A leading Italian footwear company with global presence faced a critical bottleneck in their go-to-market strategy: producing seasonal catalogs for over 40 countries was consuming months of work and causing costly delays.
Pain Points Before Automation
The company’s marketing and product teams struggled with:
- 6-8 weeks to produce a single catalog manually
- 12 language versions (Italian, English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Dutch)
- 5,000+ SKUs per season, each with multiple colorways and sizes
- Frequent price updates for different markets and currencies
- Inconsistent product data between ERP, PIM, and design files
- Last-minute changes requiring complete page redesigns
- Staffing bottlenecks — when key designers left, catalog knowledge walked out the door
“We were spending more time fixing errors than designing catalogs. Every season was a scramble to meet deadlines, and quality suffered.”
— Marketing Director, Global Footwear Brand
The Solution: Data-Driven Catalog Automation
After evaluating multiple solutions including EasyCatalog and manual InDesign workflows, the company chose Pagination for its ability to handle complex multilingual requirements while maintaining brand-quality design.
Implementation Highlights
| Phase | Duration | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery & Data Mapping | 2 weeks | ERP/PIM integration specs |
| Template Development | 3 weeks | 4 master layouts (lookbook, wholesale, retail, line sheet) |
| Pilot Catalog | 2 weeks | Italian + English B2B catalog |
| Full Rollout | 4 weeks | 12 languages, all product categories |
Technical Integration
Data Sources:
- SAP ERP (pricing, availability, SKUs)
- Salsify PIM (descriptions, attributes, translations)
- DAM (product photography, lifestyle images)
- Excel overrides (regional promotions, market-specific notes)
Output Formats:
- Print-ready PDF (CMYK, bleed, crop marks)
- Web-optimized PDF (RGB, hyperlinks, bookmarks)
- Interactive flipbook (embedded in B2B portal)
- Line sheets (wholesale buyers)
The Results: From 6 Weeks to 6 Hours
Quantified Impact After 12 Months
| Metric | Before | After | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalog production time | 6-8 weeks | 6-8 hours | 98% faster |
| Languages supported | 4 | 12 | 3x coverage |
| Price update turnaround | 3-5 days | Same day | Instant |
| Design team hours/catalog | 320 hours | 24 hours | 92% reduction |
| Error rate (pricing, SKUs) | 2-3% | <0.1% | Near zero |
| Cost per catalog | €15,000 | €1,200 | 92% savings |
Operational Benefits
1. Faster Time-to-Market
Seasonal catalogs now launch simultaneously across all 40+ markets, giving the sales team a competitive edge.
2. Single Source of Truth
Product data flows directly from SAP and PIM — no more copy-paste errors or outdated spreadsheets.
3. Design Flexibility Without Delays
Marketing can request last-minute changes (new products, price adjustments, regional promotions) without derailing the timeline.
4. Reduced Dependency on Key Personnel
The catalog process is now systematized. When team members change, the workflow continues seamlessly.
5. Consistent Brand Experience
Every market receives catalogs with identical quality standards — typography, image placement, and brand guidelines are locked into templates.
Why Pagination for Footwear & Fashion Catalogs
Industry-Specific Features Used
| Feature | Application |
|---|---|
| Size/Color Matrix Tables | Display all size-color combinations in structured grids |
| Lifestyle + Cut-out Image Mixing | Automatically alternate between lookbook and product shots |
| Season/Collection Filtering | Generate Spring/Summer or Fall/Winter catalogs from same data |
| Wholesale vs Retail Versions | Different layouts, pricing visibility, and content from one source |
| Barcode/QR Generation | EAN codes placed automatically on every product |
ROI Analysis: First Year Investment Return
| Investment | Cost |
|---|---|
| Pagination annual license | €36,000 |
| Template development | €12,000 |
| Integration consulting | €8,000 |
| Total Year 1 | €56,000 |
| Savings | Amount |
|---|---|
| Design team hours saved | €180,000 |
| Reduced outsourcing | €45,000 |
| Faster launches (sales impact) | €120,000+ |
| Error correction costs avoided | €15,000 |
| Total Year 1 Savings | €360,000+ |
ROI: 6.4x in first year
Key Takeaways for Footwear & Fashion Brands
- Don’t underestimate multilingual complexity — translation workflows are often the biggest time sink.
- Connect directly to your PIM/ERP — manual data exports create errors and delay.
- Build for flexibility — seasonal fashion requires fast turnaround on changes.
- Standardize layouts, not creativity — templates should enable design consistency while allowing collection-specific customization.
- Plan for scale — if you’re in 10 markets today, design for 40 tomorrow.
Start Your Catalog Automation Journey
If your footwear or fashion brand faces similar challenges, Pagination can help you:
- Reduce catalog production time by 90%+
- Support unlimited languages from a single data source
- Integrate with SAP, Salsify, Akeneo, and major PIM/ERP systems
- Maintain InDesign-quality output with automated workflows
👉 Download Clothing Catalog Template
👉 See More Fashion Industry Examples
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to implement Pagination for a footwear catalog?
Typical implementation for fashion/footwear brands takes 6-8 weeks from kickoff to first automated catalog. This includes data integration, template development, and team training.
Can Pagination handle size/color matrices and variant tables?
Yes. Pagination specializes in complex product data structures common in footwear and apparel. Size runs, colorways, and variant matrices are handled automatically with configurable table layouts.
What if we need different catalog versions for wholesale vs retail?
Pagination supports multiple output versions from the same data source. You can configure different layouts, pricing visibility, and content blocks for B2B vs B2C catalogs.
Does Pagination work with our existing PIM (Salsify, Akeneo, inRiver)?
Yes. Pagination integrates with major PIM systems via API or scheduled data exports. We also support direct ERP connections (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics).
Can we still use InDesign for final tweaks?
Absolutely. Pagination generates native InDesign files, so your design team can make manual adjustments when needed — though most clients find this unnecessary after template optimization.
Case study based on composite client data from Pagination’s footwear and fashion industry customers. Specific metrics represent typical results; individual outcomes may vary.
