Industry
Delicatessen
Challenge
Market share for the existing xt:Commerce online store system is declining, and active development has ceased. As a result, Nik the Greek no longer felt adequately equipped to meet the demands of a dynamic market. To ensure competitiveness and customer loyalty through active product development, a low-risk platform migration with consistent data integration and process automation was necessary.
Results
The migration to Shopware 6 was completed with a planned downtime of just four hours. Using the Blackbit Shopware-Pimcore Connector, a fully automated data flow was established between the shop, PIM, and ERP. The new platform delivered impressive results, including improved performance, lower operating costs, optimized visibility for search engines and AI applications, and a stable, future-proof foundation for further growth.
Key Product
Pimcore-Development, Blackbit Shopware-Pimcore Connector, Integration with third-party systems
“Our online store is a key sales channel for us. With the new platform, we now benefit from more stable processes, automated data flows, and significantly greater transparency in our digital sales processes. This gives us the opportunity to further develop our online business in a targeted manner.”
About Nik the Greek
Nik the Greek GmbH is a family-run delicatessen company with over
40 years of experience in importing and direct sales of Mediterranean specialties. Its online store serves more than 30,000 customers in Germany and internationally and is one of the most trusted providers in the delicatessen sector.
The Challenge
For Nik the Greek GmbH, the technically outdated xt:Commerce system was increasingly becoming an obstacle to further growth. While daily business operations were supported by a PIM system based on Pimcore, interfaces with the AFS-Manager inventory management system, and reliable system support, Managing Director Evangelos Nikolaou felt his online store was not equipped to meet the future demands of the dynamic market. To maintain customer loyalty through active further development of the shop platform and strengthen the company’s market position, a strategic modernization with maximum reliability and complete data integration was necessary.
The Solution
After a thorough review, Nik the Greek decided to migrate to Shopware 6, with the support of Blackbit digital Commerce’s expertise.
The Blackbit Shopware-Pimcore Connector
The Blackbit Shopware-Pimcore Connector enabled the seamless integration of Shopware 6, Pimcore PIM, and the existing ERP system. As a result, all product data, categories, inventory levels, and prices were synchronized fully automatically. The implementation was designed to be update-resistant and reduced maintenance efforts.
Performance & Maintainability
Shopware 6 comes with built-in HTTP caching, Elasticsearch product search, and an optimized rendering pipeline—all of which are essential for better Core Web Vitals and faster load times. Hosting is provided on the Blackbit Kubernetes stack (DevOps-as-a-Service): elastically scalable, highly available, and actively maintained. This completely eliminates complex deployment processes for the internal team.
SEO & GEO – Visibility for Search Engines and AI Systems
Shopware 6’s clean URL structure, Schema.org markup (Product, BreadcrumbList), and optimized page structure form a solid foundation for SEO. The strategically decisive advantage lies deeper: Pimcore as the single source of truth for all product data means consistent, fully attributed, and machine-readable content—ideal for AI response systems such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.
Companies that maintain their product data in a structured and comprehensive manner within a PIM significantly increase their chances of AI visibility (Generative Engine Optimization, GEO)—a competitive advantage that the market is only just beginning to understand.
The proven design was migrated 1:1: everything remained familiar to customers. Behind the scenes, a technically up-to-date, scalable foundation was created.
Discoverability, Trust & Legal Compliance
A powerful search engine has been integrated via DooFinder, guiding customers quickly to the right product even among nearly 7,000 items. Trusted Shops displays over 19,000 customer reviews as a sign of trust. Cookie consent via Usercentrics and GDPR-compliant data protection measures ensure legal compliance. Basic accessibility measures make the shop accessible to a broader audience.
Mobile & Conversion
A native mobile app was integrated via Shopgate—the store is now available on all relevant touchpoints. Targeted upselling strategies are implemented on product detail pages: accessories, similar products, and frequently purchased items are displayed contextually. Dynamic shipping information directly on the product page helps reduce shopping cart abandonment.
The Results
The migration was completed with just four hours of downtime and without any risk to customer retention. A total of 30,000 customers and 6,954 products were successfully migrated. Since then, the fully automated data flow between the online store, PIM, and ERP system has ensured efficient and consistent processes. The new platform delivers better performance, lower operating costs, and improved visibility in search engines and AI systems. Over 19,000 positive Trusted Shops reviews underscore customers’ trust in Nik the Greek’s digital expertise. The modern infrastructure now provides a solid foundation for sustainable growth and further innovation.
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