Bo+Tee International Expansion

Building an international store for growth

Localised commissioned me to to develop a bespoke Shopify storefront to support Bo+Tee's international expansion across APAC and additional global markets.

As the sole Shopify developer on the project, I was responsible for designing and building the custom storefront experience across multiple international markets, while working closely with the wider delivery team. Alongside implementation, I influenced frontend architecture and technical decisions, helping establish scalable approaches to theme development, localisation and reusable Shopify components for the wider team.

The project focused on creating a modern, maintainable Shopify storefront that could accommodate localisation, market-specific content, external product systems and future growth without duplicating theme code across regions.

The Challenge

Launching a fashion brand internationally involves much more than translating text.

Each market required different product information, sizing, content, shipping information and localisation while maintaining a consistent customer experience and a single, maintainable Shopify codebase.

The storefront also needed to integrate with external product information systems and provide internal teams with flexible content management tools rather than relying on hardcoded theme content.

The store's content was translated into a range of languages including Japanese, Chinese, Thai, South Korean, and Taiwanese

My Role

As the sole frontend Shopify developer on the project, I was responsible for the technical implementation of the entire storefront. From initial architecture through to launch, I designed and developed the theme, established the frontend approach, and delivered every customer-facing feature across the site.

Working closely with stakeholders, I translated requirements into a scalable Shopify solution that could support multiple international markets while remaining maintainable for future development. 

The storefront was built using a modern frontend workflow, creating a fast and maintainable development environment.

A dynamic megamenu navigation to evolve as collections and content evolve

Multi-Market Localisation

The storefront was designed from the ground up to support international markets without requiring separate themes.

Using Shopify Markets together with native localisation features, the build supported region-specific content while sharing a common codebase.

Features included:

• Market-aware storefront behaviour

• Localised product information

• Dynamic shipping messaging

• Localised navigation

• Region-specific product content

• Translation-ready architecture

• Integration planning for Shopify Translate & Adapt

Flexible Product Content

Rather than hardcoding information directly into templates, reusable content systems were created using Shopify metafields and metaobjects.

This allowed merchandising teams to manage structured content independently across multiple markets.

Examples included:

• Product specifications

• Care instructions

• Model information

• Delivery messaging

• Product highlights

• Market-specific content blocks

The result was a much more scalable content management experience for internal teams.

Localised Collection Filtering

One of the more complex challenges was delivering a consistent collection filtering experience across multiple international markets while supporting translated storefront content.

Rather than relying on a static implementation, I developed a bespoke filtering solution that dynamically surfaced translated filter labels based on the customer's active market and language. The implementation worked alongside Shopify's native localisation capabilities, ensuring that customers browsing in markets such as Japan could interact with filters presented in their local language while preserving the underlying product data and filter logic.

The solution was designed to scale as additional markets and translations were introduced, reducing ongoing maintenance and avoiding the need for duplicated templates or market-specific implementations. By separating presentation from the underlying filter data, the storefront maintained a single, reusable codebase while delivering a fully localised browsing experience across international markets.

This approach improved usability for international customers, simplified translation workflows for content teams, and provided a robust foundation for future market expansion without requiring significant redevelopment.

 

Dynamic Size Guide System

One of the bespoke storefront components was a flexible sizing experience designed for international customers.

The system supported dynamic size guide content alongside unit conversion, allowing shoppers to easily switch between centimetres and inches while remaining within the product page.

This approach improved usability across international markets without maintaining separate templates for different regions.

 

Bespoke Product Experience

Several custom components were developed to improve the shopping experience beyond Shopify's standard functionality.

These included:

• Bespoke product variant picker

• Dynamic product page rendering

• Custom cart drawer

• Quick Buy functionality

• Predictive search

• Recently viewed products

• Collection page enhancements

• Responsive mobile interactions

Each component was built specifically for the Bo+Tee storefront rather than relying on third-party applications.

 

Product Data Integration

The storefront architecture supported structured product information from external PIM systems.

Custom frontend logic was developed to surface product data dynamically throughout the customer journey, including:

• Product attributes

• Country of origin

• HS codes

• GTIN information

• Regional shipping information

• Localised product data

This created a flexible foundation capable of supporting future catalogue growth across multiple international markets.

Bespoke Predictive Search

To improve product discovery and reduce the time customers spent navigating large collections, I developed a bespoke predictive search experience tailored to the Bo+Tee storefront. Rather than relying on Shopify's default search interface, the component provided a fast, responsive dropdown that surfaced relevant products as customers typed, helping them reach the products they were looking for with fewer interactions.

The search dropdown was designed to integrate seamlessly with the storefront's visual identity while remaining performant across desktop and mobile devices. Results were presented dynamically, with product imagery, titles and pricing displayed in a clean, intuitive layout that encouraged exploration without interrupting the browsing experience. The component formed an important part of the overall customer journey, providing a polished, high-performance search experience that complemented the bespoke nature of the rest of the storefront.

Results

The finished Shopify Plus storefront provided Bo+Tee with a scalable platform capable of supporting international growth through a single, maintainable codebase.

By combining custom frontend development with Shopify's native market capabilities, structured content architecture and reusable product systems, the project delivered a foundation that could evolve alongside the brand's continued expansion into new territories.