How John Cotton scaled their DTC ambitions

Powering multi-brand growth for John Cotton

John Cotton, the UK's largest bedding manufacturer and parent company of brands like Snuggledown, Slumberdown and EarthKind, was ready to shift from third-party retail to a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model. They needed a scalable and flexible solution to manage multiple band sites, improve control over the customer experience and reduce reliance on external platforms.

The challenge

John Cotton has been redefining fabrics and fibres since 1916. As the UK’s largest manufacturer of pillows, duvets, and protectors, they’re also the group behind household names such as Snuggledown, Slumberdown, and EarthKind.

Historically, the business had sold through third-party retailers like Amazon and John Lewis. But the team was ready for change – they wanted to take control of the customer experience with their own direct-to-consumer (DTC) sites.

They needed a solution that could support multiple brands and websites, offer more flexibility for site management, and scale with the business.

Our approach

We jumped straight in with a clear game plan – get John Cotton set up on Shopify and give them the tools to control their online presence without constant developer support. Here’s how we did it:

Creating the blueprint with Snuggledown

We started with Snuggledown – the first brand to launch as DTC. Through UX workshops, persona mapping, and a design-led approach, we delivered a clean, conversion-focused experience tailored to their audience. This first build gave us a solid framework: a robust, intuitive Shopify setup that would become the foundation for everything that followed.

Scaling across Slumberdown and Earthkind

From there, we extended the same structure to Slumberdown and Earthkind – adapting branding, content, and customer journeys to reflect each brand’s identity.

By reskinning the original site, we were able to launch both new sites at pace, giving each brand its own space to grow, without compromising on functionality or design.

Built to scale, built to last

The different sites run from a single, central codebase – making future updates faster, simpler, and more cost-effective.

Whether launching a new feature, updating a collection, or expanding into new markets, the platform now flexes effortlessly to meet the team’s needs.

Mobile Phone screenshot of John Cotton's homepage

The results

The proof is in the impact. With Shopify powering John Cotton’s DTC journey, the business is set for serious growth. Here’s what we delivered:

Three fully-functioning sites – Three distinct brands, each with their own identity, but all running on the same smart platform.
One codebase, limitless potential – Any new feature or update applied to one brand rolls out across all of them, saving time and resources.
Full control of the customer experience – No more relying on third-party platforms; John Cotton now owns their customer relationships from start to finish.

With a robust Shopify setup, John Cotton Group is primed to scale – whether adding more brands or evolving existing ones. This is just the start of their DTC journey, and we’ll continue to work alongside them to support their growth, innovation, and success.