Rugs Original was already trading online — but on Magento 2, a platform that had grown heavy, expensive to maintain, and difficult to optimise for modern search. They had the product, the suppliers, and the demand. What they didn't have was a foundation built to scale.
After analysing the existing store, the verdict was clear: the platform itself was capping growth. Slow load times, clunky admin, and limited SEO flexibility were quietly costing sales every month.
The decision: replatform to Shopify with a fully custom theme — then go aggressive on search.
The South African home décor and rug market had strong online demand but few well-optimised competitors. Most established players were on heavy, slow platforms with weak search foundations — exactly the position Rugs Original was leaving behind.
Our SEO audit identified high-volume, low-competition keywords no SA store was targeting effectively. A clean Shopify rebuild plus an aggressive SEO and GEO (AI search) strategy was a clear path to dominating the category.
The platform move would deliver the speed. The search strategy would deliver the growth.
"Lucci's refresh blew us away. They put in the hours — the all-nighters — to get us off Magento and onto a store that actually performs. And they keep refining it."