Who we are
The Shopify Plus eCommerce agency with retail in its DNA
Our brand-side experience and empathy for the retailer are unparalleled in the Shopify Plus agency space. We work with brands like yours to accelerate your online sales on Shopify Plus, the world’s best eCommerce platform — but we are not your standard eCommerce agency.
After refining our process leading high visibility digital and design transformation projects to create websites millions use every day, we turned our focus to eCommerce - applying the same rigorous process and flawless execution. Our leadership and cross functional team have a wealth of in-house, retail expertise, after working brand side for leading Australian retailers.
The culmination of this experience, consolidated in our projects for leading retailers JB Hi-Fi, KOOKAÏ, Assembly Label and Lovisa, speak to our ability to profoundly impact the brands we partner with.
Our story
We are not just another technology provider; we understand the whole business challenge. We know retail has changed and continues to evolve—use our unique blend of proprietary technology, data-led decisions and design to take advantage of the shifting landscape. We nurture real partnerships, built on delivering consistent return on investment. In an industry where everything can be measured with data, we are able to deliver increased revenue and profit—without sacrificing customer experience or brand equity.
2020
The Working Party have launched more Shopify Plus sites in APAC than any other agency partner
2019
JB Hi-Fi launches on Shopify Plus
2018
Lovisa launches on Shopify Plus
2018
Assembly Label launches on Shopify Plus
2017
Saski Collection launches on Shopify Plus
2017
Medibank x The Working Party - Digital Transformation Project
2016
The Working Party are appointed 'Lead Experts' Shopify Plus Partner Program (first round globally)
2016
Youfoodz overhaul their customer experience, achieve phenomenal growth
2015
Transport for NSW x The Working Party - Digital Transformation Project
2015
Melbourne Office established
2014
KOOKAÏ launches first ever eCommerce on Shopify Plus
2014
Honey Birdette launches on Shopify Plus
2014
Westpac x The Working Party Digital Transformation Project
2014
ASIC x The Working Party - Digital Transformation Project
2012
The Working Party are appointed 'Official Shopify Experts' (first round globally)
2011
Sydney Office Established
2011
The Working Party is founded by Cal Wilson & Kelly Brown
2009
Cal Wilson launches first AU Shopify eCommerce store
2006
Cal Wilson develops first Shopify 'beta' store for Australia
Founders
Kelly Brown
Co-founder and COO/CFO
Kelly Brown, co-founder of The Working Party, is a design and customer experience-led entrepreneur and retail strategist.
With clients ranging from high-profile fashion labels KOOKAÏ and Assembly Label, to big retail brands JB Hi-Fi and Lovisa, The Working Party has built a portfolio in several verticals (fashion, food & beverage, and consumer electronics), across different retail modes, including omni-channel approaches as well as pure-play eCommerce.
Kelly has extensive experience in the fashion industry, having worked in-house for some of Australia's best-known fashion brands such as Herringbone, Temple & Webster, and Sass & Bide. Her wealth of knowledge spans across every facet of retail including buying, wholesale, international markets, PR and business operations.
After growing her portfolio as both a career professional and a freelancer, Kelly founded The Working Party with Cal Wilson. Together, they developed a hyper-focussed approach to eCommerce, becoming a key partner to Shopify—one of the world's largest online retail platforms. Kelly has honed her business insights, helping to take The Working Party from a startup, to an internationally recognised digital agency.
Kelly partners with retail clients to bring their vision online, with a particular focus on brand-building and cross-border commerce, as well as providing strategic advice around operations and growth for building sustainable businesses.
As an entrepreneur, Kelly is driven by the ongoing development of The Working Party, the growth of the team, and the calibre of their work.
Cal Wilson
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
Cal Wilson is a design and technology leader, and co-founder of The Working Party, one of the first Shopify Plus agencies in the world.
A specialist in digital transformation and customer experience, Cal works with brands and platforms to design, build and grow beautiful online retail environments ranging from high-profile fashion clients KOOKAÏ, Assembly Label and SIR, to big retail brands JB Hi-Fi and Lovisa and DTC brands MESHKI and Saski Collection.
Cal understands retail inside-out thanks to growing up in a family business focused on clothing retail and manufacturing. He developed as a creative professional through a strong freelance portfolio and sharpened his digital skills with transformation and design systems projects for Westpac, ASIC, Transport NSW and Medibank.
With a track record centred on service and customer experience, he has since leveraged his expertise for eCommerce, particularly Shopify Plus.
Attracted to the dynamic, human-centred design that eCommerce demands, Cal has guided The Working Party’s mission of re-inventing the online store experience. Cal works with clients to distill their ideas, create concepts and turn them into a limitless solution.
Cal draws on his family's strong history working in and building retail businesses, and is passionate about enabling clients to see their online presence as a form of personal interaction. In doing this, he aims to take the agency beyond website development to forge long-term business partnerships with clients.
How we're different
Grow(th) mindset
Deliver value daily, measure return on investment with data, lean into even the toughest of challenges, never feel satisfied, stay accountable, keep learning.
Retail 101
Measure things worth measuring. Know your customer, focus on experience to build loyalty. Focus on retention before acquisition, improve customer lifetime value to drive continuous return on investment.
Partnerships
We cultivate genuine relationships built on honest communication and reliable execution. We value deep knowledge and accountability that builds trust. You won't experience salesy gimmicks, or pushy and inflexible modes of working with us.
Team
Our team execute solutions to complex problems, experiment with new technology, research and learn every day. They work across our client portfolio spanning a diverse range of verticals: fashion retail, food & beverage, consumer electronics, and health & fitness. Our passion to deliver matches our clients' passion to lead.
Why work with us
We offer a lean, agile mindset dedicated to impactful execution—we spend time on priorities that are tracked with data, proving a return on your investment.
- Employ our proven 'performant design' process to get the most value out of aesthetic changes, driving customer experience improvements whilst retaining brand equity.
- Access our propriety technology stack, purpose-built for complex eCommerce engineering—consistently iterated for improvement, to give your eCommerce site an unfair advantage.
- Use our industry-leading knowledge of retail, customer experience and Shopify Plus to extend the platform beyond what is considered possible, to deliver true efficiency, sustained growth and larger profits.
Why Shopify Plus
We work with the most flexible, scalable and user–friendly eCommerce platform on the market. Shopify Plus is designed for large enterprise businesses, to support their growth and scale. Fit for purpose for even the largest and most complex retailers, Shopify Plus wants your eCommerce brand to succeed just as much as we do.
Our clients
We’ve had the privilege of working with some of the largest and most iconic retailers and brands in Australasia. It’s where we come from, and that’s where our heart is today.
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