The 180-year-old startup: A.T. Cross's digital transformation playbook

Episode notes

Transforming a 180-year-old brand for the digital era isn’t about abandoning tradition - it’s about translating it. In this episode of the Ecommerce Toolbox: Expert Perspectives , host Kailin Noivo sits down with Patrick Maness, Director of Global Ecommerce at A.T. Cross Company, to explore how a heritage luxury pen brand is rewriting its future online. Patrick shares how he took A.T. Cross from a deprioritized ecommerce channel to a global digital business. When he arrived, ecommerce was a one-person department running on an obsolete Magento site. Within months, Patrick led a complete replatform to Shopify Plus, building scalable infrastructure while proving the channel’s revenue potential to leadership. He discusses the nuances of reviving a brand known for craftsmanship in a digital-first world - from reframing Cross’s value proposition around emotional gifting to expanding reach through targeted paid media and storytelling that resonates with younger audiences.