About the Project
When PHH Group set out to migrate its entire CRM operation onto Braze, the timeline alone would have been enough to make most teams nervous, which is why they brought in LeverUP to run it. This is the story of the business transformation of PHH Group.
CLIENT NAME: PHH Group
INDUSTRY: E-commerce
PLATFORM: Braze
SERVICES: Braze implementation, system and campaign migration from a legacy platform, system enhancements and improvements, implementation of advanced capabilities like Braze Currents, Braze AI Recommendations and Nosto, onboarding of PHH Group’s CRM team.
CONSUMER BRANDS: 4 (Pigu, 220.lv, Kaup24 and Hobby Hall)
MARKETS: 4 (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland)
CUSTOMERS: Millions
SENDING SUBDOMAINS: 9
TRANSACTIONAL CAMPAINGS: 1000
The Client
PHH Group was formed in 2021 when Lithuania’s Pigu.lt merged with Finland’s Hobby Hall Group, creating the largest e-commerce company in the Baltic region, four brands (Pigu, 220.lv, Kaup24 and Hobby Hall) spanning four markets. In 2025, leadership launched a full turnaround programme to become leaner, faster and more profitable. CRM sat at the centre of that effort, as one of the group’s owned, cost-effective communication channels, it needed to start pulling real commercial weight. Migrating to Braze became one of the initiatives underpinning the wider turnaround, a bet on rebuilding customer trust and speed at the same time
Fast-Moving Market and Slow-Moving CRM
The old setup wasn’t failing dramatically, it was failing slowly, one constraint at a time. Dependence on external partners and stretched internal IT meant even minor changes required rounds of discussion and analysis before anyone could start building, and the effect compounded every time the team wanted to introduce or improve something and ran into integration limits or a partner without the flexibility to accommodate it.
That constraint had a real cost, measured in hours – segmenting an audience or adjusting a live campaign could eat several hours of a data analyst’s time, and A/B testing ran at half the speed it does today. The team was permanently working below its actual capability. This coincided with a point at which our existing partner contract required a strategic decision, creating a clear opportunity to reconsider both our technology and operating model.
Project Goals
- Migrate off a legacy platform onto Braze across all four PHH Group brands and markets, with zero downtime for millions of active users
- Build full operational independence so PHH Group's CRM team could run and grow the platform without relying on external partners
- Consolidate business-unit architecture to efficiently operate across brands and markets
- Increase CRM's direct contribution to commercial performance, turning it into a measurable driver of GMV
The Migration That Couldn't Afford a Bad Day
PHH Group and LeverUP set a plan to migrate off a legacy platform onto Braze, across four markets and millions of users, in eight weeks, with zero tolerance for downtime. Confidence in that timeline came from dedicated resourcing across CRM, IT and Data, not from the schedule ever feeling comfortable. Before the migration began, PHH’s leadership pressure-tested the decision directly with the CMO, and once fully aligned, the team named its biggest risks up front and kept them visible for the full eight weeks.
LeverUP’s role went beyond technical delivery. The team took ownership of project planning, progress tracking and documentation, alongside hands-on operational support throughout the migration, a combination of strategic coordination and practical delivery that kept the project on schedule. LeverUP coordinated every stage of the process, with a disciplined approach that kept even the smallest details under control and left no room for disruption or confusion.
The rebuild itself changed how the team operates day to day, that is, a new data model and consolidated business-unit architecture gave PHH Group’s team direct ownership of far more usable data, and automation through Braze’s Connected Content turned promotional campaign management from an IT-dependent task into a self-serve one.
Same Email, Smarter Targeting
Braze AI recommendations at work across mobile and desktop
This Is What Winning Looks Like - the Transformation, in Hard Numbers
Beyond the numbers, the team gained capabilities it didn’t have before. Content Optimizer lets them test subject lines and sender names within the same send, and interactive, question-based emails now generate first-party data that feeds directly into future campaigns. For the shopper, that shows up as messages that are better timed and more relevant across every channel.
Where PHH Group Goes From Here
CRM has become a significantly stronger driver of PHH Group’s overall business performance, enabling the company to operate with greater speed, flexibility and commercial impact. With that foundation in place, PHH Group is now positioned to compete and grow across the Baltic and Finnish markets with far less dependence on outside partners.
What Does PHH Group Say?
LeverUP's Take
LeverUP Named 2026 Torchie Awards Finalist with PHH Group
LeverUP has been named a finalist for the 2026 Torchie Awards, recognized in the Transformation Partner of the Year category with PHH Group. The Torchie Awards are Braze’s annual recognition of the marketers, brands, and partners reshaping what customer engagement looks like, teams that have moved beyond legacy, single-channel campaigns to build high-impact, creative, intelligent, and AI-driven customer experiences.
As Braze puts it, innovation doesn’t live in a pitch deck, it shows up in the campaigns run, the journeys designed, and the customers who feel the difference. Being named a finalist in that context is a recognition we don’t take for granted. It reflects the strength of our partnership with PHH Group and the results it has delivered, and standing alongside so many companies shaping the Braze ecosystem is, in itself, an achievement we’re proud of. Learn more here.
Need guidance in elevating your customer engagement with Braze?
Every migration story starts with the same question – is your current setup actually built for where your business is headed? If your CRM is holding you back instead of moving you forward, it might be time for a second opinion. Reach out to us.
