Legacy brand. Fresh approach.

This children’s clothing brand has nearly 80 years of history and about $200 million in annual revenue. Once a staple of physical retail, the brand now operates as a 100% direct-to-consumer business. But when they came to Totus, their gift card program was on shaky ground.

From compliance risk to growth strategy

Before Totus, the brand was facing serious compliance challenges related to how gift card liabilities were managed. Their existing vendor failed to guide them through the complexity—resulting in regulatory risk, operational strain, and a settlement payout. The brand needed a reset: a compliant, reliable program that could scale.

They also saw untapped potential. Gift cards represented less than 1% of revenue. The brand had the potential for gift card sales to grow to 3–5%. They wanted to rebuild from the ground up and expand distribution into new channels, including employee rewards, baby registries, and national grocery chains.

End-to-end implementation in under 3 months

Totus moved quickly. The team led a full-scale implementation covering:
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1. First-party digital and physical gift cards sold online from their website and app.
2. B2B resellers placing digital and physical gift cards in incentive, loyalty, reward and promotional programs.
3. Third-party digital and physical gift cards sold in brick and mortar and online properties across grocery, big box, discount and membership clubs, pharmacy, convenience and more.
4. A custom data migration of active gift card balances and outstanding liabilities from their previous provider.

Despite running on a homegrown e-commerce system with multiple dev teams, the brand launched on time. The program went live just three months after kickoff. Totus managed collaboration across marketing, finance, operations, fulfillment, external partners and vendors, ensuring a frictionless handoff across the organization.
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A model implementation

Totus built a custom implementation plan, maintained constant communication, and co-owned deliverables with the brand’s team. Feedback was clear: no surprises, no gaps—just execution. Our brand partner called the experience “a 10 out of 10 launch.”
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New channels. Real results.

Since launch, the program has seen outsized growth:
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1. Third-party retail: Now in 6+ grocery chains, with over 600% YoY growth and $200K+ in incremental sales in the first year of distribution.
2. Resale channel: Totus powers gift cards through a children’s clothing resale marketplace, enabling customers to sell their previously owned clothing online and receive their payout via a gift card. That channel now contributes a significant portion of the total program, with over 60% YoY growth, and drives customers back to their site for incremental purchases.
3. B2B resellers: Active in 40+ employee, incentive and fundraising programs with 26%+ YoY growth. 

Meanwhile, the brand’s direct e-commerce channel remains a top performer, without relying on discounts or promotions.

Strategy without discounting

The brand has now integrated gift cards into email and holiday campaigns—without compromising their full-price ethos. They’ve also invested in co-branded opportunities and paid retail placements, signaling a longer-term commitment to growth through strategic awareness, not markdowns.

A case study in distribution-led growth

What started as a compliance risk became a revenue engine. Totus helped the brand offload risk, re-platform seamlessly, and expand into channels where they hadn’t sold before. The result: meaningful topline impact without sacrificing brand integrity.

With this brand, you can see how gift card growth doesn’t have to come from promotions. Just smart distribution and execution.