Transforming Protyre, the UK’s largest tyre retailer
Exec Summary
Micheldever Group, the UK’s largest independent tyre wholesaler and retailer, faced critical growth hurdles due to a 20-year-old monolithic platform. The legacy system suffered from frequent failures and lacked the flexibility to support modern commercial strategies. Candyspace executed a total digital transformation, replacing the unsupported infrastructure with an enterprise-grade, composable commerce stack.
By implementing a MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) architecture, we decoupled core commerce from the front end, enabling rapid deployment of new business models. The impact was immediate: the new platform delivered a 98% increase in overall conversion rate and a 115% increase in mobile conversion, while laying the technical foundation for complex pre-order and loyalty mechanics.
BUSINESS NEED
Replace an end-of-life monolithic platform with a scalable, composable commerce engine capable of handling complex inventory, pricing and scheduling workflows
CUSTOMER DEMAND
A frictionless, mobile-first buying experience that allows users to instantly find the right parts, book appointments and pay securely online
Here are the results
98%
increase in overall conversion rate
115%
increase in mobile conversion rate
13
critical systems integrated via GraphQL
The business context
Micheldever Group operates in a fast-moving automotive sector where digital agility is paramount. However, its retail brand, Protyre, was held back by a 20-year-old legacy platform that throttled growth. High traffic volumes led to frequent back-office failures, disabling online ordering during critical financial reporting cycles.
Internally, the lack of technology standardisation resulted in high ownership costs and significant developer dependence. Crucially, the rigid system could not support modern commercial strategies such as extended product ranges, complex branch-specific pricing, or dynamic inventory management across its 184 autocare centres.
Candyspace's remit and objectives
Candyspace were appointed to execute a comprehensive digital transformation to address both operational costs and future commercial agility. Our core objective was to replace the monolithic legacy system with a modern, enterprise-grade composable stack that adhered to MACH principles.
We were tasked with designing an architecture that supported complex automotive workflows—from "pre-order" capabilities to intricate appointment scheduling. The goal was to create a friction-free digital experience that matched jobs with engineer skills and local branch capacity, ensuring operational efficiency while maximising customer choice.
Team structure and deliverables
Candyspace deployed a cross-functional team to architect and integrate a best-of-breed solution comprising commercetools (commerce), Storyblok (CMS), Pimberly (PIM), Bynder (DAM) and Algolia (Search). We orchestrated these services alongside 13+ critical backend systems via a custom GraphQL / Apollo Server mediation layer.
Key deliverables included:
Complex scheduling logic: We built sophisticated algorithms to route stock efficiently across the warehouse network and match customer bookings with specific engineer capabilities (e.g. EV servicing vs. standard MOTs).
Unified commerce engine: We integrated Adyen and Elavon gateways for seamless payment processing and enabled "Pre-Order" functionality by decoupling inventory systems from the front end.
Operational empowerment: We implemented a new PIM and DAM to give marketing teams authoring independence, alongside PowerBI integration for role-level reporting and advanced AI foundations for future demand-based pricing.
Candyspace helped us to deliver a first-class digital transformation. It’s been a major transformation for us, but Candyspace has been a first-class partner with their experience of MACH, their guidance, planning, foresight, implementation and support across the entire process
Innovation and impact
Candyspace’s partnership delivered a step-change in digital capability, turning a legacy liability into a competitive advantage. The implementation delivered immediate commercial results while future-proofing the business for long-term growth:
Commercial performance: The modernised experience drove a 98% increase in overall conversion rate and a 115% increase in mobile conversion, directly addressing customer demand for frictionless purchasing.
Operational efficiency: By automating complex trunking routes and job grading, we optimised engineer capacity and reduced the manual overhead of stock movements.
Strategic agility: The composable architecture now supports rapid deployment of new commercial models, including personalised loyalty mechanics and dynamic pricing, ensuring Protyre stays ahead in a competitive market.
This transformation has validated Micheldever’s investment in a customer-centric future, shifting infrastructure responsibility to the cloud to ensure speed, security and auto-scaling.
