(SHOPTALK EUROPE) — Constructor, the leading AI-powered product discovery and search platform for enterprise ecommerce companies, today announced growth and momentum across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) — significantly increasing both customers and headcount. As more ecommerce companies in the region tap into Constructor, they’re realising benefits including greater engagement, conversions and revenue.
Constructor works with leading ecommerce brands in EMEA including Birkenstock, Under Armour (EMEA and North American operations), Monica Vinader, Very, home24 and more — as well as many others around the world.
Over the last year, Constructor has seen strong growth in customers in EMEA — particularly in the apparel, home goods and furnishings, toys, grocery, do-it-yourself (DIY), B2B ecommerce and general retail categories. These companies rely on Constructor’s award-winning, AI-based platform to create personalised, revenue-generating experiences across the buyer journey: in search results, browse experiences, product recommendations, landing pages (“Collections”) and more.
UK-based online retailer Very, who went live with Constructor in early 2024, uses the platform to power search, browse and Collections pages for more than 1 million site visitors each day.
“Shoppers have more options than ever when shopping online, and at Very, we’re constantly seeking opportunities to enhance customer experiences,” said Paul Hornby, digital customer experience director, The Very Group. “With Constructor, we’ve been able to do just that – deliver more personalised search results that are optimised for each customer’s unique preferences, and intuitively help them discover great products.”
Announcing Constructor’s VP of EMEA Bernd Maehrlein
Since 2022, Constructor has tripled its revenue in EMEA. The company is also actively hiring globally and has expanded its own team in EMEA to better support local customers. Since the beginning of 2024, Constructor’s customer-facing headcount in the region has grown 133% — and still climbing — through the addition of key new hires.
Chief among them is Bernd Maehrlein, appointed as Constructor’s vice president of EMEA and based out of Heidelberg, Germany. In his role, Maehrlein leads Constructor’s EMEA sales team and helps develop, execute and oversee Constructor’s go-to-market (GTM) strategy in the region. He brings a history of successfully building and expanding U.S. startups and scale-ups in EMEA.
Prior to Constructor, Maehrlein most recently built up cloud security scale-up Lacework in Central and Southern Europe, following build-ups in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for endpoint security company Cybereason, as well as database platform MongoDB. Maehrlein’s software GTM career began with direct sales roles at SAP and Intralinks. Currently, he serves on the advisory board of permanent equity investor Upliift.
“It’s really gratifying to work at a company where our customers are as excited about the product as we are,” Maehrlein said. “That’s a big part of what drew me to Constructor: its highly differentiated technology and highly satisfied customers, who are realising incredible achievements — resulting in a 98% or greater retention rate the last three years running. As Constructor continues its fast growth trajectory — having recently doubled revenue for the third year in a row — EMEA is a high-priority market for us, with great opportunity. I’m looking forward to helping bring the benefits of Constructor’s technology to many more companies here.”
Constructor CEO Eli Finkelshteyn said: “Bernd’s expertise and on-the-ground experience are incredible assets for us as we further expand our operations in EMEA. We want to make sure that as we grow, we provide the best service we can to our customers, including really catering to regional needs. We’re really excited by the initial feedback we’ve received in those regards, and plan to constantly find new ways to make the experience we give our customers better and better. As ecommerce companies seek to create better digital customer experiences that boost their top and bottom line, we want to do everything we possibly can to help, and we think this expansion in EMEA is a strong step in that direction.”
Meet with Constructor at Shoptalk Europe
Constructor is attending and exhibiting at Shoptalk Europe — a show dedicated to transforming Europe’s retail ecosystem — June 3-5, in Barcelona.
At stand #H30, the company is demonstrating its powerful and proven solutions for improving ecommerce product discovery. These include Constructor’s recently unveiled AI Shopping Assistant (ASA), a conversational product discovery tool blending generative AI with Constructor’s personalisation technology. Recently honoured with a gold Stevie® Award and People’s Choice Stevie® Award for best new ecommerce solution, ASA has — in less than a year since launch — helped major grocery chains, apparel brands and general retailers achieve results including: 10% increase in website revenue, 6% increase in search conversions, 7% increase in clicks and more.
