Improving profitability for Millbrook Tack on marketplaces

Millbrook Tack is a family-owned equestrian retailer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1992 by Dan and Rosemary Howell, the business began as a small store meeting local demand for quality horse tack and riding supplies. Over the past 30 years, it has grown into a 20,000-square-foot destination for horse enthusiasts, offering a wide range of tack, western wear, and riding apparel.

Today, Millbrook Tack continues to balance its strong community roots with a forward-looking ecommerce strategy.

With many rural customers living 30 to 45 minutes away from the store, Millbrook Tack has looked to make purchasing easy and accessible through online marketplaces.

Laura Howell, co-owner and part of the business since its founding, oversees Millbrook Tack’s ecommerce operations. Prior to using Feedonomics, the company had a feed management solution Howell described as “very hands-off.” Her team often had to troubleshoot complex issues alone, which drained resources and limited growth opportunities.

After a recommendation from its marketing agency, Millbrook Tack chose Feedonomics for its hands-on service and expertise.

“It’s nice to just put in a ticket when something goes wrong and not have to dig for the answers myself,” Howell said. “I’ve talked to a couple other Feedonomics customers who are competitors of ours and they all have rave views. So I think it was a good move for us.”

With Feedonomics managing the complexity, Millbrook Tack gained the support it needed to simplify operations and expand to new channels.

Finding a replacement feed solution during a critical transition

Millbrook Tack’s online store is powered by BigCommerce.

So, when Millbrook Tack’s previous feed management provider was acquired by Shopify, there was an opportunity and an urgent need to find a new feed solution. Maintaining marketplace visibility on Amazon and eBay was critical for reaching rural customers who needed to shop online, and any disruption could have impacted sales.

Fortunately, the synergy between BigCommerce and Feedonomics meant that Howell could keep the current business humming, and unlock new sales avenues too.

Feedonomics offered exactly what Millbrook Tack needed: a dedicated team that could take over the complexity of feed management while providing expert guidance and responsive support to expand to new channels. Implementation was seamless, and Millbrook Tack quickly regained stability across its marketplace listings without the heavy manual burden it previously carried.

“We were left scrambling, and it was just nice to find a company that was so hands-on,” said Howell. “I don’t have to dig for the answers myself anymore.” This hands-on partnership set the stage for even bigger improvements to come.

Prior to using Feedonomics, Millbrook Tack was dedicating in-house resources to monitoring its marketplace listings full-time. The company was able to focus efforts elsewhere by relying on the combined powers of Feedonomics and BigCommerce. Overall, she describes using the integrated tech stack as “very easy.”

“That’s been a big savings, and I just think the consistency in the way we list things and our approach to our feeds [improved]. We used to do too much detail work and Feedonomics has helped us simplify that,” Howell said.

Gaining confidence with expert support and consultation

Beyond stabilizing Millbrook Tack’s feed operations, Feedonomics provided a level of expertise that Howell and her team hadn’t experienced before. With a small internal staff and limited technical bandwidth, Millbrook Tack needed more than a software solution—it needed a partner familiar with the nuances of each marketplace. The first task was to improve business on Amazon.

“One big goal on Amazon is to not be afraid to list products,” Howell said. “To put ourselves out there—it’s my ultimate dream to have customers understand that when they see us as a seller on Amazon, they’re still supporting a small business.”

Feedonomics helped Howell reevaluate Millbrook Tack’s marketplace listings through a profitability lens, leading to better decisions on what products to list on Amazon. Instead of chasing volume, Millbrook Tack now focuses on selling the right products at the right margins. This shift has made its marketplace strategy more sustainable—and more scalable.

“We were selling products that just weren’t smart to sell on Amazon by the time we paid Amazon fees and shipping to the customer,” said Howell. “And Feedonomics helped me be able to analyze our inventory and not sell products that were not profitable.”

Feedonomics also helped Millbrook Tack keep marketplace listings compliant with its vendor’s requirements. If a product needs to be removed from Amazon, Howell says it’s now much simpler to keep the catalog accurate and up-to-date.

Unlocking new revenue channels with room to grow

Feedonomics’ expert consultation became especially valuable as Millbrook Tack expanded to platforms like TikTok Shop, where the rules, customer behavior, and fulfillment expectations were uncharted territory for the company.

“TikTok was a big one to add, and I’m not a TikTok user,” Howell said. “It was very helpful to have insight into how we should behave, shipping costs, and how to be competitive on those marketplaces that are so competitive and so fast-moving.”

According to Howell, the Feedonomics team made the transition smooth and low-risk, enabling Millbrook Tack to expand its reach without overextending internal resources. “We never would’ve had the capability in-house to do something like TikTok,” she said. “Sales are definitely growing fast.”

Ultimately, Feedonomics freed up time, reduced labor costs, and gave Millbrook Tack the confidence to grow without compromising accuracy or customer experience.

“Feedonomics has been fantastic,” Howell said. “Even though I’m working with people who are far more techy than I am, the answers are very clearly stated. If [our account manager] doesn’t know an answer, she finds it. The support’s been fantastic.”