Case study

BENLEE. A New York boxing original, rebuilt for direct-to-consumer.

Partner since: 2026
Scope: Strategy, shop, creative, performance, CRM
Links: Website Instagram

Boxer in a grey sleeveless hoodie and white BENLEE gloves, in motion against a dark background

About

BENLEE’s story begins in New York in the 1930s, where Ben Golomb made gloves and protective gear on West 21st Street. The New Yorker wrote about the company in 1950, and Rocky Marciano wore BENLEE gloves against Jersey Joe Walcott in 1952 and 1953. Today the brand offers gloves, protective gear and apparel for boxing training.

Challenge

BENLEE has documented boxing history, but online the brand had not yet found a clear role.

It was well established in retail, but its own channels were not built for growth. The shop ran in German only, Instagram showed the sport but not what it does for the people who train, and there was little content for paid media.

Combat sports were growing online, and strong competitors already owned the champion image. More reach alone would not have changed that: BENLEE needed its own reason to be chosen.

Approach

BENLEE is the first sportswear brand in our portfolio. We started in May 2026 as lead partner for its direct-to-consumer business.

Our work builds on the brand strategy we developed that spring: BENLEE stands for the practice, not the peak. Its maker history is the proof behind the gear.

Within the first eight weeks, we relaunched the shop in two languages, produced the first shoot, set up CRM and restarted paid media. With our partner CNDO, a free weekly class for beginners became the brand’s entry point.

Results

+109 %

Revenue growth, Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025

+87 %

Orders, Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025

+86 %

New customer orders, Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025

Shootings

Boxer in blue gloves hitting a heavy bag

Fall/Winter 2026/27 · Cologne

Community shooting in Cologne

Boxer hitting a heavy bag, her coach beside her

Spring/Summer 2026 · Düsseldorf

Gym shoot in Düsseldorf

Projects

01Promotions08/2026 – today
02Performance marketing07/2026 – today
03Content production06/2026 – today
04Shop05/2026 – today
05Community05/2026 – today
06Positioning and social media03/2026 – 08/2026

08/2026 – today

Promotions. More reasons to buy direct, without lowering the listed price.

BENLEE stays out of price wars. Its own shop therefore needed other reasons for customers to order there.

We drew up twenty promotion mechanics, each rated for margin, effort and effect. Two are live: gloves bundled with matching hand wraps, a pair customers often buy together, and a gift ladder in the cart that rewards bigger baskets with a bag or a cap. A gift costs the brand its purchase price, while customers value it at retail.

BENLEE product page for boxing gloves with a bundle offer for matching hand wraps

BENLEE cart with the gift ladder: both gifts unlocked, a bag or a cap to choose

07/2026 – today

Performance marketing. Two channels, two jobs: apparel on Meta, equipment on Google.

We restarted paid media with the new shop in July 2026 and tested gear and apparel on both channels. The results drew a clear line: equipment rarely paid off on Meta, and apparel struggled in Google Shopping.

Since then, Meta carries apparel and looks, and Google carries equipment. In Google Shopping, every product gets its own verdict, recorded in BENCHMARKED BI. On Meta, videos with wide shots and movement beat close-ups, and striking products beat black basics.

06/2026 – today

Content production. Shot in a boxing gym, built for every channel.

When we started, many products had no images of people using them, and there was not enough material to feed ads, the shop and social media.

In June we shot the bestsellers in one day in a Düsseldorf boxing gym, in a raw flash look. Every look was photographed full-body and every piece of equipment close-up, then filmed in the same set-up as a short moving image. That gave each product material for vertical ads, product pages and social posts. Images and videos are tagged by product in our asset library.

Tattooed boxer with raised fists in a grey BENLEE hoodie

BENLEE gloves and sports bag on the gym floor

Two boxers sparring against a concrete wall

Two boxers in black BENLEE hoodies, close-up

Boxer in BENLEE headgear with a mouthguard

Boxer in BENLEE shorts holding red MMA gloves

BENLEE headgear hanging on a concrete wall

Boxer with yellow gloves sitting on a bench

Boxer in pink gloves next to a BENLEE heavy bag

05/2026 – today

Shop. Redesigned in a month, relaunched on a new domain in July.

BENLEE’s shop ran on a German domain and only in German. Together with HEXWHITE, we moved it to benleeboxing.com in July 2026, in English and German, with a cleaner editorial design, product data rebuilt for collections, Google and Meta, and a new Klaviyo setup.

Visibility in Google search was back at its previous level about a month after the domain change. Since then we have kept developing the shop: a new product page with features, a size reference and an editorial area for campaign images and video has been tested against the old one since September. A redesign of the home page is in progress.

BENLEE homepage with the campaign section “The Road starts here”

BENLEE collection page “All gear” with hand wraps, gloves, a mouthguard and shin guards

BENLEE product page for the RODNEY boxing gloves with features and sizes

Editorial area of the new BENLEE product page with campaign images

BENLEE launch email on a phone: “Ready for the next round?”

05/2026 – today

Community. The run club idea, brought to boxing.

Run clubs grew because they removed the barrier to entry. Boxing had no equivalent: gyms can feel intimidating, the gear is confusing, and there is no obvious first step.

Together with our partner CNDO, we brought the idea to boxing: a free beginner class every week in a Düsseldorf boxing gym, gear provided, no membership needed. CNDO runs the classes; we planned the July launch together with the new shop and its club page. By the end of August, the class was fully booked every week, without paid media.

That is why we planned the Fall/Winter 2026/27 campaign as a community shoot and invited the community to take part. In a Cologne boxing club, beginners trained with BENLEE athletes and were photographed as real participants, not as classic models. Nothing was staged, because BENLEE wants to be a real community brand.

Group photo of the community day participants

Boxer shadowboxing during the community training

03/2026 – 08/2026

Positioning and social media. A brand for the first day in the gym.

Boxing brands tend to sell the champion moment: the ring, the belt, the win. To someone walking into a gym for the first time, those images say: this is not for you.

We positioned BENLEE on the moment people start, not the moment they win, and put it into the claim “Fight for more”: the sport gives back more than titles. On Instagram, an international account in English now sets the look; a German one covers local events and athletes. We relaunched the international account in July and handed it to the brand’s team in August.