Hawk Performance Brakes
Clarity that turned a brand’s passion into performance.
The Situation
Hawk Performance, known for high-performance brake systems, had built strong loyalty among racers and automotive enthusiasts. But their website told a different story.
The five-year-old site was slow, confusing, and difficult to maintain. Even Hawk’s own team struggled to find information or update content. Customers experienced dropped carts, missing products, and a checkout process that felt more like work than excitement. For a brand built on precision and control, their digital presence felt anything but.
Hawk Performance, known for high-performance brake systems, had built strong loyalty among racers and automotive enthusiasts. But their website told a different story.
The five-year-old site was slow, confusing, and difficult to maintain. Even Hawk’s own team struggled to find information or update content. Customers experienced dropped carts, missing products, and a checkout process that felt more like work than excitement. For a brand built on precision and control, their digital presence felt anything but.
The Struggle
The broken experience wasn’t just an annoyance. It was costing them growth. Frustrated customers were leaving before completing purchases, and internal teams spent hours fighting outdated systems. Hawk’s leadership knew their digital experience wasn’t matching the quality of their products, and market share was beginning to slip.
The broken experience wasn’t just an annoyance. It was costing them growth. Frustrated customers were leaving before completing purchases, and internal teams spent hours fighting outdated systems. Hawk’s leadership knew their digital experience wasn’t matching the quality of their products, and market share was beginning to slip.
The Refinery’s Role
When Hawk approached The Refinery, they had a detailed RFP and clear ideas about the visual direction. But early in our collaboration, it became clear that the real challenge wasn’t just about design. It was about clarity.
We helped the team step back and rethink the entire experience, mapping the journey from both sides of the screen: the customer seeking the perfect part, and the internal team managing thousands of SKUs and fitment data.
When Hawk approached The Refinery, they had a detailed RFP and clear ideas about the visual direction. But early in our collaboration, it became clear that the real challenge wasn’t just about design. It was about clarity.
We helped the team step back and rethink the entire experience, mapping the journey from both sides of the screen: the customer seeking the perfect part, and the internal team managing thousands of SKUs and fitment data.
The Plan
We guided Hawk through the selection of the right CMS and e-commerce platform for their needs, balancing flexibility, performance, and ease of maintenance. Together, we identified where a custom integration could support their extensive catalog and simplify future updates.
From there, we led the redesign and re-platform, creating a faster, more reliable system built for growth. Product search became intuitive and performance-focused, guiding visitors from “what fits my car” to “why Hawk is the right choice.” At the same time, the internal team gained a streamlined workflow to manage thousands of SKUs, upload fitment data, and keep the catalog accurate without friction.
We guided Hawk through the selection of the right CMS and e-commerce platform for their needs, balancing flexibility, performance, and ease of maintenance. Together, we identified where a custom integration could support their extensive catalog and simplify future updates.
From there, we led the redesign and re-platform, creating a faster, more reliable system built for growth. Product search became intuitive and performance-focused, guiding visitors from “what fits my car” to “why Hawk is the right choice.” At the same time, the internal team gained a streamlined workflow to manage thousands of SKUs, upload fitment data, and keep the catalog accurate without friction.
The Victory
The redesign achieved every goal. The site became faster, cleaner, and dramatically easier to use. Customers could find the right products with confidence, and the checkout process became seamless. Internally, Hawk gained full control of their catalog, saving hours of manual effort and ensuring accuracy across thousands of SKUs.
Most importantly, the new experience finally reflected the energy and precision that defined the Hawk brand, helping them reconnect with loyal enthusiasts while opening the door to new audiences focused on safety and performance.
Today, Hawk’s site drives growth as confidently as their products perform on the track.
The redesign achieved every goal. The site became faster, cleaner, and dramatically easier to use. Customers could find the right products with confidence, and the checkout process became seamless. Internally, Hawk gained full control of their catalog, saving hours of manual effort and ensuring accuracy across thousands of SKUs.
Most importantly, the new experience finally reflected the energy and precision that defined the Hawk brand, helping them reconnect with loyal enthusiasts while opening the door to new audiences focused on safety and performance.
Today, Hawk’s site drives growth as confidently as their products perform on the track.
The Lesson
Hawk’s success highlights the value of clarity before design. By shifting the focus from aesthetics to user experience, we created a platform that served both the customer and the company behind it.
At The Refinery, that’s what LoBI brings to every engagement: helping leaders step back from what they want to build, to see what they truly need to achieve measurable impact.
Hawk’s success highlights the value of clarity before design. By shifting the focus from aesthetics to user experience, we created a platform that served both the customer and the company behind it.
At The Refinery, that’s what LoBI brings to every engagement: helping leaders step back from what they want to build, to see what they truly need to achieve measurable impact.
