Cetrogar
FastStore + custom modules for electronics retail
cetrogar.com.ar
Role: Technical Lead
National electronics retailer on VTEX FastStore: Next.js storefront, loyalty points, Magento migration, badge and payment-matrix admin modules.
Context
Grupo Cetrogar is a major Argentine retail chain for technology, home appliances and related categories, with a nationwide store network and a digital channel that is a meaningful share of billing. The VTEX FastStore relaunch went live in about 90 days and was publicly highlighted by VTEX as a large-scale FastStore go-live.
My responsibility
Architecture (realistic view)
FastStore storefront (Next.js) + custom checkout; Admin apps and IO Node services for loyalty, migration, badges and payment matrices. Same VTEX account, clearly separated layers.
Key custom modules
- Cetrogar Points — custom loyalty: Master Data balance/ledger, checkout redemption, OMS accrual and refund events, My Account and admin.
- Migration Helper — Magento → VTEX pipelines for customers (CL), addresses (AD) and points (pointsTransactions), with balance reconciliation.
- Admin Badges (Cucardas) — badge CRUD (text/image, schedule, priority, position) on VBase; FastStore consumes them with hash-based cache.
- Payment Matrices — product segment × installments/interest; governed sync to Payment Rules and commercial conditions.
Key decisions
- Move the storefront to FastStore / Next.js and keep checkout, loyalty and backoffice as VTEX IO apps (do not force everything into the headless theme).
- Model points as a Master Data ledger (transactions + balance) instead of an opaque counter, for auditability and Magento migration.
- Expose badges and payment matrices as Admin apps with VBase persistence and explicit Catalog / Payments sync.
- Treat customer, address and points migration as pipelines with dry-run, resume and reconciliation — not a one-shot import.
- Prepare the digital channel for Marketplace without rewriting the storefront: rule layers (payments, badges, points) decoupled from the front.
Domain complexity
- National electronics / home catalog with Marketplace readiness
- Loyalty: accrual, redemption, refund and offline rewards
- Magento migration: CL, AD and points-balance reconciliation
- Dynamic badges consumed by FastStore
- Payment matrices (installments, interest, commercial conditions)
- Custom checkout + IO services (tax, credit, warranties)
Trade-offs
- FastStore + many IO customs vs. a monolithic Store Framework: more ownership surface, better storefront / domain separation.
- Custom loyalty vs. a native program: full ledger and offline-rule control at the cost of owning OMS events and tax-protocol flows.
- Admin + VBase for badges/matrices vs. catalog specs only: operable UX for business, with sync and SKU conflicts to govern.
- ~90-day go-live window vs. post-launch depth: FastStore core shipped fast; points, migration and matrices matured in evolution.
Outcome (public / non-confidential)
- National-scale FastStore go-live in about 90 days, publicly highlighted by VTEX.
- Digital channel in production with a Next.js storefront and custom modules for electronics retail operations.
- Post-launch capabilities in production: points, Magento migration, badges and payment matrices.
For confidentiality reasons, some components and metrics were simplified or omitted.
Challenges
- Migrating a high-visibility national electro retailer onto FastStore / Next.js under a short delivery window (~90 days).
- Custom loyalty (points), Magento→VTEX migration of customers/addresses/points, badge admin and payment matrices beyond a default FastStore template.
- Performance and scalability for a multi-store retail operation with national coverage.
- Integrating VTEX capabilities while preparing the digital channel for marketplace expansion.
Where I contributed
- Technical leadership on FastStore / Next.js and VTEX IO custom modules.
- Designed and shipped Cetrogar Points (loyalty ledger, checkout redemption, OMS accrual/refund).
- Built Magento→VTEX migration pipelines for customers, addresses and points with balance reconciliation.
- Delivered Admin Cucardas and Payment Matrices for operable catalog/payment rules consumed by FastStore and Payments.