London, U.K.: Since 2020, ReVivo has refurbished over 170k pairs of Vivobarefoot shoes. In 2023/2024, refurbished a record amount of footwear, 62.3k pairs vs 41.3k the previous year. This has carried over to sales, with an almost 23% year on year growth in repaired pairs sold. They have seen 20% year-on-year growth in UK customers sending their Vivos in for repair, up from 2.1k last year. They are now able to offer repairs in the EU and the USA and will look to expand on this in the future.
DESIGNING FOR REPAIRABILITY: It isn’t just about what happens to footwear at the end of its life. Vivobarefoot works closely with the Boot Repair Company to find ways to make the products more durable, and more easily repairable. The Boot Repair Company feeds into Vivo’s internal sustainability scoring tool, which scores each style for a number of factors including repairability and materials.
MORE ON THE BOOT REPAIR COMPANY: The Boot Repair Company has been instrumental in the success of ReVivo.
In 2011, the Household Cavalry of the Queen’s Guard needed their boots repaired. Two Leeds-based businessmen, Tom and Chris, both from cobbling backgrounds, set up the Boot Repair Company and won the contract. The BRC grew quickly, soon branching out to work with other brands. Their first contract with Vivobarefoot came in 2019, when they were tasked with redoing the tongue labels on a shipment of Vivobarefoot footwear that had been incorrectly sized. Once Vivo saw what we BRC capable of, the idea for ReVivo started to form.
Vivobarefoot had long wanted to avoid sending any footwear to landfill; but with a 100-day try and return policy, there was a growing pile of returned Vivos waiting for the right solution. Vivobarefoot sent BRC 66 pallets of shoes as a trial, to be cleaned and sanitized, fixed up and then repackaged with the ReVivo branding. ReVivo launched in summer 2020, and despite doubts over whether selling second-hand shoes right at the start of a global pandemic was the best idea, it was incredibly successful. ReVivo sold thousands of pairs in the first few weeks.
“Vivo is really leading the way on footwear repair - showing that it works, that it’s profitable and enhances brand image,” says Jamie Whitehouse, Director of Operations at The Boot Repair Company. “Our work with Vivo has opened up a new business model for the BRC, and we started working with other brands. I started at the BRC about four years ago when there were seven or eight people here. We’re now up to 84, and we’ve just opened a warehouse in Amsterdam - which means more of Europe can now buy from ReVivo.com and get their Vivos repaired. I think the momentum of the repair and refurb movement comes from three things all happening at once: the need to be more sustainable, the commercial motivation, and customers feeling the pinch.”
MORE ON THEIR NEW ‘TAKE BACK’ INITIATIVE:
What shoes are accepted?
The Take Back scheme will accept old trainers, trail shoes and outdoor boots of any brand and is available in the UK, EU and USA.
How does the scheme work?
Customers can generate their free returns label by heading to this page and filling in their details. All the instructions on shipping shoes and generating the 20% off code are on this page.
If I send back Vivos that can be repaired, will Vivo sell them?
Yes, if your old Vivos are in repairable condition, we cover the cost of repair and sell them on through ReVivo.com to keep them on feet and out of landfill for longer. Should customers wish to repair their Vivos, they can visit ReVivo.com to see the options and prices.
Can old shoes be donated in store?
Yes, customers can return old shoes in our Neal Street store in London. They will receive 20% off any full price pair in-store. However, to use the 20% off code online, customers must go through the online returns process. None of our distributors are able to take back shoes through this scheme at this time.
What happens to the old shoes you take back?
We’ll recycle them with our partners at Fast Feet Grinded. They use the rubber, foam, fluff, textile and leather to supply resources for a range of products, such as playgrounds and outdoor sports fields, as well as retail store designs and furniture.
How do I send in multiple old shoes?
If you’ve got more than one old pair of shoes to send in, you will have to repeat the returns process individually for each item if you would like a 20% off code for each one.
