Vivobarefoot, the UK-based footwear developer and retailer, has selected Centric Software’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to plan, design, develop, source and sell products such as apparel, footwear, sporting goods, furniture, home décor, cosmetics, food & beverage and luxury to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.
Founded in 2012 by two seventh-generation cobblers, Galahad and Asher Clark, Vivobarefoot is based on one simple insight – barefoot footwear is sustainable footwear. With an aspirational vision to reconnect people with nature, Vivobarefoot aims to go beyond sustainability and create truly regenerative footwear. “We’ve basically designed our footwear around the human foot and in our view, our products are the ultimate accessory for walking and running around the planet,” says Mark Bickell, Head of Technology at Vivobarefoot.
Vivobarefoot had impressive earnings of nearly £35 million in 2021, is forecasting £50 million in 2022, and has plans to achieve 20% average annual revenue growth. Nearly 85% of sales are through e-commerce channels. Vivobarefoot also has a flagship store in Covent Garden, franchise stores throughout Europe, and sells to distributors and wholesalers. Vivobarefoot is a B Corporation(™) Certified business for good, using the power of business to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.
Bickell says lofty growth objectives and an intensive product recategorization process were the primary reasons behind their search for a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution.
“I’ve been with the business for two years now and ever since I joined the company, there’s been a desire to get a PLM system in place,” states Bickell. “It became fairly clear to me, that you can’t grow a business to £50 million and beyond using Excel for your PLM. I don’t think the recategorization in the business could be successful without a full functioning PLM system.”
Bickell led a steering group through an intensive PLM vendor selection process. They chose Centric Software as a partner based on Centric’s track record of customer success, collaborative process, and out-of-the-box functionality. “We felt like Centric offered the best value proposition for the business,” says Bickell. “Some members of our steering group had worked with Centric in the past and we knew we’d be in good hands.”
Product, sourcing, and design teams will be the first users in phase one of the PLM deployment, with usage expanding to factories in phase two. Vivobarefoot expects to see massive time-savings across the organization with Centric PLM. “On an annual basis, we estimate time-savings of 30 days for our development team, 12 days for merchandizing, 10 days for our product teams, and 8 days for operations,” details Bickell.
Vivobarefoot experienced an explosion in their online sales at the beginning of the pandemic. “We are constantly looking for ways to improve the consumer journey and align in-store and e-commerce experiences,” says Bickell. “This is one of our biggest challenges, and we want to harness the power of Centric PLM to keep up with consumer demands.”
Centric PLM will also bolster their sustainability efforts. “We’ve got ambitions within the product side to make our footwear as sustainable as possible,” says Bickell. “I see a lot of potential development and options using PLM to achieve new levels of visibility and awareness across our value chain.”
“We are thrilled that Vivobarefoot has chosen Centric as a partner in their digital transformation journey,” says Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric Software. “We look forward to working with them to develop innovative, high-quality sustainable footwear and meet consumer demands.”
