Sustainability and the circular economy are hotly debated topics, especially given the new legislation at European level. Fashion companies are taking more responsibility for the products they bring to market and how they can be recycled at the end of their lifecycle. Sara Kovic of start-up Okret saw an opportunity to help brands set up their own recommerce system to facilitate the take-back and resale of second-hand items. FashionUnited asked Kovic some questions about this concept.
Can you tell us how the idea for Okret came about?
During my years of work in the fashion sector as a CSR coordinator [Corporate Social Responsibility, Anm. d. Red.] at FNG Group I have worked for different types of brands, from very large to small niche brands. This was an instructive time in which I learned a lot about different target groups and products. In a large corporation I learned where different types of companies meet and what can and cannot be done in certain segments. I had the opportunity to experiment a lot and this also laid the foundation for my later work on Okret. For example, I know that it is almost impossible for companies today to do everything related to recommerce themselves, so with Okret we want to offer solutions so that companies can switch to the circular economy in the short term.
When did the ball start rolling for the company and what is the official founding date?
Okret was founded a year ago and started as a concept in Belgium. Since we want to build an ecosystem, we have mainly been looking for the right strategic partners and in the meantime we have won our first customers. A lot has already happened in front of and behind the scenes in a year and the ball is now rolling on with our first pop-up, the further expansion of the circular ecosystem and our customers.
For those who don’t know Okret yet, can you explain what the company does? What areas does it consist of?
Okret offers turnkey recommerce systems for fashion companies, including software tools and consulting. And it’s all based on an in-depth knowledge of the fashion value and supply chain, how it all fits together, what problems companies face and how to solve them. The innovative thing about Okret is that it is always a combination of knowledge and tools. So we don’t just sell the tools, we feed them numbers. Anyone can create software, but at Okret it is based on knowledge of the market and experience in international companies like FNG. We set up take-back systems based on these insights to enable resale while generating use-phase data that brands can in turn learn from to optimize their designs and products in the future. The different areas of Okret are: knowledge, software and operations. Everything can be done from A to Z by Okret, or we fill in the gaps where companies lack the knowledge or capacity to fully recommerce under their own name.
What are the costs for the companies? Is there a difference between big and small actors?
We work with different modules. The costs for companies are on the one hand a monthly fee for Software-as-a-Service, on the other hand Okret earns a sales commission on all sales generated via our recommerce platforms: For every sale from the offer, both online and offline, for example at our pop-up events, Okret receives 40 percent commission. This may seem like a lot at first glance, but it is precisely what drives us to partner with fashion brands: all working capital is backed by Okret and we only earn once an item has been resold.
The difference between small and large businesses is that the monthly fee is much lower for the small ones, even though there is no difference in processing volume. Just like we set up the recommerce system on the commercial side, if you’re a small business you can also get started with an account on the Okret marketplace if you’re selling a certain number of pieces – um ‘Small fish-big fish’– Avoid scenarios. If you sell more than this number of units per month, it makes sense to switch to our white label platform – for your company’s own branded platform.
What are the advantages for companies?
On the one hand, you are only relevant today if you are a fashion company dealing with circular economy and sustainability. In matters People, Planet & Profit Okret helps companies to open up new revenue streams in direct selling by developing new sales channels for their brand and then also positioning themselves in the growing second-hand market. This is booming and is expected to double by 2030 compared to the market for new goods. We help companies to find their way on this stage. We help them position themselves in relation to the image and price segment of their products. We also help them to comply with the new European legislation resulting from the Green Deal and the strategy for sustainable and circular textiles: extended producer responsibility, among others. For resale as well as repair and recycling, Okret is the right partner for setup, communication and follow-up. To fully close the loop, we build bridges between their waste streams and small zero-waste designers who can work with them and are often in search of raw materials. This is also where the greatest added value lies: We bring new customers to you and double the customer journey. Instead of shopping for themselves on Vinted, customers will return to the branded platforms. This creates a new connection between sustainability and the end consumer.
Are there any well-known fashion companies that are already using Okret, can you name a few?
Terre Bleue, Gigue and Zilton are already using Okret. CKS has already signed up for our pop-up days in Antwerp and hopefully will continue to work with our full service and software tools afterwards.
What is planned for Okret in the near future?
We want to have at least two stable B2B customer relationships in Belgium by September. Also, we want to keep working on setting up the Future of Fashion hub and a central location for the reverse logistics system, as we believe that this is the only way to optimize costs in such a chain. In addition, we are currently actively promoting investments from the fashion industry in Milan through our relationship with Deloitte Italy, because in such a fashion city there is naturally a great deal of interest in our offer. We are building globally scalable operations, supported by software, but they must always be managed from local centers. The first local center is in Antwerp and the next will be in Milan. So our strategy is to roll out the concept in Milan with local strategic partnerships by the end of the year and then grow to four to six clients in Belgium and Italy over the next year.
Where would you like to see Okret in five years?
We want to support companies in the transition to recommerce. It’s not our intention to keep playing the store, because there are companies that can do it much faster and better than we can. We want to close gaps in companies – where they lack the capacities. Over the years they will learn to organize this themselves within their own organization and hopefully we will then be less needed. As soon as these capacities are filled and they manage to run their recommerce system completely themselves, we will have to do less and less operational work and the companies can continue with it themselves. I see that with Duror [der Muttergesellschaft von Terre Bleue, Gigue und Zilton, d. Red]. This is truly an ideal first client for Okret and I firmly believe that we will only grow in this story together. We’re also hoping to measure our impact on a vertical plane to see how many tons of textiles we’ve saved with ocrete. And of course we want the number of local hubs to grow steadily across Europe. We are at the beginning of a circular revolution, and for this we also need the big players. That’s why we hope to add many more big names to our portfolio within five years.
This article was published on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ