Yahoo Lifestyle Fashion Repair and Alter Platform Sojo Expands With Arket, Reiss and Margaret Howell
LONDON — The fashion repair and alter platform Sojo is helping high street and designer brands become more green.
The H&M Group-owned Arket on Thursday joined a growing list of brands and retailers such as Reiss, Margaret Howell, Paul Smith and Selfridges integrating Sojo into their value chain.
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Sojo offers garment repair and alteration services carried out at its East London studio with prices starting from five pounds.
At Arket, consumers will be able to book door-to-door service on its website, while its stores on Regent Street and Covent Garden will offer in-store drop-off and pick-up services.
Ella Soccorsi, head of design and creative at Arket, said the brand’s alliance with Sojo marks its latest efforts to prolong the life cycle of the products, having rolled out initiatives such as Arket Archive, the resale destination for pre-loved items launched in 2023 and a collaboration with Bundlee to offer Arket kidswear on the rental platform.
“We want to offer our customers everyday uniforms, items they keep coming back to season after season while educating them in garment care. Our collaboration with Sojo is a natural next step for us in that ongoing work and to make sure our products can be used and loved for a long time, where we hope that we can inspire customers to repair and customize their cherished Arket pieces instead of replacing them,” added Soccorsi.
Sojo’s in-store services for brands, where customers will be able to book their desired service via an iPad, were first introduced last December with Reiss.
Sarah Kennedy, environmental, social and governance manager at Reiss, said Sojo’s involvement represents a significant step in the brand’s ongoing commitment to the circular economy.
“This commitment forms part of our sustainability and ethical trade strategy and informs our journey to becoming a more responsible business. We believe in creating beautiful, high-quality pieces that last, and by partnering with Sojo through our five-month trial, we’re empowering our customers to extend the life of their Reiss garments and encouraging them to love their garments for as long as possible,” added Kennedy.
Designer brands such as Margaret Howell and Paul Smith see the value in Sojo too.
Caroline Attwood, managing director at Margaret Howell, which started to work with Sojo last October, said the platform’s expertise in garment repair allows the brand’s customers to extend the life of their Margaret Howell pieces.
“Our ethos has always been to create functional, beautifully made clothing designed to last. Sustainability is a natural extension of this — valuing quality, longevity and thoughtful care,” she added.
Since launching in 2021, Sojo has been offering customers repair services as well as advising e-commerce fashion brands on how to be more circular. In 2022, it raised $2.4 million in a pre-seed funding round led by CapitalT and Ascension, with participation from Mustard Seed Maze and Vertex Albion Capital to scale the operation.
It also works closely with the likes of Ganni, Nanushka, Ahluwalia, Rejina Pyo, Peachy Den, Damson Madder, and major players like Selfridges and Vestiaire Collective.
Josephine Philips, chief executive officer and founder of Sojo, said the past four years have been transformational.
It is pivoting the business model from solely direct-to-consumer to a more business-to-business proposition. Sojo is also moving from a marketplace to an in-house operations model. In the past, Sojo wanted to generate work for the many small seamster businesses on high streets across the U.K.
Another major shift, according to Philips, is the introduction of in-store solutions. Sojo’s space in Selfridges, which opened last year, helps the platform see the potential of a retail-first offering.
“The feedback we’ve got from both retail teams and retail customers has been fantastic and we’re excited to continue to expand this service into many more stores this year,” Philips said.
“In the current climate, brands are constantly looking to bring more customers back to their stores with a renewed objective of ensuring an elevated and unique experience for their retail customers. Sojo ensures this elevation by combining increased personalization from your store experience and also driving experiential retail,” she added.
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