The Sofia-based Remix Global – the First Online Store in CEE to Promote Textile Reuse
The Bulgarian online fashion store Remixshop.com is the Central and Eastern Europe’s first and only to implement EU policies for sustainable textile management practices in its business model. The store belongs to the Sofia-based Remix Global, which offers the “Sell to Remix” service in nine European countries, allowing customers to extend the life of unwanted clothing and accessories by sending them free of charge to the company’s logistics centre in Sofia.
As part of its plan to grow the business in a sustainable direction, Remix initially launched the service in Bulgaria and Romania and then in Poland, Germany and Austria. In 2019, the service became available to the other markets where the online store operates — Greece, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
“Sell to Remix” allows customers to send their gently used clothing and accessories to be sold on remixshop.com with easy, free-of-charge shipping and receive a percentage of the final price. The money earned can be used for purchases from the website, transferred to a personal account or donated to SOS Children’s Villages.
Unlike consumer platforms that connect sellers and buyers, Remix takes care of the clothes fully – from disinfection and defect inspection, to taking pictures, pricing and shipping to customers; unusable items are being recycled. A customer only needs to order the Remix Bag (a large, sturdy bag made of recycled polyethylene) and request a courier for return delivery to Remix.
This way, the service becomes an effective method of separate collection of textiles and prevents unwanted accumulation of textile waste.
A circular economy action plan with a focus on sustainable use of resources, especially in high-impact resource-intensive sectors such as textile and construction, has also been enshrined in the so-called Green Deal, part of the Agenda for Europe of the newly-appointed President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
The store handles about 300,000 items from orders every month and over 9,000 full Remix Bags from nine countries. To manage operational activities, Remix works with internally developed software and hardware products, including a proprietary ERP solution that optimises production processes.
“We are based in Sofia, because here we are able to find competent IT specialists to carry out the technological development of the various units of the company and to become more efficient and productive,” says Genoveva Petrova, CEO of Remix. According to her, businesses in the city, including small and medium-sized enterprises, are becoming more technologically advanced and focused on digitising their processes and allocating budgets for digital marketing that are easily measurable and effective.
About REMIX
Remix is one of Europe’s leading online retailers of second-hand clothing and outlet fashion apparel. In 2016, it was named one of the fastest growing companies in Central and Eastern Europe by Ernst & Young.
Since its founding in 2012, Remix has grown and developed rapidly: in 2014, online stores opened in Greece and Romania, and in 2015 – in Poland. In 2016, the company received funding of € 8 million from one of the leading investment funds in Central and Eastern Europe – Mezzanine Management, to continue its expansion. This allowed Remix to enter five new markets in Europe – Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Remix employs over 600 people.
