Thoughts on DTC Repair

Inspired by the most recent Untangling podcast

I’m going to try out a new format this week by sharing insights and reflections on The Untangling Circularity’s most recent podcast:

Direct-to-Consumer Repair with FXRY and United Repair Centre.

FXRY

FXRY is a new, local repair service in the Seattle area. They pick up items for alteration and repair, and bring them back to you when they’re done.

Thoughts on FXRY’s model:

I love the convenience of having something picked up and brought back to you. I’m sure this comes with a price tag, BUT I think that people- and I’ll speak for myself- are unsure where to take their items to be repaired locally, so having a service cut out that wondering question is meeting at least some folks- like me- where they are, which is quickly becoming my favorite indicator for the success of a new business. It reminds me of Beni, meeting online shoppers where they are to offer them used items instead of new.

FXRY will face some stumbling blocks with this model, as it definitely takes time- i.e. costs money- to pick things up from folks and drop them back off. To this end, they are also trying out pop ups in local shops where people can reserve a time and FXRY can stack a bunch of clients. That’s definitely more efficient and is also probably great for the host business as people will probably poke around and shop a little as well.

Something I keep meaning to do (embarrassingly…) is to bring some of my favorite, ill-fitting items to a tailor to have them altered to fit me perfectly. Everyone I know who does this raves about the value for the money and how much more they love their clothes. I need to get on the bandwagon. I think there’s a mental block for most folks- again, I’ll stick with my own experience- around spending more money on items we already own when we are conditioned to just buy a replacement instead of fixing what we have. I recently paid $100 to put a new strap on a very nice purse, and initially it felt like too much, but now I wear it every day and feel proud that it is such high quality. I think this is a muscle that requires building over time. I have to retrain myself to repair over replace- it’s not easy.

United Repair Centre

United Repair Centre (URC) is a growing repair business based in the EU and UK that trains and hires “job seekers with a distance to the labour market” as repair technicians. Here’s how they say it:

We offer high-quality repair services, while providing local employment opportunities to newcomers, young adults and other job seekers with a distance to the labour market.

I am really inspired by mission-driven businesses right now, those businesses that provide a service while serving a larger mission. Goodwill comes to mind as an easy example:

Goodwill^® works to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals and families by strengthening communities, eliminating barriers to opportunity and helping people in need reach their full potential through learning and the power of work.

i.e. they sell used clothes AND they provide jobs and training to those who may face barriers with traditional employment.

I am inspired by URC’s training program where they are teaching people how to become repair technicians and then guaranteeing them a job when they graduate. This is a fantastic example of how the circular economy can create new jobs. Growing the repair industry and getting more people to actually repair their clothes is a long-term goal that will require the growth of many service-based businesses like URC and FXRY complemented by changing attitudes and behaviors on the consumer side. I am heartened to have watched URC grow over the past year, expanding beyond the EU into the UK and with name-brand partners like Patagonia and lululemon.

I was also inspired by Thami’s comments (he’s URC’s founder) on the podcast about owning the company privately and not taking investment from venture capital. This has been surfacing as a theme across multiple podcast guests, and each time I hear it, it energizes me. I worked for a fairly large ($300M annual revenue) private company for a long time and had a front row seat

to the types of decisions and process of decision making that are possible when a company doesn’t have to answer to investors. It’s not an easy path, but that’s true no matter what type of ownership model you have. Privately owned companies should be incredibly proud of themselves for figuring out how to grow their businesses without large injections of cash from outside investors. (No judgement to my friends building businesses with venture capital- I know how hard you are working!)

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Alright, that’s my thoughts for today. Please let me know what you think of this format.

Have a great week!

Cynthia
cynthia@moltevolte.com