Vivobarefoot Selects Centric PLM to Power its Regenerative Footwear Offering

Leader in barefoot footwear partners with Centric Software^® to support growth and meet consumer demands

CAMPBELL, Calif., March 17, 2022 – 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.”

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Vivobarefoot (www.vivobarefoot.com)

Founded in 2012 by two seventh-generation cobblers, Galahad and Asher Clark, Vivobarefoot is based on one simple insight – barefoot footwear is sustainable footwear.

A Vivobarefoot product or experience is one that literally brings us closer to nature – regenerating our physical, social and spiritual health and the natural world.

We believe: The closer people are to nature, the more they will protect it. The natural world is the only real model of sustainability. Barefoot shoes are the only shoes that are healthy for us and the planet.

Vivobarefoot is a B Corporation(™) Certified business for good. B corp(™) are for-profit companies that use the power of business to build more inclusive and sustainable economy.

Companies in the B Corp community meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

These values are at the core of Vivobarefoot and everything we do.

But we also know that sustainability is no longer enough. Our sedentary, cushioned lifestyles are making us and the planet sick: we must take radical action to restore and regenerate health and the natural world. 

Centric Software (www.centricsoftware.com)

From its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Centric Software^® provides a Product Concept to Replenishment Digital Transformation Platform for fashion, retail, footwear, luxury, outdoor, consumer electronics and consumer goods including cosmetics and personal care and food and beverage. Centric’s flagship Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platform, Centric PLM^TM, delivers enterprise-class merchandise planning, product development, sourcing, quality and product portfolio optimization innovations specifically for fast-moving consumer industries. Centric Visual Innovation Platform (CVIP) offers highly visual digital board experiences for collaboration and decision-making. Centric Retail Planning is an innovative, cloud-native solution powered by Armonica Retail S.R.L., that delivers an end-to-end retail planning process designed to maximize retail business performance. Centric Software pioneered mobility, introducing the first mobile apps for PLM, and is widely known for connectivity to dozens of other enterprise systems including ERP, DAM, PIM, e-com, planning and more as well as creative tools such as Adobe^® Illustrator and a host of 3D CAD connectors. Centric’s innovations are 100% market-driven with the highest user adoption rate and fastest time to value in the industry. All Centric innovations shorten time to market, boost product innovation and reduce costs.

Centric Software is majority-owned by Dassault Systèmes (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), the world leader in 3D design software, 3D digital mock-up and PLM solutions.

Centric Software has received multiple industry awards and recognition, including being named by Red Herring to its Top 100 Global list in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Centric also received various excellence awards from Frost & Sullivan in 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2021.

Centric Software is a registered trademark of Centric Software Inc. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.