The resale platform has sold over 10,000 second-hand boots since launching in March 2024
Boot retailer Dr Martens is considering extending its ReWair resale platform beyond the US as it seeks to tap into the burgeoning second-hand market.
The British company, whose distinctive yellow-stitched Northamptonshire-made footwear has remained a vintage staple for generations, introduced its ReWair service in America during March 2024 as part of its sustainability drive.
The branded resale initiative has proved so popular, with over 10,000 pre-owned pairs shifting in the US since its debut, that the firm is now contemplating rolling out the platform to additional nations globally.
Chief executive Ije Nwokorie informed the Press Association that the company was examining how it might “build that offering out”.
He indicated no decision had been reached regarding which territories would follow next or the timing, but noted that “if it’s successful in one place” it was logical to consider expansion.
This development coincides with surging appetite for pre-owned goods across the UK and internationally.
Logistics firm Evri – which maintains a partnership with second-hand platform Vinted – recently disclosed that the explosion in pre-loved shopping and digital marketplaces enabled it to handle almost 50 million additional parcels in the first half of the year.
The ReWair programme is also attracting fresh customers to the Dr Martens label, the group reported.
It revealed that 43% of US resale purchasers were newcomers to the brand as at the end of March.
ReWair refurbishes and restores pre-owned footwear and bags, which the company then verifies and retails via a specialist online outlet. Items that come back are also spruced up for resale where feasible, or channelled towards recycling or charitable donation when restoration isn’t viable.
Across the UK, Dr Martens doesn’t operate its own branded resale platform directly, but instead maintains a ReWair outlet on Depop, working alongside The Boot Repair Company.
Since its April 2022 debut, the venture has shifted over 13,000 restored Dr Martens items.
The company also operates an authorised repair service domestically, which Mr Nwokorie described as performing “doing really well” in the UK, with close to 5,800 customers utilising it to prolong their footwear’s lifespan.
“It really plays to our strengths,” he explained to PA. “And all of that is a revenue stream for us.”
Beyond capitalising on pre-owned product appetite, these resale programmes form part of broader ambitions to ensure every product has a “sustainable end-of-life” pathway by 2040.
This approach means returned goods that can’t be restored for resale get recycled or donated instead.
In March 2024, Dr Martens unveiled three items crafted with Genix Nappa – an innovative material derived from reclaimed leather – supporting its goal of manufacturing all products from sustainable materials by 2040.
