(Re)vive takes in products retailers deem too damaged to sell, refreshes them (washing, repairs, lint‑rolling) and routes in‑season items back to stores while selling out‑of‑season goods on channels like eBay and Poshmark. Its software lets employees sort, label and decide outcomes for a box of returns in about three minutes and shows retailers SKU‑level return rates and potential recovery revenue. The company charges a cut on marketplace sales and operates a data platform to help retailers monitor and manage waste. Founded as Hemster in 2017, the team pivoted from in‑store tailoring and a consumer repair portal to focus on retailer inventory recovery. (Re)vive says it has helped companies save $23 million in GMV and rescued 150,000 garments from landfills. The startup reported strong growth — revenue grew nearly 15x last year — and expects demand to increase as retailers face mounting investor and regulatory pressure to reduce waste. Hemster offers the first on-demand tailoring service that lets retailers and brands provide personalized fittings, drive in-store conversion, and reduce returns. The company operates a network of tailors who specialize in certain garments, which the article says makes them four to five times more productive than typical in the industry. Customers can book in-store tailoring, schedule a personal in-home fitting, or use Hemster’s patent-pending RulerStickerTM to mark garments for pickup or drop-off. Hemster collects each customer’s “perfect fit” data on first use and stores it so shoppers can receive size recommendations across participating retailers and brands. Early brand partners include Diane von Furstenberg, Outdoor Voices and Alo Yoga. The company is headquartered in New York and plans to use new funding to launch in new markets nationwide, expand its team and scale operations.

Total raised

$8M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Jun 2024