How VIBAe Kept Customer Support Lean While Scaling to 150+ Countries

When VIBAe launched in 2020, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

Their first summer collection—linen footwear designed for warm weather—arrived months late due to COVID. By the time it hit their warehouse in Finland, summer was already over.

“We had a warehouse full of summer shoes… and no summer,” said Hannu Salminen, Co-founder at VIBAe.

So instead of waiting, they adapted. They launched in Australia, where the shoes would be more popular given the season.

That decision set the tone for how VIBAe operates today: global-first, agile, and relentlessly focused on growth.

Today, VIBAe sells to more than 150 countries, with 85% of its revenue coming from online and a growing retail presence across cities like Helsinki, Barcelona, Tokyo, Malibu and Los Angeles.

All of this is powered by a team of fewer than 10 people.

Which is exactly where the challenge began.

The problem

Footwear isn’t a simple purchase, especially for a newer brand. Customers don’t just ask what to buy. They ask how it fits, how it feels, and whether it’s worth the risk.

And VIBAe’s products added even more nuance:

• Different materials (linen, leather, wool, suede)
• Fit expectations (shoes that stretch over time)
• Consistent sizing—but only once customers understand it

“We try to explain that the shoe should feel snug when you buy it, because it stretches about half a size over time,” said Hannu. “But that’s not always easy to communicate online. Some people read it and understand it perfectly, and others are still unsure and want reassurance before they buy.”

All of this led to a constant stream of pre-purchase and post-purchase questions.

“When you are growing, everything grows… including the tickets for your customer care—returns, exchanges, ‘where is my order,’ all of it,” explained Hannu.

At first, the team handled it manually.

Long days. Constant replies. Trying to get ahead of questions by adding more information to product pages, checkout flows, and emails.

But it wasn’t enough.

“We didn’t have that many tickets when we started… but later, I don’t know how we managed. It was long days, busy hands.”
— Hannu Salminen, Co-founder at VIBAe

Hiring more support agents would have helped, but it would have also added operational weight to a team that had intentionally stayed lean.

What VIBAe needed wasn’t more people.

They needed a smarter system.

The solution

VIBAe implemented REP AI with a clear goal: reduce support workload without compromising the customer experience. But instead of treating REP as a backend support tool, they used it as a frontline layer across the entire customer journey.

“We were really looking for an alternative… instead of hiring more busy hands, something from the AI side that could help us handle this.”
— Hannu Salminen, Co-founder at VIBAe

Turning pre-purchase uncertainty into confident buying decisions

Sizing quickly emerged as one of the most important use cases.

Customers frequently hesitated before buying:

• Should they size up?
• Will the material stretch?
• How does VIBAe compare to other brands?

REP now answers these questions instantly, pulling from product details, internal documentation, and past learnings.

In some cases, it even proactively steps in.

For example, if a customer adds two different sizes to their cart (a common behavior that leads to returns), REP can intervene and guide them toward the right choice.

Instead of letting uncertainty slow down the purchase, VIBAe resolves it in real time.

Creating a 24/7 experience for a global customer base

With customers in 150+ countries, time zones have always been a challenge. REP eliminates that entirely.

Customers can get help whenever they need it, whether they’re shopping for the first time or checking on an existing order.

That immediacy removes friction from the buying process itself. At the same time, REP is quietly removing a significant portion of repetitive support work.

Questions that used to fill the inbox—order tracking, returns, exchanges—are now handled instantly through the on-site chat experience.

“REP is really closing tickets. It’s like filtering everything on the front end before it even reaches our team,” Hannu said.

Customers still get answers. They just don’t have to wait for them.

The results

Since implementing REP AI, VIBAe has been able to support rapid global growth without expanding its customer support team. On the support side, Hannu’s team is seeing

• 97% conversation resolution rate
• Over 95% question-answering rate
• 99%+ customer satisfaction

Customers are getting answers instantly, with a level of accuracy and relevance that keeps them moving forward instead of dropping off.

On the sales side, the numbers are equally impressive:

• Conversation conversion rate above 10%
• High conversion from product recommendations (over 16% from redirects)
• Millions in revenue influenced by REP

By engaging customers in real time, REP consistently drives meaningful lifts in conversion across the site.

“I would say our customer care team is happier today. It’s not that hectic anymore. They can focus on the more difficult issues.”
— Hannu Salminen, Co-founder at VIBAe

Looking ahead

VIBAe’s goal is simple: double revenue year over year.

To get there, they don’t just need more traffic or more products.

They need systems that scale with them.

REP AI has become one of those systems, handling repetitive tasks, guiding customers through uncertainty, and enabling a small team to operate globally.

“We’re interested in anything we can do to help us reach our sales targets, and REP has done its share.”
— Hannu Salminen, Co-founder at VIBAe