The luxury resale market is worth an estimated $25 to $30 billion, according to McKinsey. Secondhand menswear category is next, according to Loehnis.
More larger multi-brands are experimenting. British department store Harvey Nichols also works with Reflaunt to allow customers to resell pre-loved fashion pieces. Selfridges has “ReSellfridges”, an in-store and online resale offering since 2021. Harrods welcomed sneaker reseller The Edit Ldn in October 2021, offering limited edition pre-owned sneakers from Yeezy, Jordan and Off-White. However the British luxury department store doesn't have a resale service, nor does Lane Crawford. Saks has an ongoing pop-up with The RealReal since November, while Nordstrom’s “See You Tomorrow” allows customers to sell and purchase pre-owned apparel and accessories (powered by technology and logistics platform Yerdle).
The Mr Porter Resell initiative follows Net-a-Porter’s foray into womenswear resale last October, which began in the UK, and has now expanded to Hong Kong, Germany and the US.
So far at Net-a-Porter, the majority of items sent in have been in great condition, with some sold within 48 hours, the retailer says. The average customer sends six items for resale, double the number of pieces required to use the service. Ready-to-wear is the most popular category, comprising over two thirds of listed items to date. Chanel, Gucci, Saint Laurent, Burberry and Chloé are among the most frequently listed brands for resale, according to YNAP.
The adoption of resale is predominantly customer-led, but when the concept initially took off, some luxury brands were more reserved, says Loehnis. “There was an inherent mistrust of the grey market and a natural hesitation around entering such a new space. Today, the opportunity around resale is more widely acknowledged and more easily facilitated,” she explains. “Many of our brand partners are now actively playing in this space, or they’re seriously contemplating it and looking at how to make it work for them.”
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