Investors are on the hunt for second-hand companies. Listed platforms see their value and liquidity grow. Consumers choose second-hand because it means contributing to sustainability, but it also means saving. According to analysts, the resale market is also good for brands: thus they acquire new customers, for which the prices of new products are inaccessible. Furthermore, consumers who can afford the full price find it more advantageous to buy a new garment, precisely because they can resell it.
Investors are on the hunt
The RealReal was the first second-hand marketplace to go public in 2019. In October 2020, Thredup presented its IPO. Two months later, it was StockX turn, a specialist in sneaker resale, that concluded a financing round, which experts define as “pre-IPO”. In January 2021, Poshmark went public on Wall Street. According to Erika Andreetta, PwC partner, this trend is destined to continue. To MF Fashion, the analyst explained how second hand is on the rise because it is considered a sustainability tool and because it allows to purchase at competitive prices. PwC expects the market to double over the next five years, reaching 64 billion dollars by 2024.
Solca’s opinion
Luca Solca, Bernstein’s analyst, believes that the second hand market can grow structurally. And that, therefore, the current one is not a blaze destined to last a short time. Solca states that the resale market is also an opportunity for those who buy new clothes. “The most savvy consumer – he claims – thinks that the cost is no longer the price on the tag, but the purchase cost minus the residual value that he can get on the second-hand market”.
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