According to Vogue Business, more and more brands are angling to break into the increasingly lucrative resale market – and there’s a new wave of tech to help them do just that.
As the article explains, the available data on “online recommerce” suggests “this is more than a passing trend,” with the “$7 billion luxury resale market… projected to grow to $11 billion by 2022,” thanks largely to tStockX, The RealReal, and other astronomically valued startups.
The actual fashion labels that created all those resold goods in the first place, however, have “largely been left out of the equation.” And, seeing “their goods swapped in the aftermarket without any financial incentive to participate directly,” has made them content to stay that way. At least, up until now.
Enter the unfortunately named Yerdle, a company founded in 2012 to handle “the logistics, including pricing, for resale platforms that live on brands’ e-commerce sites.” So far, their clients include Patagonia, Taylor Stitch, and Eileen Fisher.
And, the article posits, it’s only a matter of time until more labels – including luxury – start to get into the resale game, too, as Yerdle and Yerdle-like services allow labels to “dip a toe into resale while maintaining control of brand positioning and customer data.”
“Given the growth projections for resale… it only makes sense for brands to find ways to own more of their resale,” one expert said. Third-party platforms are great for the consumer, but it’s a different story for brands… it’s not the right endpoint for a brand.”
And who knows, if brands start re-selling their old clothes, maybe they won’t have to make so many damn new ones. Here’s hoping.
You can read more about it at Vogue Business.
