ThredUp Releases Resale State of the Union
● The site's annual resale report found that the global secondhand market grew 18 percent last year as more business moved online.
ThredUp's annual resale
report is as close to a State of the Union as thrifters are likely to get.
The wide-lens view on the secondhand industry is regularly cited by not just ThredUp but also its competitors, who point to the growth curve it projects as a sign of their own potential.
And the message — again — is that there's still plenty more potential for resale.
This year's report, released Wednesday, found the global secondhand apparel market grew by 18 percent last year to
$197 billion in gross merchandise value. That is projected to grow three times faster than the overall apparel market and hit $350 billion by 2028. (That is a slight step back, as ThredUp's report last year said that the industry would log GMV of $351 billion in 2027.)
In the U.S., the secondhand apparel market grew 11 percent, or seven times faster than the broader apparel market, to $43 billion last year, including value of resale sales as well as traditional thrift and donations. That take is expected to rise to $73 billion by 2028.
While the report comes from one of resale's leading players, the research was conducted by retail analytics firm GlobalData, which relied on its own estimates as well as surveys of 3,654
U.S. consumers and 50 top U.S. fashion retailers and brands.
“The market continues to grow and it's only growing faster than traditional retail,” said James Reinhart, chief executive officer of ThredUp, in an interview. “A lot of that is driven by consumer preference. Talking about their experience of shopping secondhand, selling secondhand, and really what their expectations are for the future, you just start to see share of closet expand over time.”
Secondhand also offers consumers some respite from the economy.
The report found that 60 percent of consumers see secondhand apparel as giving them “the most bang for their buck,” while 55 percent said they'll spend more thrifting if the economy doesn't improve.
“With more than half of all consumers shopping for secondhand apparel last year, it's evident that resale is now firmly embedded in the fashion landscape,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, in a statement.
“Secondhand buying transcends generations, with the role of resale changing throughout consumers' lives,” Saunders said. “Younger shoppers turn to secondhand for self-expression and to help create their personal style; parents rely on secondhand to outfit their families in a cost-effective and eco-conscious way, and older generations turn to secondhand to snag affordable, higher-end brands and for the thrill of the hunt.”
Resale's growth story has been relatively consistent. But the report did single out some other changes in just where people are shopping secondhand.
“You're starting to see that transition from brick-and-mortar to more online penetration,” Reinhart said. “I think that's driven by companies like us and others.”
Nearly two-in-three secondhand customers in the U.S. made at least one purchase online last year, an increase of 17 points from 2022, according to the report. Forty-five percent of younger shoppers said they preferred to buy secondhand apparel online. And online resale is expected to more than double to $40 billion in the next five years.
“It's the first time where you're seeing preference switch, where you now have a majority who are preferring online versus offline,” Reinhart said. “It used to be that maybe they were an offline thrifter and then they would occasionally buy an item online. And now you're seeing that they may be maintaining their offline purchases and then incrementally buying even more online. That portends a pretty bright future for the circular economy.”
But that future might need a little extra help.
The report found that 42 percent of consumers say the government should take legislative action to promote sustainable fashion.
“There are two things that government needs to do,” Reinhart said. “One is creating more producer responsibility. Government has shown that if you hold producers of bad things accountable, whether that's cigarettes or gas emissions, that creates behavior change in an industry. That's the stick approach.
“And I think the carrot then is government creating incentives and credits for sustainable innovation, fiber-to-fiber recycling plants, investments in circularity, investments in resale and rental and all these things that I think ultimately can help change consumer behavior,” he said.
There has been some movement on the legislative front, especially in France, although activists look for more.
Meanwhile, brands have also gotten behind resale.
The report found that the number of resale shops operated by brands grew by 31 percent last year to 163, with J.Crew, American Eagle and Kate Spade all opening resale sites last year with the help of ThredUp.
Taken together, there's a lot of alignment around resale, which is actively being embraced by consumers, brands and regulators.
But the resale world is still clearly sorting itself out on the business front with many of the biggest players, including ThredUp and The RealReal Inc. still working their way toward profitability.
It's been a longer road than many investors hoped for — a fact that has hit shares of ThredUp and The RealReal hard — but Reinhart said resale's most prominent players are getting there.
“If you look at the trajectory of how our businesses have performed over the last couple of years, I think it's been an indication of steady progress towards profitability,” Reinhart said. “Our business grew double digits last year and expanded margins on the bottom line.
It's not as though the businesses aren't growing and driving leverage, I just think there's a little bit of this narrative of,
Why can't the progress be faster? For us, we've expanded in seven of the last eight quarters and the business is significantly bigger than when we went public.
“On the one hand I want to do everything as fast as possible,” he said “On the other hand, I think slow and steady progress where we're making the right investments over time ultimately is what pays off. We've been very clear about being breakeven on a full year basis this year. That's in our guidance. But I guess RealReal [is] the same way. The markets have punished us for not getting there as fast as they would like, but I think we both showed steady progress. And I feel really good about our positioning in the market.”
Loewe has launched an exclusive collection and visual installation at
Neiman Marcus in recognition of Jonathan Anderson‘s 2023 Neiman Marcus Award for Creative Impact.
Anderson was the first winner of NM's Creative Impact Award, which recognizes individuals who have influenced the industry and culture with their singular vision and ability to inspire. The exclusive Loewe collection, which launched Saturday, will be available through April 18.
“The Neiman Marcus Awards connect creative visionaries from around the world with our luxury customers in a truly remarkable way,” said Ryan Ross, president of Neiman Marcus and head of NMG Customer Insights. “For over a decade Jonathan Anderson has revitalized Loewe, bringing great commercial success to the house and establishing himself as one of the most powerful names in luxury fashion today. We are proud to partner with Loewe through our awards platform to bring customers this extraordinary collection and exclusive experiences.”
The exclusive Spanish luxury collection features 19 ready-to-wear pieces inspired by looks from the Loewe archives. Pieces range from a belted suede trenchcoat, leather trousers and a polo dress to the house's signature Anagram baggy jeans and elongated tailoring. The various silhouettes are defined by an ease and softness, complemented with dramatic volumes such as the signature Obi belt in orange leather.
“What's remarkable are the 19 different exclusive styles, as well as this incredibly compelling immersive installation in Beverly Hills and in NorthPark with geometric shapes with stone and marble,” said Lana Todorovich, chief merchandising officer of Neiman Marcus. While handbags are still Neiman's biggest Loewe category, Todorovich said, “We've doubled the [Loewe] business in shoes, we've doubled the business in ready-to-wear, so we thought we'll focus on ready-to-wear for this particular expression.”
In describing the collection, Anderson said, “Neiman Marcus Award's celebration of my tenure at Loewe was really the genesis of this collection. It's an amalgamation of the different textures and eras of my runway collections for the house, exploring the archive and reimagining key pieces for today. The capsule plays on the idea of individual characters, each connected by a common thread, something that lies at the core of Loewe's prismatic identity as a brand.”
Todorovich anticipates bestsellers will be the suede leather long wrap coat, gray polo dress, Anagram jeans and Anagram sweater. Overall retail prices go from $550 for a graphic short-sleeve slim-fit T-shirt to $7,750 for a belted suede leather long wrap coat.
The collection comes to life through installations at Neiman Marcus NorthPark in Dallas and Beverly Hills that combine geometric shapes with stone and marble elements that serve as a backdrop to the product assortment. Besides those two locations, the collection is available at Neiman's stores in San Francisco, Michigan Avenue in Chicago and Coral Gables, Fla.
In addition to in-store, customers can shop the exclusive Loewe collection online and through remote selling. Digitally, the collection is activated through a home page takeover at Neimanmarcus.com, as well as the Neiman Marcus app and SMS messaging. Neiman's and Loewe hosted an event for top customers in Dallas Wednesday night.
For 86 years the NM Awards were given out to designers such as Giorgio Armani, Coco Chanel, Miuccia Prada, Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino. The reimagined Neiman Marcus Awards started up again last year, having been dormant for seven years. Last year, Neiman
Marcus introduced two new categories, Innovation and Creative Impact. The winners were honored in Paris during Paris Fashion Week.
As part of the NM Awards platform, recipients create exclusive brand expressions through immersive experiences and exclusive products for Neiman Marcus customers.
There is no question that Anderson, who hails from Northern Ireland, has revved up Loewe since arriving at the creative helm in 2013. Neiman Marcus began stocking Loewe in 2014, starting with handbags and men's accessories. It began carrying women's ready-to-wear and women's shoes in 2021, with women's handbags and some accessories. The brand is now carried in 24 doors and online.
In 2003, Loewe saw a double-digit increase in net sales at Neiman's, according to Todorovich. “Certain categories have doubled such as readyto-wear and footwear, and the handbags have significantly grown,” she said. She is optimistic the Neiman's customer will embrace the luxury collection.
“This is an opportunity for all our clients to engage with the brand in this very special way. They appreciate the exclusivity of the product and appreciate the unique opportunity that they don't have anywhere else to engage with the product in this immersive environment. It serves a very unique purpose,” she said.
“I think it will do fantastically. It's a moment to fall in love again with all the magic that made Jonathan receive this incredible award. He has made an impact in our industry and has moved the industry in a very unique direction,” she said. She said her customers who buy Loewe have the courage to experiment. “We certainly know our customers love fashion, they love craftsmanship and they love storytelling. These are the three elements that are so prominent in his designs. I see this relationship going on and on, for at least another decade,” she said.
In an interview with WWD last year, Anderson described what gives Loewe its character.
“The brand is about storytelling. There is a complex language that is being built, but ultimately it is about bringing people on the journey with either something they expect or something they don't expect. I think that's what's nice about Loewe — you cannot pigeonhole it,” he said.
As reported, Anderson curated
“Crafted World,” an immersive exhibition about Loewe that opened at the
Shanghai Exhibition on March 22. The exhibition is divided into six thematic chapters that narrate the brand's evolution from a leather-making collective to a fashion house, and most recently, a cultural and craft-focused brand. The itinerant exhibition will be on view free of charge until May 5 until embarking on a world tour.