Branded Resale Surpasses 100 Programs, as of September
Companies are on track to hit 140 new programs by year-end, according to a ThredUp report.
By now, more than 100 apparel brands and retailers have launched resale programs.
ThredUp's monthly Recommerce 100 report tracks the movement in the resale space (not solely its partnerships) and estimated, as of Sept. 30, that 107 branded resale shops were in existence. Some 73 of them launched in 2022, showing continued traction for the circular movement.
Just Tuesday, ThredUp announced a new resale-as-a-service program with mall retailer Hot Topic, dubbed “Hot Topic Replay” where shoppers can buy and sell secondhand goods. ThredUp said that if the current trajectory continues, there could be as many as 140 resale programs by year- end.
Brands are getting into the space for a number of reasons, as WWD has reported. Recent newcomers include everyone from French minimalist label Sandro (with its “Sandro Secondhand”) to Los Angeles, California-based earthy frocks from Dôen (with its “Hand me Dôen”).
For latest entrant Hot Topic — as with many others — it means inching closer to sustainability.
“The launch of Hot Topic Replay provides our customers the ability to give their pop culture merchandise a second life,” Steve Vranes, chief executive officer of Hot Topic, said in a statement. Vranes said the partnership, moreover, offered the right speed and resale expertise.
According to ThredUp's Recommerce 100 report, “managed resale” and “peerto-peer” models are both on the rise. The managed model (how ThredUp or The RealReal works) dominates when it comes to scale (accounting for 14 out of the top 15 resale shops, or 78 percent of listings), while peer-to-peer is winning in number of shops (accounting for 79 out of the total 107 resale shops). Peer-to-peer shops are still very small, per the Recommerce 100 report, with 56 of the 107 brands on the Recommerce 100 showing fewer than 100 resale listings.
Regardless of the channel, there are certain logos that keep appearing.
Per ThredUp, the top resale brands by volume of listings in September were Athleta, Tea Collection, Lululemon Athletica, Tommy Hilfiger, Madewell, Eileen Fisher, Patagonia, REI, PacSun and Kut from the Kloth.