Second-hand: From Your Own Closet to a Billion-Dollar Business with Used Goods
Second-hand fashion is booming and with it new business models. However, the popular platforms Vinted and Vestiaire Collective also show the dark side of the business.
Secondhand clothing is booming, with online platforms driving the growth. German entrepreneurs Lenard Hillbrand, 26, Laurent Tekstra, 25, and Leo Dellmann, 22, have capitalized on this trend with their platform Sportpacks. They sell secondhand garments, particularly popular brands, at a profit of 50 to 80 percent. Their online arbitrage business involves buying secondhand items at lower prices from different platforms and reselling them at a higher price.
The three men also maintain a team of suppliers across international borders and have launched their own sportswear brand. However, their primary focus remains the resale of high-profile secondhand clothing. Dellmann first discovered the platform Vinted at 14 years old, when he found a 25-euro Ralph Lauren sweater. Today, they have left Vinted and now only sell on their own online shop.
Despite the slow sales of new fashion, the secondhand market is growing rapidly, up to eight times faster than traditional fashion. According to fashion expert Catharina Martinez-Pardo, 28 percent of German wardrobes are now secondhand, and 28 percent of global fashion and luxury goods are made up of secondhand items. Luxury brands are increasingly influenced by the secondhand market, with French platform Vestiaire Collective alone handling over a billion euros worth of used luxury fashion annually.
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