Rebag is expanding its resale offering to shoes and select apparel as it aims to offer a full range of luxury accessories for both men and women.
According to Rebag, the reseller will now buy and sell shoes, including sandals, sneakers, heels, boots and loafers. It will also offer outerwear, jackets, vests, sweaters and sweatshirts, from existing labels like Chanel, Gucci, Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Fendi. Rebag also said that it will offer items from Adidas, Balmain, Common Projects, Maison Margiela, Manolo Blahnik, Jordan, Yeezy, Rick Owens and Vetements for the first time.
“After our successful integration of watches and fine jewelry in 2020, shoes and apparel are the natural next step for us,” Charles Gorra, CEO and founder of Rebag, said in a statement. “Rebag is the expert and ultimate destination for the most coveted luxury items. We are excited to expand our horizons and offer our customers new categories to invest in. This has always been a request from both our buyers and sellers and will help us address a larger share of their resale needs.”
A Louis Vuitton jacket and Balenciaga bag now available at Rebag. CREDIT: Courtesy of Rebag
The announcement follows the news of Rebag’s recent partnership with Moda Operandi, featuring a one-of-a-kind digital trunkshow, as well as the launch of Rebag Rewards, a multi-tiered loyalty program offering various incentives at different levels. The retailer also recently launched Trade, a feature that allows consumers to buy and sell items in a single transaction.
This new expansion comes as consumers shift to spending more on secondhand items. According to ThredUp’s 2022 Resale Report released in May, the U.S. secondhand market is expected to more than double by 2026, reaching $82 billion. In 2021 alone, the total secondhand market grew 58% over the prior year to $35 billion, ThredUp’s report said. This marks the highest level of growth in the secondhand market in five years.
This data echos similar numbers from the NPD Group. In the first quarter of 2022, according to the recent “Future of Apparel” study from NPD, consumers reported an increase in purchasing clothing on resale websites. While lower prices are the main draw for most resale shoppers, style and higher-end brands are growing in importance. The market skews towards a younger, Millennial crowd, with 66% of 18–24-year-olds reporting they shop resale websites, the NPD study found.
The study also showed increased interest in using fashion rental websites. In fact, for an upcoming social event, 6% of consumers reported that they would rent their dressy or formal attire for one time use, with Millennial’s the most likely to do so, according to the June Omnibus Survey from NPD.
Over the past couple of years, an increasing number of major retail firms and brands have entered the resale business through a variety of means. Crocs, Adidas, Macy’s, Target, PacSun and JCPenney, for instance, have forged partnerships with ThredUp, while Neiman Marcus took a minority stake in Fashionphile in 2019.
More recently, Stadium Goods, Dr. Martens and FRWD have all launched resale programs.
