This meeting was open to all CEOs/MDs of BRC Member Businesses, particularly in fashion, clothing and home. We were joined by Matt Coode, Partner and International Head of Trade, and Olivia May, Partner, from OC&C Strategy Consultants.
A recording of the session and the slide deck are at the foot of this note.
Overview
The meeting reviewed the evolution of the online apparel resale market, examining market size, growth drivers, consumer behaviour, platform economics, and emerging competitive dynamics. Discussion focused on the factors enabling profitable resale businesses, the implications for first-hand brands, and the role of trust, operational efficiency, and technology in sustaining growth. The session also explored the strategic choices available to brands seeking to participate in or reclaim value from the resale ecosystem and concluded with practical case studies illustrating successful approaches.
Key updates
- Market Growth and Consumer Adoption: Research across the UK, France, Poland, and the US showing that second-hand apparel represents roughly 9–13% of market value, with online resale growing at more than 20% CAGR and accounting for a significant share of a €750 billion apparel market. The conclusion was that resale is now a mainstream channel continuing to gain share from first-hand retail rather than from offline second-hand channels.
- Consumer Behaviour Drivers: Participation continues to rise, with 35% of UK adults buying or selling online second-hand in the past year and annual spend approaching €250 per shopper. Financial value, access to higher-quality brands, monetisation of unused wardrobes, and sustainability were identified as key motivations, reinforcing expectations of continued market expansion.
- Impact on First-Hand Brands: 52% of second-hand purchases now replace first-hand purchases, creating material cannibalisation of traditional retail demand. The outcome was an assessment that online second-hand could exceed €50 billion in market value by 2030, with further growth headroom in both participation and spending.
- Resale Business Models: Five principal resale models, including classifieds, peer-to-peer marketplaces, consignment operators, brand trade-in programmes, and supporting enablement platforms. The discussion highlighted that a growing number of operators across these models have achieved profitability through improved liquidity, transaction economics, and operational discipline.
- Profitability Playbook: Recurring success factors among profitable players, including high buyer–seller crossover, strong inventory liquidity, investment in trust and authentication, frictionless user experiences, AI-enabled operational efficiency, and carefully balanced fee structures. The agreed framework was a five-stage cycle covering inventory creation, buyer acquisition, liquidity, monetisation, and expansion.
- AI and Marketplace Resilience: Olivia assessed whether AI agents could disintermediate resale platforms and concluded that highly fragmented inventory, trust requirements, and relatively low apparel margins reduce that risk in the near term. The expected next step for the sector is greater integration with AI-assisted discovery and search while maintaining platform-led transactions and trust mechanisms.
- The RealReal Case Study: The RealReal improved profitability by shifting from listing volume to inventory quality, enforcing a $100 minimum item price versus a $78 processing cost, reducing stock risk, and applying AI-driven authentication. The result was lower traffic but stronger economics and improved resale value through enhanced trust and verification.
- Vinted Case Study: Vinted's growth has been driven by reducing friction, expanding features such as image search, and monetising adjacent services including payments, logistics, and product verification while maintaining a 5% buyer fee. The outcome was a high-volume model that generates value beyond the core transaction.
- Brand Resale Success Stories: Patagonia and Dr. Martens are examples of brands generating profit from resale through customer data, product content, repair capabilities, and ecosystem-based credit models. Patagonia's programme was reported as profitable and generating $13 million in revenue, while Dr. Martens achieved customer acquisition benefits, with 43% of rewear customers being new to the brand.
- Integrated Brand Marketplace Example: Wyse London's partnership model uses a white-label peer-to-peer platform integrated with customer and product data to automate listings and maintain a premium brand experience. The outcome was higher customer lifetime value, resale prices around 20% above comparable marketplace listings, and reduced inventory leakage to external resale platforms.
We then had the opportunity for Q&A.
BRC's Preloved Benchmark
We have recently launched a Preloved Benchmark with a number of charity and commercial retail members. Participants receive weekly benchmark reports detailing the aggregated value of sales by category, together with the year-on-year performance. These reports are broken down by total UK sales, stores and online. We are currently reporting a number of categories, including women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, footwear and other non-food sales. We are aiming to include additional categories in the near future, as the number of participants grows.
The benchmark sits alongside our main Retail Sales Benchmark, so retail member participants submit their commercial ‘new’ sales as part of the main benchmark, alongside their ‘pre-loved’ sales.
To find out more and gain access to the benchmark, contact Tina Spooner
Voluntary Guideline On Second Hand And Preloved Items
We published this in 2024 to help members understand the different channels to keep clothing and other items in a circular loop rather than being sent to landfill. You can download it here.
