The Resale Edit: Watch Out Brands-Rent the Runway is Now Selling Your Stuff on Amazon

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Let's Talk Resale

Trove Inc.

34 episodes

9 months ago

In 2022 alone, there were 150 billion new garments produced to clothe a world of only 8 billion. 90% of that ends up in landfills. No question, the fashion industry is hurtling toward a reckoning. Here at Trove, we intend to learn, unlearn, and relearn so we can inspire our peers, the industry, and our youth that as a collectively conscious body, we can achieve growth without growing our emissions.

Let’s Talk Resale is a foundational series that considers the emerging landscape of resale also known as recommerce. We follow Andy Ruben - Founder and Executive Chair of Trove - as he dives deep into the trends shaping the circular economy.

Each episode’s theme will address key issues that brands face when adopting a recommerce platform. We’ll interrogate the nuances of sustainability and discuss the implications of recommerce for brand control. You’ll hear key anecdotes from brands with resale models that are already thriving, such as REI, in addition to a bottom-up approach, where we interview several members of Gen Z, and gain insight into the future consumer.

To capture the fast-paced weekly news in the resale industry, we have an episode every Tuesday, The Resale Edit, that highlights the key trends and takeaways for brands and their teams which is hosted by Trove's Head of Content, Samantha Dersarkissian. Subscribe to the accompanying newsletter here.

This series is a tour de force that will educate, inspire, and offer insight into Trove’s product and vision. While targeted to thought leaders and luxury executives, all listeners will gain a robust understanding of the state of recommerce. Along the way, you'll come to face the inevitable choice fashion brands must make to stay relevant in the 21st century.

Looking for more resale content? Check out www.trove.com

All content for Let's Talk Resale is the property of Trove Inc. and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

The Resale Edit: Watch Out Brands-Rent the Runway is Now Selling Your Stuff on Amazon

Let's Talk Resale

5 minutes

2 years ago

The Resale Edit: Watch Out Brands-Rent the Runway is Now Selling Your Stuff on Amazon

Rent the Runway’s deal with Amazon is a five-alarm fire for brands such as Rag & Bone and Tory Burch. RTR sells pre-owned branded fashion and its own branded pieces on Amazon at significant discounts. RTR started with selling via Thredup the Sacks Off Fifth and now Amazon. Their stock was rewarded, but this is short term, but it’s hard not to see the desperation with long-term concerns for the company.

@Sucharita Kodali, principal analyst at Forrester, said in a Sourcing Journal piece the new relationship suggests RTR isn’t “operating from a position of strength” and has “basically thrown in the towel.” She compared the deal to the “end game in chess.” “You’re about to lose… so you’re giving up your rook as a last-ditch effort to delay…the end of the game.” I share these quotes because Sucharita nailed them.

This makes fantastic sense for Amazon, which now sells $7,150 Chanel handbags and $12,500 Rolex watches to their customers, even though Chanel or Rolex would never directly choose to sell on Amazon. They continue to provide more brands and value to their customers. With more customer traffic, they gain negotiating power over others such as RTR and What Goes Around Comes Around (WGACA), who suppliers the Chanel handbags and $545 Hermès scarves.

So why did RTR do the deal? As a recent public company, they are fighting to prove they can build a profitable business that captures the customer shift from ownership to access. And there is a massive shift taking place, but it needs to be faster to satisfy public investor expectations. We will see whether these moves toward resale will distract RTR from its core rental platform or provide the life support that the business needs for customers to catch up. I sadly expect it will be the first.

And what does this mean for brands who now find themselves with more items on Amazon? More headwind. As if this economic market and the changing customer weren’t challenging enough, brands increasingly compete with discounted items as others profit and degrade their hard-earned brand equity. This latest move is another example of how brands must control their destiny–offering resale models directly and working with channel partners with aligned interests.

In other news, this past week, we went from 120 resale programs to 121, as we can add YETI to the list of brands with owned resale channels with the launch of YETI RESCUES. YETI is the latest in a series of impressive launches for Arrive, including Burton and Eddie Bauer. While the assortment appears limited to ‘open box’ items, the online storefront is clean, on-brand, and easy to shop. While it’s a fine starting point, I expect this to be a jumping-off point for YETI and expect them to expand assortment and ideally trade in over the coming months.

On the marketplace front, consolidation continues as South Korean internet player Naver invested $80.7M to become the largest stakeholder in Wallapop, a mobile-based European platform for buying and selling second-hand products. This follows the acquisition of Poshmark last year as Naver establishes a strong global P2P portfolio that connects the markets in North America, Europe, Japan and Korea. Given these platforms are building customer brand and loyalty, this is a play for more global market coverage with the ability to leverage P2P technology at a greater scale.

Additionally, Sellier Knightsbridge has acquired the luxury resale platform Worn, growing its...