Luxury, more towards sustainability: jewelry, online and Europe drive secondhand sales

From linear to circular economy. Rental, seconghand or co-ownership are the most sustainable business models that are beginning to be present in the sector, according to the latest Worldwide Luxury Market Monitor 2019 report by Bain&Company and Altagamma.

“Consumer’s evolving mentality is stimulating a proliferation of adjacent business models, representing an opportunity that brands should proactively address,” as stated by the Bain&Co and Altagamma document.

In that sense, the secondhand luxury market generates 26 billion dollars a year, driven mainly by younger consumers. The secondhand luxury items that were acquired most last year were fashion and accessories, accounting for 78% of the market.

The secondhand luxury market generates 26 billion dollars in scale a year 

On the other hand, although fashion and accessories continue to gain strength in the secondhand market, used garment sales in this segment represents only 22% of the total. Although there are several companies specialized in online resale of luxury fashion such as Vestiaire Collective or The Real Real, this channel only represents 30%, compared to 70% of secondhand luxury expenditure that is made in physical stores.

Europe leads secondhand luxury consumption, where 55% of the total sales of this segment are gathered. The United States, on the other hand, represents 27%, while the rest of the world represents 18% of the total secondhand luxury sales.   

Asia is lagging behind, mainly due to stronger consumer skepticism, according to the report. At the same time, the brands of the sector are beginning to integrate and accept secondhand luxury market. In that sense, the report notes that “luxury consumer is highly receptive to new value propositions and business models.”