What: Fashion companies are looking to build their own resale channels, giving rise to a new class of B2B start-ups that aim to help them navigate the nascent industry.

Why is it important: Resale, once dismissed by brands as an engine for counterfeits has now become a rapidly growing part of mainstream e-commerce. The US secondhand fashion market is slated to reach USD57 billion by 2025. In 2020, resale accounted for 10% of all US retail sales, up from 5% in 2016. In the past decade, the bulk of this market has been dominated by third-party giants like The RealReal, ThredUp, and Poshmark. But, as the space continues to expand, brands themselves are looking to control the customer journey in the pre-owned realm.

This trend has given rise to a flurry of resale-as-service platforms that handle the backend process of a brand’s owned resale business, which includes inventory collection, verification, and ultimately, sale. Some of the category’s newest entrants include Lululemon, Net-A-Porter, and Hugo Boss, working with RaaS firms such as Trove, Reflaunt, and Faume.

For brands, resale isn’t necessarily a revenue driver but about being part of a consumer experience that’s happening with or without them. While retailers are betting it may eventually become a profitable part of their models, most are focused currently on resale’s potential for driving customer acquisition and loyalty.

Brands are racing into resale