Fashion Resale Is Facing an Inventory Crunch

Thanks to increased consumer consciousness around sustainability, the circular economy, and fair labor, resale has become fashion’s hottest sector—and brands want in. But scaling and making resale profitable isn’t easy, and with increasing competition in the space, it’s only going to get harder. 

In the US alone, the secondhand fashion market could grow 20% between 2020 and 2025 to reach $67 billion in size, according to estimates by Business of Fashion Insights.

Online resale is growing 4X faster than offline.  ~$37 B (50% of total)—estimated share of online sales of secondhand fashion by 2024.  ~$28 B (43%)—offline thrift & donation (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.).

Resale is growing 3X faster than retail fashion.  3X—ThredUP estimates that the global secondhand apparel market will grow 3X faster than the global apparel market.  8X—in North America, it’ll grow to $82 Billion by 2025.

In order to protect exclusivity, stores had to commit to even larger buys, ordering more clothes than they could possibly sell. Then, when they couldn’t move the stuff, they’d return it. Thanks to the rise of fast fashion and the luxury market’s simultaneous attempt to keep up with its impossible pace, it all started to feel disposable. So detrimen... See more