Resale Platform Vestiaire Collective Acquires Industry Peer Tradesy As Circular Fashion Economy Continues To Grow

Global resale platform Vestiaire Collective has acquired fellow industry peer Tradesy. The two secondhand platforms represent a global commitment to promotion of a circular fashion model. Both companies were launched in 2009, in Paris and Los Angeles respectively, and by female founders. The two have striking similarities, share a mission to end fashion waste and are now a unified operation.

Pooling their platforms, Vestiaire and Tradesy will give their users access to a wider selection of sellers, buyers and items, all in one place. As one entity, the company claims it will have a membership base of 23 million and 5 million items for sale, totalling more than $1 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV).

A shared vision

Vestiaire, co-founded by Fanny Moizant, is a Certified B Corp with a leading position in the pre-loved fashion market. An online marketplace, it was founded to promote a circular economy model and boasts an inventory of more than three million items. Its community is highly engaged and invested in the message of sustainable fashion. Tradesy, founded by Tracy DiNunzio, has been a similarly successful platform, cornering the U.S. market for luxury fashion resale. The two companies becoming one will allow for a full spectrum of budgets and tastes to be catered for within one place.

“Fanny, Max and their great team have done a spectacular job positioning Vestiaire Collective as the leading marketplace in our global industry, Tracy DiNunzio said in a statement. “With today’s transaction, we are positioned to significantly improve the experience of US fashion customers. The Tradesy team and I are thrilled to pursue our shared mission together with the incredibly talented team at Vestiaire Collective.”

The acquisition of Tradesy comes as Vestiaire has concentrated on growing its presence in the U.S. It now stands as the platform’s largest market. Following the recent acquisition, a new authentication centre will be opened in Los Angeles,markign the platform’s fifth internationally and second in the U.S. 

Vestiare cites customer experience as a chief motivator for the acquisition. Sellers will find their items presented to an exponentially larger audience. Buyers will have more choice than ever before. Add in everything being pre-loved and its a triple win for both kinds of platform users and the environment.

“Today’s transaction is a key milestone for the luxury fashion resale industry,” Maximilian Bittner, CEO of Vestiare Collective said in a statement. “By joining forces with Tracy and her team, we continue to empower our customers to drive change by making second-hand fashion a first choice. With this transaction, we confirm Vestiaire Collective’s ambition to be a truly global player, promoting circularity in Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific.

The resale platform is now in Vogue

Secondhand clothing, or pre-loved wearables, is big business. A growing number of global consumers have been shown to be embracing the trend of not buying new. Conscious consumption, as a way of embracing sustainability, has been shown to be directly driving the market for more resales apps and platforms. Even luxury goods sellers are getting in on the action, after initially being wary of resale as a cannibalistic and devaluing enterprise. Prada is one of the latest high fashion houses to reveal that it is looking into the possibilities of resale, though it has yet to unveil a formal plan. 

Lead photo by Artem Beliaikin at Unsplash.