It has taken online resale marketplace Retykle a long time to slowly shift Chinese consumers’ superstitious beliefs that buying secondhand clothing is bad luck, according to founder Sarah Garner. “We were aware of the stigma and apprehension when we started so we knew we had to build up a differentiated approach that positions [purchasing] secondhand [clothing] as something both aspirational but also trustworthy,” Garner told Inside Retail. “[In our case], it was like converting on
ing one consumer at a time.”
Based in Hong Kong and launched in 2016, Retykle, is a luxury resale childrenswear online marketplace with more than 10,000 sellers and buyers.
While the luxury resale market is already growing worldwide and is worth €20 billion globally, according to a report by Berenberg Bank, it is still in its infancy in China, where pre-owned items account for just 3 per cent of the luxury resale business.
“In the beginning, our consumer base was [made up of] more foreigners as opposed to local Chinese [customers] and it took us some time to have an equivalent customer base of locals,” she shared.
Retykle’s studio
In March this year, Retykle closed a new round of seed funding to support the company’s expansion plans. The high-profile angel investors include Lazada co-founder Tim Rath and investor and activist John Wood, who founded non-profit organisation Room To Read and social enterprise Powered By Purpose.
The funds raised will allow Retykle to invest within its home market of Hong Kong, as well as expanding its reach into Singapore and Australia.
Who is the resale customer?
Over the years, the team at Retykle has been trying to understand consumer psychology through research, focus groups, surveys and face-to-face conversations.
According to Garner, they have identified four different kinds of resale consumers:
1. The aspirational resale consumer
These are the customers that typically do not have the budget for buying new luxury products but are able to access those in the secondhand market.
“Products in the secondhand market tend to be 60 to 90 per cent off the original retail price,” Garner said.
2. The conscious consumers
“These types of consumers put the environment first and they’re really shopping with their conscience. They’re thinking about their footprint and trying to reduce impact on the environment,” Garner explained.
3. The abundant shoppers
These are the customers who tend to over consume, according to Garner. They like the idea that they can continue purchasing without the guilt because they’re purchasing from a secondhand platform.
4. The savvy sellers and buyers
“These are the customers and sellers who are looking at the after sale market as a reward and are thinking about their cash returns from the items they are selling,” Garner said.
