Balenciaga goes second-hand after successful trial

Luxury brand Balenciaga too is pulling out the second-hand card, now that pilot projects have demonstrated demand for it. The Basque luxury brand is giving customers the chance to hand in used items and resell them, in exchange for store credit.

Investing in LVMH subsidiary

Customers can sell their clothes and accessories in exchange for vouchers from the luxury brand. They can drop off the items at selected shops, after which they are sent to second-hand service Reflaunt to be verified, professionally photographed and priced.

The choice of Reflaunt as a partner is no coincidence: the technology company offering resale as a service got Balenciaga CEO Cédric Charbit as one of its first investors on board during an initial funding round. Reflaunt, however, is part of LVMH’s accelerator programme La Maison des Startups, while Balenciaga belongs to the rivalling Kering empire.

Network of second-hand platforms

Where interested parties will soon be able to snap up the second-hand Balenciaga pieces is not yet entirely clear. Reflaunt runs second-hand websites for brands by themselves or publishes items on more than 25 secondary marketplaces, including Vestiaire Collective and Rebelle, Vogue Business reports. However, since sellers do not get cash but store credit, that option seems difficult to implement.

Balenciaga says the collaboration is part of its broader mission to become a “fully sustainable company”. In doing so, the company says it wants to encourage consuming less, reuse and recycling. Second-hand is also a booming market, currently growing more strongly both online and offline than the fashion market as such. Michael Kors was the latest in a long line to launch its own resale platform at the end of August.