& Other Stories explores secondhand fashion with Sellpy

By

Olivier Guyot

Published
March 21, 2019

It's not only luxury brands looking to explore the potential of secondhand fashion. The H&M group has also decided to dip its toe into this rapidly growing market. Indeed, according to a study published by luxury resale platform ThredUp, the value of the secondhand fashion market is set to rise from $24 billion in 2018 to $51 billion  in 2023, $23 billion of which will come from the resale market, the other $28 billion being attributable to thrift stores and donations. 

Some have linked secondhand fashion's rising popularity with the deceleration seen in the activities of companies operating in fast fashion and the mass market sector, and it looks like the Stockholm-based H&M group is eager not to miss out on the opportunity. Through its innovation fund H&M CO:Lab, the company injected more than $2 million euros into Swedish secondhand specialist Sellpy last year, marking the fund's second investment in the company led by Michael Arnor, who co-founded Sellpy in 2014. 

Sellpy, then, is the company the H&M group has chosen as its partner as it takes its first steps into the resale market, an initiative which will begin with the fast-fashion giant's & Other Stories brand. 

According to information obtained by FashionNetwork.com, the & Other Stories website will begin offering secondhand products from the brand in the next few weeks, redirecting interested shoppers to Sellpy's online resale platform. The approach is in line with the brand's premium positioning and the diversity of its offering, which includes not only apparel, but a wide range of accessories, jewellery and beauty products. Similar lifestyle brands in the H&M group portfolio include COS and Arket. 

Despite having a strong fashion focus, Sellpy, which is currently only available in Swedish, hosts a wide range of products. The platform, which employs 200 people, reported revenues of 80 million kronor (around 9 million euros) in 2017 but is yet to turn a profit. 

The H&M group regularly tests new concepts and services at its different brands. At Arket, for example, the company has developed a transparency model allowing customers to trace a product from the origin of its raw materials, through manufacturing to the store shelf, an initiative which is also set to be rolled out at the group's flagship H&M banner in the near future.