Second-hand online fashion shop Sellpy, which is majority owned by H&M, is set to go live in 20 countries across Europe as it taps into growing demand for sustainable apparel.
Sellpy, which handles the entire process from picking the items up from the sellers home, to listing, selling and shipping, first launched in Sweden in 2014. It has since opened in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands earlier this year. Now it is planning to go live across much of rthe rest of Europe, covering 24 countries in total.
“Every garment bought pre-owned saves resources for our planet. Demand in our new markets is growing rapidly”, Head of Expansion Gustav Wessman says.
H&M has invested more than 20 million euros ($24.38 million) in Sellpy and owns around 70% of the company, Wessman told Reuters. Sellpy said it had started a collaboration with H&M that gives it access to an H&M warehouse in Poland, as well as service around distribution, quality control of garments and order handling.
“We see a steady growth in demand for sustainable consumption, where second-hand is a great option,” adds Michael Arnör, CEO of Sellpy. “Every garment bought pre-owned saves resources for our planet. It’s therefore very exciting that we continue to grow and empower more customers in Europe to live circular.”
Sustainable consumption is becoming an integral part of H&M Group’s sustainability work in order to reduce the environmental impact of the entire textile industry and to grow new revenue streams for the company.
“We’re excited about Sellpy’s continued international expansion which we support with our investment and strategic partnership,” says Nanna Andersen, Head of CO:LAB H&M Group. “We truly believe in the entrepreneurs and team behind Sellpy and their unique circular business model, which perfectly aligns with our vision to become fully circular.”
The move comes a month second-hand apparel site Vinted secured €250m in Series F funding to drive expansion of the global site. The investment, which gives the company a pre-money valuation of €3.5bn, will be used to drive expansion into new geographies – both within Europe and beyond – as well as continuing to improve the overall member experience by investing into trust and safety, payments, shipping, infrastructure and other and new product tools and features.
To support these initiatives, Vinted will continue grow its team, which increased by around 75% over the last 12 months to more than 700 people. The new investment will include an expansion of Vinted’s Berlin office as the location for key teams including within Engineering and Product.
The move is part of a growing movement among retailers to embrace the burgeoning second-life market for all manner of items and comes as Thriftify, the online marketplace that allows charity shops to sell second-hand clothes and other items also launches in the UK. It also follows both IKEA and MADE.COM launching initiatives to see second-hand furniture find a second-life.
The new investment in Vinted underlines the growing worldwide consumer appeal of second-hand fashion within a global apparel market forecast to reach $2.2trn in revenue by 2025, according to Statista. The move to second-hand has accelerated rapidly in recent years and has continued during the pandemic as consumers increasingly look for ways to shop that fit with their new work-from-home routines and their efforts to make more conscious buying choices.
