U.S. Secondhand Designer-Fashion Site Tradesy Gets French Owners
(Bloomberg) — French luxury resale platform Vestiaire Collective SA is buying rival Tradesy Inc. to expand in the U.S.
The combined company will have 23 million users and trade $1 billion of merchandise a year, Vestiaire Collective and Tradesy said Tuesday.
The acquisition is the first for the Paris-based resale platform founded in 2009 and exemplifies the growth of the second-hand market as consumers increasingly reuse fashion and luxury items. The U.S. had recently become the closely held company’s largest market.
Chief Executive Officer Maximilian Bittner said the French company aims to expand worldwide. The companies didn’t disclose the terms of the deal.
Vestiaire Collective customers spend on average 350 euros per basket ($385), whereas clients of Tradesy spend around $500, a company representative said.
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Global sales of secondhand goods are expected to double to $77 billion by 2025, according to a report from GlobalData commissioned by resale platform ThredUp.
Tracy DiNunzio, who founded Tradesy in 2009, will run the combined U.S. operations. Both companies were created by women.
Vestiaire Collective will also open a new authentication center in Los Angeles, bringing the total to five. It already has centers in France, the U.K., Hong Kong and New York where experts make sure the second-hand Louis Vuitton or Hermes bags that are sold aren’t fakes.
Morgan Stanley advised Vestiaire Collective, while Cowen was Tradesy’s adviser.
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