Online second-hand marketplace Vinted was valued at €5 billion last year, preloved and vintage platform Depop sold to Etsy for $1.6 billion back in 2021, and eBay is gaining traction as a self-proclaimed “preloved pioneer”.
It’s clear to see that resale in retail is big business and second hand has become first choice for many consumers, but what about the individual retailers looking to drive their own revenue from this channel and build their own route to market in preloved sales?
The rewards of doing so could be significant, with Retail Economics predicting the total value of the UK recommerce market will be £12.4 billion by 2028. And an Amazon-Cebr report published in July estimates UK online resale should be worth £4.3 billion this year.
It was against this backdrop Green Retail World and Berlin-based tech company Brandback brought together leaders from retail for a roundtable breakfast in Manchester, on 9 September 2025.
The event at THG-owned King Street Townhouse included senior representatives from Castore, Debenhams Group, Footasylum, JD Sports, Mamu, Matalan, Nadine Merabi, and N Brown – primarily sustainability and commercial leaders from the vibrant and growing Manchester fashion retail scene.
The discussion was held under the Chatham House Rule, but we’ve pulled out five key themes delegates dived into over a two-hour discussion and included attributed quotes with permission to do so.
Money to be made in resale
Retailers are alert to third-parties making money from selling their branded products on the booming second-hand market. Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Gucci are among the most sought-after goods on Vinted, while Adidas, H&M, and Zara are also all big sellers, according to statistics released by the platform.
It has prompted several retailers and brands to go it alone and establish their own official resale channels embedded into their e-commerce operations, but this market is still at a fledgling stage for many.
Although those around the table did not have their own established preloved channels, they all spoke about the opportunity it presents. Some have dabbled with selling preloved and refurbished goods – with one retailer saying an initial trial working with eBay saw them generate £600,000 from one product range alone.
Retailers always want to maximise margins – it’s what they strive to do in what is predominantly a low margin industry – and there was clearly interest around the table about how to avoid losing share of sale to third-party marketplaces.
Own channel resale offers control
Ian Earnshaw, the former Mulberry chief commercial officer, who left the luxury brand earlier this year and is now advising Brandback, was a roundtable guest. He said creating an owned channel for resale brings a retailer “control over the environment, the imagery, and the copy”.
And being able to gather customer data as a result of such endeavours allows retailers to bring these second-hand shoppers into their wider ecosystem.
“Resale can be a customer reactivation tool – brands can contact customers via email after a designated time period and ask them if they want anything repaired, or store teams can use the information to upsell,” he argued.
Peter Williams, the former Selfridges CEO and Boohoo chair and now non-exec chair of ACS Clothing, also attended the roundtable. He noted: “On existing marketplaces such as Vinted, eBay, and Depop, prices of your products are dictated by bedroom sellers – but if the brand has its own resale tab then it maintains control over pricing.“
“If you don’t have that control, prices can be very low and that will affect brand reputation.”
Another retailer in the room added: “It’s important resale doesn’t contribute to a cheapening of your brand.”
One guest commented: “Working with third-parties in resale can provide a lack of visibility of stock levels and you don’t necessarily get the cash liquidity straight away.”
Vintage is in fashion
A sustainability boss who joined the debate said retailers must start treating Vinted and its peers as competitors, if they are not already doing so.
Talking for a generation of Gen Z shoppers, they explained almost all their fashion shopping is done on second-hand channels. Statistics support that notion, with the Amazon-Cebr study stating that preloved products now account for 34%-45% of UK online spending within categories such as tech, fashion, and home appliances.
The report found average monthly spending on preloved products has more than doubled over five years, jumping from £58.40 to £124.80 a month. The challenging economy, sustainability, and the increase in availability of preloved options is driving growth.
A commercial director at the roundtable said there is money to be generated from vintage and second-hand if “we can get out of our own way on pricing”.
“There’s a huge opportunity if companies can hold their nerve,” they added, explaining that vintage in some categories – including sports shirts or classic items from long-established – could potentially generate more than the original RRP. Such opportunity can often be missed in the day-to-day merchandising and pricing decision-making taking place within retail head office.
The delegates reflected on Barbour’s repaired second-hand wax jackets and – in particular – consumers’ willingness to pay more for that “worn-in feeling”.
Resale or overstock?
From the conversations throughout the morning, it became clear retailers are not always separating their strategies for overstock and resale.
At present, there is an inclination to sell on so-called “deadstock” to “jobbers” or organisations that promise to recycle materials or sell on goods in localised markets. This activity is getting categorised with resale strategy.
Dedicated resale channels owned by the retailer can help businesses make better margins from such goods in their warehouses, though – but it was agreed launching a resale offering needs “proper marketing” and a well-thought out strategy. Guests acknowledged this is particularly important in the luxury sector, where maintaining a premium brand image is crucial and where there is typically greater value and better quality second-hand stock and materials.
The evolution of retail’s traditional model
Roundtable guests also concurred that many retailers must consider changing their model to thrive and survive in the current market. A laser focus on better inventory management, too, can help retailers reduce the negative impact they are having on the planet due to the high level of waste currently associated with the industry.
All agreed retailers are looking at ways to commercialise their “seconds” or growing influx of returned but not damaged items, rather than simply shifting them as quickly as possible from their warehouses to make room for new ranges.
Despite the news about the launch of several retailer-owned resale channels over recent months, much of which has been covered in Green Retail World, there is still some runway to travel before the channel takes off industry wide.
European Union legislation in the form of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, which includes imminent rules to encourage businesses to design for longevity, build transparency around product lifecycle and the banning of destroying unsold stock among other transformative measures, could help edge retailers further in the direction of commercialising resale. As could new technology.
Brandback, with its embedded resale proposition, is already helping retailers around Europe drive revenue from second-hand products by building the channel into their existing infrastructure that makes it a natural extension of their existing offering.
Chris Kilin, co-founder & CEO of Brandback, said: “Resale isn’t just a sustainability or marketing initiative – it’s a profit channel, and brands should treat it like one. When you embed resale into your existing stack, you stop leaking value to third-party marketplaces and start compounding it on your own P&L.
“The levers are clear: higher conversion at checkout when shoppers see credible resale values; fewer returns because buyers commit with more confidence; stronger loyalty when sellers take store credit and come back to buy; lower acquisition costs as the circular flywheel brings new customers in through second-life inventory; and cleaner first-party data to power the next sale. Every retailer will deploy these levers differently – luxury, value, vertical, multi-brand – but the goal is the same: own the experience, the data, and the economics.”
Interested in the discussion points from this roundtable event? If you’re looking to develop your own resale operation and take advantage of the growing market for second-hand goods, contact the Brandback team today to book a demo of its embedded resale technology.
[image credits: Green Retail World]
