Fashions Big Opportunity in Reselling the Unsellable BoF
This year, Macy’s Inc. struggled to shrug off pressure from activist investors eyeing the company’ real estate holdings. This year’s games attracted unprecedented interest from the industry, beyond the mainstay sportswear giants like Nike and Adidas. Still, the UK, looking to revive London’s struggling city, could welcome the monster listing. An installation featuring restored works by Saul Steinberg is the 200-year-old Belgian brand’s latest attempt to build present-day relevance after being purchased by Richemont in 2021. Our Legacy generated sales of €40 million ($43.6 million) in the fiscal year ended 30 June 2024, up from €30 million the year prior and €8 million in 2021, the company told BoF. The investment in Our Legacy comes as the brand plots the next phase of development after growing its revenues five-fold over the past three years.
Consumer search for value is driving wins in the resale market
Kering helped McCartney develop her brand over 17 years, with the partnership ending in March 2019 when she bought back her 50 percent stake. But US President Donald Trump’s policies have fuelled uncertainty, including over the potential size and timing of Shein’s IPO. His decision to scrap a so-called de minimis rule removes an exemption on tariffs for parcels carrying goods worth no more than $800, a blow to Shein’s main business, as well as Temu’s. Founded in China but now based in Singapore, Shein became one of the world’s most valuable startups thanks to its high-volume, low-cost fashion.
Claiming your business
“Wholesale allows us to kind of dip our toe in the water of some international markets. Fashionphile got its start at the height of the dotcom boom in 1999, when founder Sarah Davis started selling luxury clothes from her own closet on eBay. Today over a million users sell more than $500 million worth of Birkins, Rolexes and other high-end goods on the platform annually, which launched as a freestanding website in 2007. As the fires devastating Los Angeles continued into their fourth day on Jan. 10, the fashion and beauty industries have shifted their focus to relief efforts.
“We’ve spent many years establishing our primary platform, which is the Rebag website and our stores, but now we’re in the next chapter of magnifying that,” he said. By partnering with established retailers, Rebag can reach new “ecosystems of customers” outside the fashion hotbeds in New York, California and Florida, Gorra added. Simply opening a retail location is not enough to justify its costs, however.
Shoppers are not eager to increase their fashion budgets, even as economic prospects and consumer sentiment improve in some regions. Over 80 percent of shoppers plan to spend the same or less on clothing, footwear and accessories in 2025. Over 40 percent of shoppers in the US, UK and Germany are spending less on clothing, footwear and accessories than they did a year ago. In the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2025 Executive Survey, consumer confidence and appetite to spend was ranked by fashion executives as the top risk to growth. Wholesale has been an avenue for Fashionphile to enter international markets.
Nearly one third of US adults say they intentionally bought a dupe of a premium or luxury product, and the #dupe hashtag on TikTok has nearly 6 billion views. Consumers are not only looking to spend less, but they are also trying to stretch their money further. Over 60 percent of consumers in the US and UK say they are attempting to save money on fashion “often” or “as much as Bof possible.” In the US, this figure is as high as 75 percent. In 2022, consumer confidence indexes in the US, Eurozone and China hit their lowest levels since 2005, and confidence in China once again neared record lows in August 2024. In the first half of 2024, consumer confidence was about 10 to 30 points below 2019 averages across the Eurozone, US and China, though confidence levels in the Eurozone and US are ticking up slightly from 2023. Retail and wholesale made up about 30 percent of sales last year, and could account for half of the business in the future.
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