Luxury's Resale Dilemma

The luxury resale market just crossed 50 billion euros, about $59 billion, according to Bain & Co. It is now growing faster than the primary luxury market and matches the size of brands’ off-price channels.

Consumers are voting with their wallets. Brands are hesitating.

Platforms like The RealReal and Fashionphile operate in an uneasy truce with labels such as Chanel, which has used litigation to police trademark use. Resellers can reference logos to describe items but cannot imply affiliation.

Meanwhile, thousands of smaller sellers move luxury goods through livestreams, Shopify $SHOP ( ▲ 2.89% ) storefronts, and peer-to-peer sites like Vestiaire Collective, often beyond brands’ control.

The shift is structural. Boston Consulting Group estimates secondhand goods now make up 28% of shoppers’ wardrobes, up 7 percentage points since 2020.

Gen Z buyers purchase nearly half of their handbags secondhand, pressuring one of luxury’s most profitable categories.

Some brands are experimenting. Ralph Lauren $RL ( ▲ 0.79% ) sells vintage pieces directly. LVMH $LVMUY ( ▼ 1.9% ) unit Rimowa refurbishes and resells trade-ins.

The clearest template may be Rolex, whose certified preowned program reportedly generated more than $500 million last year while tightly controlling authentication and distribution.

Resale is no longer fringe. If brands refuse to shape it, others will.