Since I re-acquired Closet Full Of Cash, I have been trying to figure out the best, quickest way to get the latest in luxury resale news out and I have owned the name, The Resale Report for a few years so I have decided to incorporate it here.

There is so much happening in this industry that I feel most people miss so I will start a new series under The Resale Report banner (powered by Closet Full Of Cash) and share the latest articles and happening so you can stay informed!

If I miss something or if you have news that should be shared, please send to info@closetfullofcash.com

From the press release dated November 14, 2022
AUCNET OPENS OFFICES IN LOS ANGELES AND DENMARK 

“Aucnet, an online auction company headquartered in Tokyo, will be expanding its subsidiary — AUCNET CONSUMER PRODUCTS INC. (hereinafter “ACP”) — globally, opening up two new international branches, one in Los Angeles, California, the United States, and the other in Copenhagen, Denmark, starting this November.” To read the full press release, click here.

From the press release dated February 14, 2020
AUCNET BREAKS INTO THE US MARKET

“Currently, the United States’ pre-owned luxury goods market is rapidly expanding, and as a result demand for ‘high quality secondhand goods from Japan’ is growing at a steady pace. To meet this demand, Aucnet USA – a wholly owned subsidiary of Aucnet – created ACP USA in the state of Delaware. ACP USA is a company which specializes in the B2B secondhand luxury goods business. ACP USA plans to provide operational services and actively promote participation by current and potential B2B users in the USA for its Japan based auction, which was developed in 2008. In addition, Aucnet intends to grow online transactions in America by collaborating with LePrix, – a Maryland based B2B and B2C designer resale platform, which was developed in 2014 and currently has a member network of over 600 resale fashion companies in the United States.” To read the full press release, click here. 

My Take:

Aucnet, which is one of the largest companies in Japan for pre-owned luxury goods is just one more company trying to break into the US market which is inherently difficult. Partnering with LePrix wholesale (they own a minority stake in the business) will give them an “in” but with more and more companies opening offices here (see next story), the competition will not only be stiff, the saturation of the market will at some point, drive pricing down for pre-owned goods.

From the press release August 31, 2022
VALUENCE OPENS FIVE LUXURY BRANDED GOODS BUYING OFFICES OVERSEAS AT ONCE.

“The ALLU New York store, which opened in February 2022, has become popular among the many customers who have a deep understanding of the quality of Japanese used products. The new ALLU Irvine Store is located in the suburbs of Los Angeles, where many of the ALLU target customers live. The ALLU business will continue to expand buying businesses in California, aiming to grow name recognition among customers interested in sustainability and luxury brand goods.” To read the full press release, click here.

My Take:

Formally Namboya, ALLU is a subsidiary of Valuence which like Aucnet, is a large wholesale company of pre-owned goods based in Japan. Here’s where it get’s interesting. Their buying location is in the same corporate building as Marque Luxury and if you haven’t heard of them, they are the largest wholesale company in the US for pre-owned, authentic luxury goods.

Now, as all of these Japanese companies make their way to the US and partnering with existing companies that already have success here, what do you think it will do to the luxury resale market? I’ll give you my opinion. Saturation.

This is going to drive the pricing down on luxury handbags and accessories because the market will be flooded with them. Will it be a big drop? No, but I do predict that Louis Vuitton Monogram Canvas is going to see the biggest decline just for the sheer volume of products already seen not he secondary market. 2023 will be an interesting year for these companies and we will see who has the fortitude, marketshare (and cash) to keep growing.

From the email date October 17, 2022
FOR ALL US CLIENTS THAT WANT TO SELL/CONSIGN OR PICKUP IN PERSON, WE ARE MAKING IT EVEN EASIER FOR YOU.

Luxe Du Jour, the Canadian luxury resale, consignment, bag spa and bag rental company announced they they too will be opening an office in Irvine, California in January 2023.

My Take:

Luxe Du Jour is one of the largest, if not the largest resale companies in Canada and with their push into Orange County, home of Aucnet (ALLU) and Marque Luxury, makes for an interesting scenario. Marque Luxury dominates the wholesale market in the US and what I find interesting is that these companies are moving into Irvine, which is a family community. Los Angeles makes more sense and I believe this is where Luxe Du Jour initially had planned on opening an office.

From the press release dated November 4, 2022
VIVRELLE ANNOUNCES $35 MILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT

“Vivrelle, the first-of-its-kind membership club that offers access to a shared closet of designer handbags and accessories, today announced the close of a $35 million Series B financing round led by 3L Capital, with participation from Origin Ventures, Chapford Capital Group, Plus Capital, actresses, Lily Collins and Nina Dobrev, and personality and entrepreneur Morgan Stewart McGraw.” To read the full press release, click here.

My Take:

Vivrelle raised $35 MILLION dollars to grow their membership club that rents luxury goods. How many of you have heard of this company or have memberships?

There is a huge market for people wanting luxury but not being able to afford the high cost of owning. Rentals, clearly, are a huge industry that is prime for growth in 2023 as the “recession” continues to grow but people still wanting to feel good, if only for a month.

From the earnings report November 8, 2022
THE REALREAL OVERHAULS IT’S COMMISSION STRUCTURE

“In its ongoing quest for profitability, luxury resale platform The RealReal said Tuesday (Nov. 8) that it has overhauled its commission structure and will charge more for low-priced transactions that have typically resulted in losses.

The announcement came as part of the company’s third-quarter earnings report, in which it outlined a four-fold strategy aimed at becoming profitable at a time when reCcommerce firms are struggling and its own stock has fallen 90% this year.

In a letter to investors, the company said the update to its take-rates will “incentivize the consignment of higher-value items and limit the consignment of lower-value items, which are unprofitable.” To read the highlights o the investor call, click here.

My Take:

“In its ongoing quest for profitability”. We’ve heard this same statement for the last few years and this is a perfect example of how growth, too fast will cripple a business. Taking in absolutely everything at once has caused headaches that ripple down to their customers and now everything (including their stock) is down.

By revamping their commission structure and the move to more higher end, luxury items is definitely a step in the right direction. I could never understand why they had so many cheap items, I mean multiples of crap in their sale section.

By focusing on high ticket items and the addition of a new CEO (still waiting not hat one) it will be interesting to watch and see if they can turn this ship around.

In other news:

BAGUSEEK.COM
Someone built a website to search for listings from other resale companies. It’s still in it’s early stages but you can search for a particular style and it will pull the listings from Rebag, Fashionphile, Vestiaire and Grailed. Whomever is behind this, great job! Include more platforms like Yoogis Closet, The RealReal and Ebay then make it sortable and remove companies (not everyone trusts Vestiaire) and you’re on your way to a winner.

HONGBULI.COM
Per insiderretail.asia, Hongbuli, also known as Plum have closed a $100 million round of financing for their resale platform. China has been slower to adopt pre-owned goods but the market in the last couple of years is growing faster than others. The funding came from second-hand trading platform Zhuanzhuan which sells everything from cell phones to luxury goods.

“CEO of Zhuanzhuan Group, Huang Wei, said the second-hand resale market for women’s clothing and luxury products is massive and dominates the second-hand circulation industry in many countries. The partnership will allow Zhuanzhuan to expand its categories by adding more pre-loved fashion products to its platform.”

GRAILED.COM
Grailed announced the expansion into womenswear. Pretty much sums it up!

“Sellers on Grailed are now able to create womenswear listings – complete with updated, womenswear-specific item categories, sizing, and measurements sections – and buyers can now search for womenswear and filter for it specifically when they search.” 

SEASON2CONSIGN.COM
Season 2 Consign, luxury resale company based out of South Florida, has closed on two new franchisees, reported to Franchising.com.

“Season 2 Consign has secured their first two franchise locations in Las Vegas and Central New Jersey. Season 2 Consign is an interactive live shopping experiences within the second hand luxury space, provisioning pre-owned handbags and accessories from designers like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and the like”

I love this growth and it makes total sense for anyone wanting to get into the industry but may lack knowledge but also has cash! Season 2 Consign is not the only franchise resale business. Clothes Mentor, Style Encore, Uptown Cheapskate and The Closet Trading Company are all franchise based companies.

This is all the latest news that I thought is relevant enough to post but I am always open to ideas! This won’t be a weekly thing but when someone newsworthy does pop-up on my radar, make sure you’re following Closet Full Of Cash on Instagram as I usually post everything there first!