Department stores are opening up to the secondhand market. The expectations are as high as the investment.
The knitted V-neck sweater in bright orange hangs right next to a little red and yellow flowered dress with ruffles and a rust-red wool jacket. The knitwear is from the ’70s, the jacket from the ’80s and the dress could be a piece from the late ’60s. Everything is finely sorted by color, presented on solid wooden hangers and in the best of condition. The rack next to it shows an equally eclectic range of individual pieces in shades of blue, a little further on the same in brown. The items come from Petite Chineuse, a Parisian supplier of secondhand fashion, which has been was mainly online, but has now managed to get a place in the newly opened vintage and secondhand areas in the two famous Parisian department stores, Galeries Lafayette and Le Printemps.
The fact that traditional department stores are opening up to the trendy topic of secondhand fashion is a completely new movement that is just taking shape. After the years in which secondhand trade mainly took place online, the business is now also returning to brick-and-mortar retail. Small boutiques for vintage and secondhand fashion are springing up like mushrooms and the big department stores also want to be present. The only question is how?
While in Germany houses such as Breuninger are experimenting with small pop-up spaces and Karstadt in Berlin with a temporary secondhand goods floor or the strategy department for Galeria 2.0 of Kaufhaus and Karstadt are still thinking about implementation, other European players are already further ahead.
Jelmoli in Zurich has been successfully cooperating with the local secondhand boutique Reawake for several years. Seldfridges in London launched a "pioneering new pre-loved shopping initiative" in 2020 under the name "Resellfridges.” In the main London store, British vintage retailers such as West Garment, Beyond Retro or Vout Vintage sell their secondhand goods via a corner concept in colorfully painted container boxes in a chic department stores’ ambience. Sebastian Manes, Selfridges buying and merchandising director, explains the goal: “In 2020 customers have become a lot savvier and are shopping with different expectations. There is something hugely exciting about pre-loved items, and Resellfridges is a way of opening the door to people who maybe wouldn't have found themselves shopping pre-loved otherwise.” 
This is how Manes describes the traditional department stores’ customer, who is looking for new shopping experiences, increasingly demands sustainability, but still has some fear of secondhand fashion. The department stores are obliged to fulfill these new customer expectations, as well as to position themselves in this topic. But this is not only about image cultivation, but a real investment in the future. Because studies prove that many young people in particular react very sensitively to such offers. Winning the coveted target group of Generation Z as customers, who until now have given the big department stores a wide berth, is the wish of most department stores’ managers.
The example of Galeries Lafayette shows that a well-stocked secondhand or vintage fashion department can help. "After only a few months we have already noticed that we can attract a younger clientele with the new ReStore department," explains Sonia Tarkhani, head of the sustainable development project. According to her personal observation, many young people between the age of 20-25 visit the new sustainable department. At Galeries Lafayette, the average would otherwise be in the mid-thirties.
The new ReStore department on the third floor of Galeries Lafayette’s historic flagship on Paris’ Boulevard Haussmann is entirely dedicated to the themes of sustainability and the circular economy and was only opened in autumn 2021. It is a very reduced and modern design of modular shop-in-shops made of natural wood and targets a young clientele. Five hundred square meters alone are dedicated solely to secondhand and vintage fashion. A curated selection of external, mainly local suppliers in this segment guarantees an equally wide range of goods, as well as different price structures. Genuine vintage pieces from the 1970s and ’80s by AME Vintage are available for as little as €20, the secondhand shop Entremains offers fairly up-to-date fashion by Sézane or Sandro in the mid-price segment of €50 to €60, and Monogram plays in the luxury segment with designer handbags of several thousand euros. This offer reflects the strategic orientation of the entire department store. Tarkhani explains: "The Galeries Lafayette slogan is 'the department store for everyone.' That's exactly what we offer–from entry-level prices to luxury." 
However, the Galeries Lafayette Group in Paris, like the London’s Selfridges, remains in the role of partner and space provider for secondhand fashion. The actual business is handled by the selected external vintage retailers, such as Relique or Petite Chineuse. “When selecting partners, we paid attention to several criteria. It should be a supplier who has been established on the market for a while, who can offer omnichannel distribution and who can also support us in the area of online presence,” says Tarkhani.
As is so often the case, the number of followers on social media channels also plays an important role in the selection process. Monogram Paris has over 210,000 followers, Relique 52,000, Crush-on 30,000 on Instagram. They are all real heavyweights on the social media platform popular for fashion and, through their coverage of their ReStore presence alone, provide the Galeries Lafayette with growing visibility among the young target group. It is a win-win situation for both partners: the department stores can rejuvenate themselves and the young retailers benefit from the large footfall of the traditional retail locations.
Galeries Lafayette's competitor, the neighboring department store Le Printemps, follows a similar path and also cooperates with local partners, but goes one step further in its secondhand fashion strategy: Le Printemps itself acts as a secondhand fashion retailer.
At the end of September 2021, the new department 7ième Ciel opened on 1,300 sq. meters on the top floor of the flagship store with a spectacular terrace overlooking the Eiffel Tower and an area styled by artists that can compete in design with flagships of famous luxury brands. At least 650 sq. meters of this space is dedicated to the shop's own vintage and secondhand shop. A real vintage expert from Vestiaire Collective was recruited to collaborate for this area: Marie Blanchet is primarily in charge of sourcing and selecting the assortment. 
The focus on the luxury segment is unmistakable: designer prêt-à-porter, a few haute couture pieces, bags by Gucci and Hermès as well as jewelry are lined up next to each other. Nathalie Lucas Verdier, general merchandising director, says, “We already sell a lot of designer brands and wanted to be congruent with what we usually offer at Le Printemps. That's why we focused on luxury from the beginning.”
The high-priced orientation would by no means exclude the young clientele. On the contrary: "The young generation are very interested in what we do here. The GenZ already has the experience behind them that you can buy everything online. They also know that you can't try it on and if something doesn't fit, you can't send it back. With us, they can inspect everything closely and try it on,” says Verdier.
This generation would also look for unique items to create a unique look, much more so than the Millennials. With average prices around €400, they are also on a par with new goods from the middle segment, such as Maje or Sandro. “For this, however, the young people get a real designer piece with us. Maybe even one that has made fashion history, like Jean Paul Gaultier's Tatoo dress from the ’90s," Verdier continues. 
Particularly sought-after pieces, such as La Saharienne from the time when Yves Saint Laurent founded his brand, naturally sell immediately. "That was sold right at the opening night," Verdier reports. "We meanwhile count some collectors and, above all, real connoisseurs among our customers. They come regularly to see what's new."
For this type of customer, a new service will be set up from 2022, where Le Printemps will go in search of rare pieces from past collections on behalf of customers. Another service is that Le Printemps buys secondhand goods from customers. In just two months, 600 customers have already taken advantage of this offer. Instead of money, there are in-house vouchers that can be redeemed directly and in whatever department. "The customer can use them to go to the hairdresser’s or eat in our restaurant,” she says.
This can certainly be a profitable business model, because 100% of the sales revenue remains in the house, Le Printemps additionally takes a commission fee and attracts completely new customer groups with the model. 
If management consultants such as Achim Berg, head of McKinsey's global Apparel, Fashion & Luxury Practice, see the positioning of department stores in the secondhand trade more as an investment of the stores in the topic of sustainability that hardly yields any profit, this statement must be put into perspective.
Even if the start-up investments for this positioning are certainly high, all players agree that due to the high growth expectations for the segment, the commitment should be further expanded in the coming years. As Verdier says: "Estimates say that secondhand fashion will generate more sales than fast fashion in the coming years. This is a historic moment in fashion that we want to be part of."
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The knitted V-neck sweater in bright orange hangs right next to a little red and yellow flowered dress with ruffles and a rust-red wool jacket. The knitwear is from the ’70s, the jacket from the ’80s and the dress could be a piece from the late ’60s. Everything is finely sorted by color, presented on solid wooden hangers and in the best of condition. The rack next to it shows an equally eclectic range of individual pieces in shades of blue, a little further on the same in brown. The items come from Petite Chineuse, a Parisian supplier of secondhand fashion, which has been was mainly online, but has now managed to get a place in the newly opened vintage and secondhand areas in the two famous Parisian department stores, Galeries Lafayette and Le Printemps.
The fact that traditional department stores are opening up to the trendy topic of secondhand fashion is a completely new movement that is just taking shape. After the years in which secondhand trade mainly took place online, the business is now also returning to brick-and-mortar retail. Small boutiques for vintage and secondhand fashion are springing up like mushrooms and the big department stores also want to be present. The only question is how?
While in Germany houses such as Breuninger are experimenting with small pop-up spaces and Karstadt in Berlin with a temporary secondhand goods floor or the strategy department for Galeria 2.0 of Kaufhaus and Karstadt are still thinking about implementation, other European players are already further ahead.
Jelmoli in Zurich has been successfully cooperating with the local secondhand boutique Reawake for several years. Seldfridges in London launched a "pioneering new pre-loved shopping initiative" in 2020 under the name "Resellfridges.” In the main London store, British vintage retailers such as West Garment, Beyond Retro or Vout Vintage sell their secondhand goods via a corner concept in colorfully painted container boxes in a chic department stores’ ambience. Sebastian Manes, Selfridges buying and merchandising director, explains the goal: “In 2020 customers have become a lot savvier and are shopping with different expectations. There is something hugely exciting about pre-loved items, and Resellfridges is a way of opening the door to people who maybe wouldn't have found themselves shopping pre-loved otherwise.”
Photo: Jelmoli
Jelmoli x Reawake concept
Photo: Jelmoli
Jelmoli x Reawake concept
The example of Galeries Lafayette shows that a well-stocked secondhand or vintage fashion department can help. "After only a few months we have already noticed that we can attract a younger clientele with the new ReStore department," explains Sonia Tarkhani, head of the sustainable development project. According to her personal observation, many young people between the age of 20-25 visit the new sustainable department. At Galeries Lafayette, the average would otherwise be in the mid-thirties.
The new ReStore department on the third floor of Galeries Lafayette’s historic flagship on Paris’ Boulevard Haussmann is entirely dedicated to the themes of sustainability and the circular economy and was only opened in autumn 2021. It is a very reduced and modern design of modular shop-in-shops made of natural wood and targets a young clientele. Five hundred square meters alone are dedicated solely to secondhand and vintage fashion. A curated selection of external, mainly local suppliers in this segment guarantees an equally wide range of goods, as well as different price structures. Genuine vintage pieces from the 1970s and ’80s by AME Vintage are available for as little as €20, the secondhand shop Entremains offers fairly up-to-date fashion by Sézane or Sandro in the mid-price segment of €50 to €60, and Monogram plays in the luxury segment with designer handbags of several thousand euros. This offer reflects the strategic orientation of the entire department store. Tarkhani explains: "The Galeries Lafayette slogan is 'the department store for everyone.' That's exactly what we offer–from entry-level prices to luxury."
Photo: Galeries Lafayette
Galeries Lafayette ReStore floor
As is so often the case, the number of followers on social media channels also plays an important role in the selection process. Monogram Paris has over 210,000 followers, Relique 52,000, Crush-on 30,000 on Instagram. They are all real heavyweights on the social media platform popular for fashion and, through their coverage of their ReStore presence alone, provide the Galeries Lafayette with growing visibility among the young target group. It is a win-win situation for both partners: the department stores can rejuvenate themselves and the young retailers benefit from the large footfall of the traditional retail locations.
Galeries Lafayette's competitor, the neighboring department store Le Printemps, follows a similar path and also cooperates with local partners, but goes one step further in its secondhand fashion strategy: Le Printemps itself acts as a secondhand fashion retailer.
At the end of September 2021, the new department 7ième Ciel opened on 1,300 sq. meters on the top floor of the flagship store with a spectacular terrace overlooking the Eiffel Tower and an area styled by artists that can compete in design with flagships of famous luxury brands. At least 650 sq. meters of this space is dedicated to the shop's own vintage and secondhand shop. A real vintage expert from Vestiaire Collective was recruited to collaborate for this area: Marie Blanchet is primarily in charge of sourcing and selecting the assortment.
Photo: Romain Ricard
7ième Ciel at Le Printemps in Paris
The high-priced orientation would by no means exclude the young clientele. On the contrary: "The young generation are very interested in what we do here. The GenZ already has the experience behind them that you can buy everything online. They also know that you can't try it on and if something doesn't fit, you can't send it back. With us, they can inspect everything closely and try it on,” says Verdier.
This generation would also look for unique items to create a unique look, much more so than the Millennials. With average prices around €400, they are also on a par with new goods from the middle segment, such as Maje or Sandro. “For this, however, the young people get a real designer piece with us. Maybe even one that has made fashion history, like Jean Paul Gaultier's Tatoo dress from the ’90s," Verdier continues.
Photo: Romain Ricard
7ième Ciel at Le Printemps in Paris
For this type of customer, a new service will be set up from 2022, where Le Printemps will go in search of rare pieces from past collections on behalf of customers. Another service is that Le Printemps buys secondhand goods from customers. In just two months, 600 customers have already taken advantage of this offer. Instead of money, there are in-house vouchers that can be redeemed directly and in whatever department. "The customer can use them to go to the hairdresser’s or eat in our restaurant,” she says.
This can certainly be a profitable business model, because 100% of the sales revenue remains in the house, Le Printemps additionally takes a commission fee and attracts completely new customer groups with the model.
Photo: Romain Ricard
7ième Ciel at Le Printemps in Paris
Even if the start-up investments for this positioning are certainly high, all players agree that due to the high growth expectations for the segment, the commitment should be further expanded in the coming years. As Verdier says: "Estimates say that secondhand fashion will generate more sales than fast fashion in the coming years. This is a historic moment in fashion that we want to be part of."
READ ALSO:
