H&M’s Secondhand eShop Sellpy Debuts In 20 European Countries

Sellpy, which is majority-owned by H&M, will be expanding to 20 more European countries, U.S. News reported.

The move seems designed on the gamble that sustainable fashion will keep seeing demand, according to U.S. News. Sellpy works on the whole sales process from picking up the goods to photographing, selling and shipping. The move will expand Sellpy’s markets to 24.

“Every garment bought pre-owned saves resources for our planet,” Head of Expansion Gustav Wessman said, per the report. “Demand in our new markets is growing rapidly.”

Customers have been becoming more aware of how their clothes are made, with many companies coming under scrutiny for fueling a “throwaway culture,” U.S. News reported.

H&M bought its first share of Sellpy in 2015, according to the report. The company was looking out for new revenue sources after several years of lagging sales. The retail giant has invested over 20 million euros (about $24 million) in Sellpy and now owns around 70 percent of the company.

Sellpy said it is collaborating with H&M on a new warehouse in Poland, along with distribution, quality control for garments and handling orders, U.S. News reported.

The last few years, including the pandemic, have seen a boon of activity for the reCommerce market, with a new high in secondhand sales as consumers reeled in spending amid a chaotic economy, PYMNTS reported. The secondhand apparel marketplace is worth around $28 billion and positioned to go even further.

By 2025, the resale marketplace is set to hit a new high of $64 billion. The resale market in 2019 had grown 25 times faster than the overall retail market.

And while some experts were paranoid that the pandemic would dampen that momentum, research has shown that the virus didn’t transmit through secondhand clothing.

According to ThredUP Co-Founder and CEO James Reinhart, the resale market is now “here to stay,” and it’s only a question of who wins and who loses.