Here’s Why Pre-Owned Luxury Fashion Are Growing In Asia

Asia’s pre-owned luxury fashion market is continuing to grow, with shoes and t-shirts gaining ground, according to multichannel retailer Reebonz.

Although bags continued to dominate, with an average of 77 per cent of total transactions in 2016 and 2017, both shoes and apparel achieved steep sales growth throughout the region, according to Reebonz’s now annual Asia Luxury Index.

In Hong Kong, for example, sales of used branded sneakers rose 48 per cent last year, while “luxury t-shirt” sales soared six-fold.

The report is based on Reebonz’s own trading data across Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore, along with unspecified “industry reports”.

Reebonz says millennials are driving the sector’s growth, “tilting the scales in favour of a pre-owned luxury market that continues its growth trajectory”.

Chanel, the most-purchased pre-owned brand by millennials, recorded more than double the total sales value on Reebonz last year over 2016.

The report said the changing perceptions towards pre-owned luxury have altered the state of resale and how consumers shop today, contributing to 40 per cent sales growth in the pre-owned category at Reebonz.

“The growing demands of buying from the resale market cleverly gives rise to a community of individual sellers, injecting the luxury ecosystem with products that meet these needs,” said Reebonz cofounder Daniel Lim.

Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Chanel were the three top-selling brands on Reebonz last year, fetching resale values as high as 125 per cent of their original retail price in the secondary market. Gucci, Celine and Dior were also among the top 10.