THE GROWING PRE-OWNED LUXURY MARKET AND THE VINTAGE BAR
Luxury resale is thriving like never before. The Vintage Bar is at the forefront of the industry’s boom. As more consumers embrace the power of pre-owned luxury, we investigate its success and explore its integral role in luxury fashion for the new age.
The pre-owned luxury market is growing four times faster than the primary luxury market. Since its founding in 2017, The Vintage Bar has been at the forefront of this burgeoning component of the luxury fashion machine. An increasing number of consumers are opting to buy luxury from the pre-owned market. This means they can enjoy more accessible prices, access to a wider variety of products and be part of a more sustainable shopping future.
The expanding luxury resale market is redefining the entire landscape of luxury fashion. But what are the driving forces behind the secondary market’s growth? And in the upcoming years, how will luxury resale co-exist alongside the primary market which has flourished for over a century?
What Can the Pre-Owned Market Offer Which the Primary Market Can’t?
Luxury fashion is a long established and well-respected industry which is worth hundreds of billions of euros. While the second-hand luxury market has existed for quite some time, in recent years, its success and visibility have skyrocketed. This has made fashion critics and consumers alike take notice. But how can the emerging secondary market compete with the colossal power of the primary market? And crucially, what does it have to offer consumers which buying luxury first-hand doesn’t? Research shows that key driving forces behind the pre-owned luxury market are price accessibility, changing consumer preferences, increased professionalization and offering a wide variety of products.
The luxury resale market can offer consumers items which are no longer available to buy from luxury fashion houses, such as vintage and discontinued products. It can also offer colors, prints and sizes which may not be available on the first-hand market anymore. The secondary luxury market is also often used by those looking for hard to get classic pieces which are frequently sold out in luxury stores. These bags are typically age-old classics like the Louis Vuitton Speedy, Chanel Classic Flap and Lady Dior, all of which are included in The Vintage Bar’s vast offering of designer items. Popular vintage and classic designs often cost significantly less on the resale market. The more affordable prices and the greater availability of a wider range of luxury items tie in closely with The Vintage Bar’s core ethos of making luxury more accessible for all.
The Pre-Owned Market’s Luxury Makeover
At The Vintage Bar, another one of our core aims is to change the perception of vintage and second-hand products as out of date and undesirable. We want consumers to view the secondary luxury market as equally desirable and esteemed as the primary luxury market. In recent years, there has been a shift in the luxury resale market from small independent resale stores to a growing collection of large online luxury resellers. As an up and coming luxury resale community, The Vintage Bar is at the forefront of this change and is helping to redefine the secondary luxury market. We strive to offer the same level of luxury service that consumers can expect from luxury fashion houses.
How Can the Pre-Owned Market Help the Primary Market?
The luxury resale market is credited with introducing many consumers to the world of luxury and allowing people to buy into it who would typically not be able to. Younger generations seem to be utilizing the luxury resale market the most, with 54% of Gen Z and 48% of millennial luxury customers purchasing pre-owned goods. The secondary luxury market is helping to attract shoppers to luxury fashion from a young age. One reason for the resale market’s popularity amongst younger shoppers is thought to be young people’s prioritization of sustainable shopping practises. Sustainability concerns are only expected to increase amongst shoppers and continue to have a significant impact on purchasing decisions. Therefore, luxury resale is helping to improve the luxury industry’s sustainability credentials. At The Vintage Bar, we are shaping fashion’s sustainable future.
Research has shown that customers who purchase luxury items pre-owned are not typically primary-market buyers. Instead, those who sell on resale platforms typically buy luxury from the first-hand market and reinvest the money made from sales in brand new luxury. Therefore, the luxury resale market can be seen as effectively allowing even more consumers to buy luxury from the first-hand market also.
The secondary luxury market is championing the power of vintage and helping to re-popularize now vintage designs. With revival fashion trends now bigger than ever, designers are beginning to pick up on the growing popularity of vintage. More and more brands are re-releasing their popular designs from decades ago, particularly the 1990s and 2000s. Retro styles re-released by designers are proving popular on the primary luxury market. And the original versions of these designs from decades ago have since become hot commodities on the secondary luxury market. The Vintage Bar’s offering of revival bags includes covetable styles like the Prada Nylon Shoulder Bag, Fendi Baguette and Dior Saddle Bag.
The pre-owned luxury goods market shows no signs of slowing down. It is quickly becoming an essential component of the luxury fashion industry. It is directly challenging the traditional exclusivity and secrecy of luxury fashion. The secondary luxury market is prospering alongside the conventional primary market and helping to make luxury fashion more sustainable, accessible and better equipped to thrive in the modern world.
