H&M Group and online secondhand apparel shop Sellpy are becoming more intertwined as the days go on.
The fast-fashion giant continues to pour investments into the Swedish resale platform, this time by providing the logistical support to help it expand it to 20 more European countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France and others. The new investment brings Sellpy’s online footprint to a total of 24 countries through a new website, sellpy.com. Currently, the new markets can only purchase goods from the platform, and are not yet able to take advantage of its selling feature.
Users with access to the platform’s full features can order a bag for 1.95 euros ($2.36), pack it with the items they’d like to sell, and ship it back to Sellpy. From there, the company lists each item it’s able to sell, sets a price and handles the logistics once sold. To maintain a certain standard of quality, Sellpy requests sellers only include items that can be sold for over 5 euros (about $6), and refrain from sending clothing from low-budget brands. It recommends labels such as Nike, &Other Stories, Monki, Ralph Lauren and Filippa K.
The partnership provides benefits for both parties, but especially for the startup, which is now able to tap into H&M’s global presence and fine-tuned infrastructure. Through a strategic partnership with H&M Group’s global supply chain, Sellpy will receive logistical support and gain access to a modern warehouse unit in Poznań, Poland. All processes related to Sellpy’s selling service and e-commerce for secondhand items—including distribution, quality control of garments and order handling—will be operated by H&M’s Group’s East Europe logistics team.
H&M Group began investing in the resale business in 2015, becoming the majority owner. Sellpy expanded to Germany in 2020, followed by the Netherlands and Austria earlier this year. The two companies have since explored other synergies. In 2019, H&M Group’s brand & Other Stories launched a test pilot of a program that allowed users to buy used clothing through its & Other Stories brand website and tapped Sellpy to build out its selling platform.
To date, H&M has invested 20 million euros ($24.38 million), and owns around 70 percent of the company, according to Reuters.
Sellpy is now the second-largest online shop and sales service for secondhand items in Sweden.
“We’re excited about Sellpy’s continued international expansion which we support with our strategic partnership and as owners,” said Nanna Andersen, head of H&M CO:LAB, H&M Group’s investment arm. “We always aim for adding value to our portfolio companies to support them in realizing their ambitions.”
Both companies are centering their efforts to keep fashion in rotation for longer.
The resale market’s $50 billion trajectory makes now a good time for Sellpy’s global expansion. In April, Berlin-based e-commerce giant Zalando followed suit, expanding its resale platform to seven new markets, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy and Sweden.
The segment’s success has also inspired other e-commerce companies to branch into resale. This month, Etsy inked a $1.625 billion deal to purchase resale startup Depop and unite both peer-to-peer marketplaces. Online personal stylist service and retailer Stitch Fix also announced an investment in an upcoming “consignment-like model” during a recent earnings call.