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The RealReal and Poshmark Have a Rising Challenger to Watch

Vestiaire Collective shook up the luxury resale market Tuesday by acquiring fellow peer-to-peer premium fashion marketplace Tradesy.
Vestiaire Collective acquired Tradesy to expand its global reach in luxury fashion resale. ROMUALD MEIGNEUX/SIPA

Is resale’s consolidation phase well underway?

After Etsy nabbed Gen Z’s favorite secondhand site last year with the acquisition of Depop, now one of the sector’s rising forces is putting the hundreds of millions of dollars it’s raised to good use by aligning with a like-minded competitor and creating a stronger threat to tip-of-the-tongue names like The RealReal and Poshmark.

Paris-based Vestiaire Collective on Tuesday acquired fellow peer-to-peer luxury resale player Tradesy with plans to open an authentication center in the latter’s hometown of Los Angeles. Vestiaire CEO Maximilian Bittner, whose company was valued around $1.7 billion in September, described the tie-up as a “key milestone for the luxury fashion resale industry” that Coresight Research valued at $22.3 billion this year, up from just $1 billion in 2008. The acquisition, he added, further signals the company’s goal of “promoting circularity in Europe, the U.S. and Asia-Pacific.”

The deal combines two female-founded firms as both Fanny Moizant and Tracy DiNunzio respectively conceived of Vestiaire Collective and Tradesy back in 2009, when the Great Recession unleashed an industry focus on sustainable consumption. Both firms are focused on premium fashion, with Tradesy’s site touting Saint Laurent, Gucci and Loewe and Vestiare showcasing Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dior and more.

Though Vestiaire has its roots in Europe, it’s largest market is now the U.S., where gross merchandise value, or GMV, has been growing at a 75 percent year-on-year clip since the beginning of the year. The B Corp‘s soon-to-open L.A. authentication center will mark its second in the U.S. and fifth worldwide.

Vestiaire Collective SA wants to accelerate circularity in the global luxury fashion market, and it's doing so via the acquisition of Tradesy. Both Vestiaire, the leading global online marketplace for pre-loved designer fashion based in Paris, and Tradesy, the pioneer in the U.S. in fashion resale headquartered in Los Angeles, were founded in 2009 by women—Fanny Moizant at Vestiaire and Tracy DiNunzio at Tradesy—seeking to move the fashion sector toward a more sustainable future. Vestiaire over time has grown its presence in the U.S., which is now its largest market. The French firm said U.S. gross merchandise value (GMV) since the beginning of 2022 has been growing at a 75 percent year-on-year rate. With the purchase of Tradesy, Vestiaire will open a new authentication center in Los Angeles—its fifth globally and second one in the U.S.—to position itself for growth in local-to-local transactions in the U.S. By combining the two peer-to-peer marketplaces, the combined company is expected to boast a membership community totaling at least 23 million. The combined company also is expected to have a catalog of 5 million items and GMV that's over $1 billion. Both buyers and sellers will see benefits from the combined operation, with buyers seeing a broader selection of merchandise and sellers now able to reach a larger audience in the U.S. and globally. In terms of the back-office, Vestiaire will benefit from Tradesy's understanding of the U.S. market, while Tradesy will receive the benefit of the French firm's authentication expertise and global supply capabilities. In addition, a technology hub will be formed in Los Angeles to benefit the combined U.S. business. "Today’s transaction is a key milestone for the luxury fashion resale industry. By joining forces with Tracy and her team, we continue to empower our customers to drive change by making second-hand fashion a first choice. With this transaction, we confirm Vestiaire Collective’s ambition to be a truly global player, promoting circularity in Europe, the U.S. and Asia-Pacific," Bittner said. "We have been very impressed with the great achievements of Tracy and the Tradesy team over the years and are very excited by the opportunity to work together to accelerate the change in the way people consume fashion," Moizant said. "We are particularly enthusiastic about the scale we are reaching together and the associated benefits in the highly attractive U.S. market." "Fanny, Max and their great team have done a spectacular job positioning Vestiaire Collective as the leading marketplace in our global industry. With today’s transaction, we are positioned to significantly improve the experience of US fashion customers," DiNunzio said. Moizant, who also serves as the company's president, and Maximilian Bittner, Vestiaire's CEO, will continue in their roles, while DiNunzio will become CEO of the combined U.S. operations. John Doerr, a Tradesy board member and shareholder, will become a minority shareholder in Vestiaire. "I am thrilled to see these two mission-driven teams join forces to accelerate sustainability in the fashion and apparel industry. With this combination, Vestiaire Collective is poised to deliver even more value, ease, and selection to customers globally," Doerr said. Both peer-to-peer platforms are popular resale marketplaces that compete against Poshmark, The RealReal and Fashionphile, to name a few. In addition to having greater brand recognition than Vestiaire, Tradesy also offers price adjustment and free shipping. In contrast, Vestiaire offers more discounts and promotions than Tradesy, but it doesn't do either price adjustments or offer free shipping. Vestiaire last September received B Corp certification, making it the first secondhand e-tailer to do so. Also, the company last September raised 178 million euros ($209.2 million) in a financing round backed by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Generation Investment Management. The round at the time valued the reseller of designer goods at $1.7 billion. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Left to right: Tracy DiNunzio, Fanny Moizant, and Maximilian Bittner. Courtesy

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Together, Vestiaire and Tradesy’s combined membership totals roughly 23 million with a 5-million-item catalog valued around $1 billion. This means shoppers will gain access to a broader range of pre-owned merchandise and sellers can reach more prospective purchasers in the U.S. and beyond. The two will also leverage each other’s strengths, with Vestiaire benefiting from Tradesy’s understanding of the U.S. market, and the acquiree gaining its new owner’s authentication expertise and global supply chops. Tradesy also offers price adjustment and free shipping unlike Vestiaire, which dangles more discounts and promotions.

A Los Angeles technology hub is also in the works.

Moizant said she’s “enthusiastic” about how the combined resale challenger will scale to advance the secondhand market and “accelerate the change in the way people consume fashion.” DiNunzio added that the acquisition will “significantly improve the experience of U.S. fashion customers.”

Moizant will continue as Vestiare’s president, and Bittner will remain its chief executive, while DiNunzio will become CEO of the combined U.S. operations. John Doerr, a Tradesy board member and shareholder, will become a minority shareholder in Vestiaire.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Additional reporting by Jessica Binns.

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