SA sees steady growth in pre-owned luxury market

The culture of buying pre-owned luxury items is taking root locally and the market is expected to continue its upward trajectory on the back of easier access to items from a cost perspective.

This is according to South Africa’s largest source of luxury pre-owned items, Luxity, which has reported an 86% surge in sales in its 2021/22 financial year.

Internationally, the market swelled to $36 billion in the same period, supported by increased demand and supply.

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The boutique chain, which currently has three stores in SA – in Sandton, Menlyn Maine and Cape Town – says it has seen its sales grow 190% since the onset of the pandemic, reflecting a growing adoption of the resale market by local consumers. Moreover, it predicts that at least one in 10 luxury items bought will be second-hand by 2027.

Luxity buys and sells pre-owned items such as handbags, accessories, shoes and apparel – notably luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Prada, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana.

Michael Zahariev, Luxity’s co-founder, says the country’s middle-class is primarily driving growth in the sector as they now have greater purchasing power and access to these items compared to when they were out of reach due to unaffordability.

‘Reservation system’

“While the bags might [cost] R10 000 which is still very expensive, what we have done as Luxity is [offer various] financing options like [the] reservation system where you can pay the bag off over three months,” he tells Moneyweb.

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Zahariev says this financing model assists consumers in getting into the market and keeping up with current fashion trends, whereas purchasing items directly from the luxury stores will require a credit card or cash payment – a rather more expensive option.

Sustainability

He adds that the pre-owned retail sector is also sustainable as it seeks to support the country’s efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

“Buying pre-owned means that you are recycling items rather than them going to landfills. It’s also dissuading people from buying new which puts more pressure on the environment.”

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Zahariev believes that getting more people to add pre-owned items to their lives is for the greater good and will gradually persuade consumers into considering second-hand items across other sectors as well – an option that is sustainable for the environment and cost-effective for the consumer.

“One in three consumers worldwide say they care more about wearing sustainable apparel than they did prior to the pandemic,” Luxity claims in a statement.

“To put it in perspective, each new item of clothing produces 9.5kg of carbon emissions, consumes 39kWh of electricity and wastes 297 litres of water.

“On the other hand, a pre-owned item generates less than 2kg of carbon emissions, expends under 5kWh of electricity and uses 4.5 litres of water.”

According to ThredUp’s 2021 resale report, the global fashion resale market is forecast to grow 11 times faster than the broader retail clothing sector by 2025.

The report also reveals that 33 million spenders across the world bought second-hand apparel for the first time in 2020, and 76% of those first-time buyers are open to increasing their spend on second-hand items in the next five years.

Listen: Luxity’s co-founder speaks to Fifi Peters 

Palesa Mofokeng is a Moneyweb intern.