Hanna Andersson, Carhartt and Juicy Explain Why They Got into Resale
Brand-owned resale is muscling in on popular secondhand marketplaces like ThredUp, Poshmark and The RealReal.
That’s because companies want to own their data and their growth, retail technology company Archive said, and it’s a way to acquire new customers who want to shop sustainably or at lower price points and build brand loyalty by offering an easy way to sell past purchases for store credit. Not to mention, the resale market as a whole is projected to be valued at $218 billion in just three years. Factor in the 82 percent reduction in CO2e impact by buying an item used instead of new, and there’s a solid case to be made for why brands increasingly want to own their resale experience.
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Hanna Andersson is getting into the secondhand business with the launch of Hanna-Me-Downs, an online site where customers can shop its pre-owned apparel, pajamas and accessories.
“A couple weeks ago, we received an email about a baby sleeper that’s on its eighth child in a span of 16 years—that’s incredible longevity on a baby product,” Jen Reed, senior vice president of global sourcing and chief sustainability officer of the organic cotton-loving brand, said. “We receive a lot of similar stories from Hanna customers and it’s exactly what makes resale a natural extension of our brand. There was an appetite from our customers for this marketplace, which is apparent in over 1,900 listings on Hanna-Me-Downs in under a week.”
Hanna Andersson worked with to Archive to power its new resale platform and give consumers a new way to access clothing designed to stand the test of time.
“Kids are tough on their clothes, from crawling as babies to exploration and play as kids, and it’s typical for childrenswear to be discarded early in its lifecycle contributing to excess waste and landfill,” Aimée Lapic, CEO of Hanna Andersson, said. “Our team at Hanna truly believes in championing childhood whether it’s for this generation or generations to come. Our team performs rigorous wash and wear testing to ensure every new fabric and design meets our high standard of delivering the long-lasting, quality clothing our customers deserve and have come to expect. Through this new offering we’ll build on our Hanna-Me-Down philosophy and practically speaking, that circularity is a win for our customers, future generations, and therefore Hanna.”
The company has made sustainability a focus since it launched in 1983 on the belief that well-made clothing can change hands for several generations and curb apparel consumption.
“We are consistently looking for innovative ways to lead as a sustainable childrenswear brand and approach sustainable practices from new angles,” Reed said. “We’re currently working with select manufacturers to transition conventional cotton fields to regenerative, a project we’re incredibly passionate about as a brand who’s most iconic product is organic cotton PJs. We’ve crafted our swimwear and new active collections from recycled material, and even created pajama designs that intentionally use excess fabrics from that season’s collections. It’s not just about one piece of the puzzle, but how it all fits together to keep sustainability a pillar of the Hanna brand for generations to come.”
Selling secondhand goods gives the apparel brand another potential revenue stream. Consumers who want to list items on the platform can easily access to product descriptions, images, fabric information, size charts to give shoppers a transparent look at what they’re signing up for.
“We’re excited that beautiful Hanna clothes will now be accessible to even more kids and parents,” said Emily Gittins, Archive co-founding CEO.
On average, secondhand items sell for about half the original price. Listed prices should reflect an item’s condition and the original value, though sellers can set their own cost within a range. Buyers pay for the shipping label as part of total purchase price at checkout. Hanna Andersson is offering sellers 125 percent more value on each resale option through a gift card option, useable directly online but not on the resale marketplace, or a cash transaction for 70 percent.
“We wanted to provide an authentic Hanna experience; Archive enables brands to customize their resale marketplace. When you shop Hanna-Me-Downs, it truly feels like an extension of shopping the brand directly,” Reed said. “A top goal for us was to make it easy for busy parents to sell their preloved Hannas. Archive was the best technology to bring our vision to life, allowing buyers, sellers and the brand to interact in the same platform.”
Hanna Andersson believes the platform gives shoppers a customer-friendly journey.
“It all goes back to customer experience,” Reed said. “Being part of the resale process allows us to provide more data to the seller for easy listing. The buyer then has a trusted source of information regarding the original garment. This is huge when it comes to shopping for babies and young kids. We always want customers to have a positive experience with Hanna whether they’re shopping new or resale.”
Carhartt also stood up a resale site with the help of another recommerce technology provider.
The workwear brand has launched Carhartt Reworked on the backbone of Trove‘s resale infrastructure. The secondhand program gives Carhartt a way to keep its high-demand work-ready gear in circulation and find owners for slightly imperfect items that otherwise would end up in the dump.
“’Carhartt Reworked’ is an extension of our commitment to deliver the durability and reliability that hardworking people know and love, while reducing our environmental footprint,” Gretchen R. Valade, director of sustainability at Carhartt, said. “With the help of Trove’s expertise in circular business and recommerce, we’re able to keep Carhartt products in use longer, out of landfills and in the hands of people who need it.”
Billed as the first branded resale site in the workwear niche, the program dovetails with the high demand for Carhartt’s long-lasting hoodies and other tough-as-nails gear.
“Carhartt put a lot of thought into getting into the re-commerce space; we really looked at al the ways that we could go about it and landed on branded re-commerce being the right path for us, and we knew that we wanted to partner with Trove,” Valade said. “They have such a wonderful and best-in-class portfolio of brands that they work with. After meeting with them and talking with them for months before landing on the partnership, we just knew that they’re the right fit for our brand.”
Carhartt Reworked is built on products submitted through consumer trade-ins, customer returns, or imperfect inventory.
The reworked program will accept trade-ins of select Carhartt products that meet the requirements. All accepted products must meet condition standards, be less than 10 years old (due to cataloging only dating back 10 years), and are required to have had an original MRSP cost of $50 or more to confirm the product’s durability. The product categories include outerwear, shirt jackets, bibs and overalls, hoodies, sweatshirts, and pants. Those who bring eligible gear to the participating stores can exchange their garments for a digital gift card, which can be used on reworked.carthartt.com, Carhartt.com or any Carhartt company store. Any gear not eligible for trade-in will be recycled through Carhartt’s currently not publicly named partners or donated to local centers.
“[Getting into resale] really ties into our sustainability strategy,” Valade said. “We’re looking to reduce the impact of our apparel on the environment. And the next logical step was re-commerce. The mindset of our program is that sustainability aspect, so that’s really our goal—to add that added value to our consumer. The hope is and the plan is that it becomes a sustainable business model.”
Depending on the garment’s conditions, the product will either be immediately available for resale, cleaned, repaired and reassessed, or be removed from circulation and recycled.
Reworked products are immediately available for purchase at reworked.carthartt.com, and participating Carhartt retail stores will accept in-store trade-ins starting March 1. The trade-in program will pilot in six stores across the United States: the flagship in Detroit, the Potomac Town Center store in Woodbridge, Virginia; the Waterfront store in West Homestead, Pa.; the Evergreen Walk store in South Windsor, Conn.; the Renton store in Renton, Wash.; and the Riverdale Village store in Coon Rapids, Minn. The plan is to expand to all Carhartt retail locations before the end of the year, and as the program evolves, trade-ins by mail will be offered.
Trove can process millions of items for Carhartt and offers end-to-end item intelligence to deliver sustainable growth at scale. It powers both trade-in and resale for Carhartt, offering an opportunity to attract new customers.
“Carhartt is known for its high-quality fabric and stringent durability standards, meant to stand the test of time, which is why it feels natural to create a system to extend the life of such hardworking gear,” Gayle Tait, CEO of Trove, said. “It’s an honor to add Carhartt to Trove’s best-in-class brand partnerships that are pushing boundaries of innovation and sustainability. As the first workwear brand to offer a resale program, Carhartt is setting the industry standard and investing in efforts to build a fully circular product lifecycles—and we’re proud to be apart of that.”
Juicy Couture also sees the value in controlling the sale of its previously owned products.
The Y2K brand on Wednesday announced the launch of Rejuiced, a peer-to-peer resale marketplace powered by Recurate that gives customers the opportunity to sell their previously owned clothing and accessories directly through Juicy Couture’s e-commerce platform.
“Juicy Couture is one of the most sought-after brands in thrift shops and second-hand marketplaces in our portfolio, which is a testament to its enduring connection to pop culture,” said Natasha Fishman, chief communications officer and executive vice president of marketing at Authentic Brands Group, owner of the Juicy Couture brand. “Circular fashion is important to Juicy consumers, and we are incredibly pleased to partner with Recurate’s best-in-class platform to bring resale to the world of Juicy.”
When selling through Rejuiced, users will first submit their own product photos and descriptions before selecting a recommended price, which is then authenticated and approved by Juicy Couture to appear on the resale site. Following a sale, users will receive a prepaid shipping label and be reimbursed with store credit once the buyer verifies the condition of the purchased goods.
“We are thrilled to partner with Juicy Couture on the launch of their pre-owned marketplace, Rejuiced,” said Adam Siegel, Recurate co-founder and CEO. “Juicy Couture is an iconic casual luxury brand with a rich heritage and reputation for quality design. The launch of Rejuiced provides the brand with the opportunity to extend the lifetime of their products while at the same time providing their customers with a streamlined resale process.”
