Now, start-ups create market for pre-owned luxury items

Luxury brands may not get enough traction through e-commerce sites but there seem to be enough takers for pre-owned luxury goods.

New start-ups Envoged, Luxepolis and Confidential Couture are targeting ‘aspirational’ yet ‘value’ seeking Indian consumers for whom a Louis Vuitton bag or Jimmy Choo footwear will now be within reach, with discounts raging from 50 to 70 per cent.

Regular luxury sites such as Luxepolis are resorting to selling pre-owned goods. “Indians seek value even in luxury and this includes the rich and not so rich.

Even Indian billionaires are willing to buy a second-hand Chanel bag for temporary ownership, which they can resell on our site,” says Vijay KG, Founder, Luxepolis. “There is huge potential in the reseller market and we managed to resell more than ₹1 crore of luxury goods since the time we started in October last year, ’’ he adds.

Valid guarantees and authentication provided by these players is also making the pre-owned luxury market a more convincing choice.

“When we started in 2014, the market for pre-owned luxury goods was not developed but now there is growth with 7-8 items being sold daily, with handbags being the largest category,’’ says Anvita Mehra, founder & CEO, Confidential Couture.

After being funded by her family, Anvita is believes convincing investors should not be a problem to expand into more luxury categories.

“It is an untapped market and investors see growth in this business since we fulfil the needs of aspirational buyers like college students. There is a feel-good factor attached to luxury and affordability makes it a more attractive proposition.

Pre-owned luxury is a 4.5 million category today but can go up to 9 billion by 2020,’’ she says.

Others like Envoged.com, which started late last year, also believe that since FDI policies are still not clear, luxury brands find it difficult to sell online through their own sites and market places and this makes the second-hand goods market more suited to dispose off unsold inventory.

“We are willing to sell unsold inventory of luxury brands and it is the price points that makes the second-hand market more attractive, where discounts can go up to 80 per cent,” says Anandita Singh, co-founder, Envoged.com.

“For most Indian consumers, who may be first time buyers of luxury goods, the second-hand market might be a better plan to reach out to such goods,’’ she adds.

Last year the start-up engaged in an angel round with investors such as Indian Express and actor Jackie Bhagnani.

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