thredUp launches Luxe for luxury goods

Retail has a new luxury to talk about now. The online consignment store thredUp has taken over TheRealReal. It is now launching a new luxury goods storefront, simply called as Luxe. Now customers can request a clean-out-kit from thredUp through Luxe. It will have both low-end and high-end items, which the store will sort up once it arrives. These luxury items will be then offered for resale on Luxe which offers sellers up to 80 percent commission.

TheRealReal has been in online consignment business for a while now and has made its mark as a top player. It has managed to secure an additional funding of $50 million from Great Hill Partners. It plans to expand its business further by setting up a physical footprint. This will come in the form of valuation offices where customers can interact with experts to consult on the price of their high-end items like fine jewelry and watches.

On the other hand, thredUp has been particularly concentrating on apparel, shoes and handbags. According to sources from thredUp, the launch of Luxe was driven by the increase in number of searches for luxury goods on its e-commerce site. “Demand for luxury goods on thredUp is currently outpacing supply with more than 60,000 searches for luxury brands each week,” says James Reinhart, thredUp co-founder and CEO. “We created thredUp Luxe to bring in the supply to meet that demand,” he added.

In this launch period, thredUp’s take of the commission will be waived off. This is to ensure a drive users adoption of the new service. This means that sellers will be taking home 100 percent of the commission of the sales through Labor Day in US.

The goal of this expansion into luxury is to make thredUp into a more comprehensive service for reselling items. Be it every day clothing from Gap or Banana Republic or anything designer made clothes, handbags or shoes, thredUp is aiming to attract all.