Are Rent The Runway’s second-hand clothes the perfect fit for Saks Off 5th?

Saks Off 5th has partnered with Rent The Runway to sell previously-worn and rented fashions via its website, becoming the first off-pricer to enter the resale marketplace.

Off 5th will purchase product from Rent the Runway’s inventory to resell. A dedicated pre-owned section on SaksOFF5TH.com will highlight 60 designer brands from Rent the Runway’s vetted inventory with promised savings of up to 85 percent off original manufacturers’ suggested prices.

The partnership expands Off 5TH’s push into the resale market, which is expanding at twice the rate as the firsthand market. Off 5th in 2020 partnered with LXR, a Montreal-based company that retails and wholesales vintage luxury, to sell pre-owned handbags.

A recent survey of Off 5th customers revealed that more than 70 percent previously purchased pre-owned clothing, shoes or accessories and 80 percent of those customers would like to purchase pre-owned directly from Off 5TH.

The deal adds new brands not previously carried by Off 5th, including BA$SH, Thakoon Collective, Marissa Webb, Prabal Garung and Adam Lippes Collective, as well as expands assortments from existing brands, including Equipment, Tanya Taylor and Derek Lam 10 Crosby. The expanded brands feature many that resonate with younger consumers.

“Our core customer is a ‘trend devotee’, which is actually a younger customer who loves fashion and aspirational brands in the luxury space,” Paige Thomas, president and CEO, Off 5th, told Vogue Business.

Having a pre-owned option also enables Off 5th to tap sustainably-minded customers. Off 5th may explore in-store pre-owned selling in the future.

Asked if selling secondhand merchandise would cannibalize sales of new merchandise, Mr. Thomas told WWD, “I don’t believe so. Our customers look to us for both.”

The partnership helps Rent the Runway reach new customers.

Rent the Runway’s sourcing model also aligns closely with Off 5th‘s because it purchases directly from designer brands versus other resale models that buy from individual consumers. Jennifer Hyman, CEO and co-founder, Rent the Runway, told Forbes, “When you shop resale on our platform it feels more like a traditional luxury commerce experience, because we have depth and breadth of the inventory.”

• Saks OFF 5TH Partners with Rent the Runway to Offer Pre-Owned Fashion – Saks OFF 5TH/PRNewswire
• Saks Off 5th to sell pre-owned fashion from Rent the Runway in resale pivot – Vogue Business
• Saks Off 5th Broadens Its Resale Offerings With Rent The Runway Partnership – Forbes
• Saks Off 5th has partnered with Rent the Runway – WWD