Online marketplace Carousell has signed a deal to acquire thrift fashion store Refash for an undisclosed sum, the two companies announced yesterday.
Refash, founded in 2015 by Mr Aloysius Sng, buys second-hand clothing from consumers to sell on its website and in 10 retail stores across Singapore. It claims to have processed more than five million pieces of clothing.
According to the terms of the deal, Refash will continue to operate as its own brand, retaining its name and management team, as well as physical and online stores.
Carousell said the partnership was a natural next step, given that fashion is one of its biggest verticals across "the majority" of its markets.
The online classifieds marketplace, where people list new or pre-loved items for sale, was set up in 2012.
It is now in eight markets - Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam. It counts itself in the ranks of Singapore's unicorns, with a valuation of US$1.1 billion (S$1.53 billion).
Mr Quek Siu Rui, Carousell's co-founder and chief executive, told The Straits Times that Carousell aims to build on Refash's network of offline retail to make it even easier for people to declutter their closets and sell pre-loved clothing.
The 34-year-old also said Carousell plans to leverage its technology expertise and artificial intelligence capabilities to create a more seamless thrifting experience at Refash.
Meanwhile, Mr Sng, 33, said the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered a significant shift towards recommerce and expects the Carousell acquisition to usher in a new period of growth for the start-up.
Recommerce, or reverse commerce, refers to the business of selling pre-loved products.
Mr Sng declined to share details of Refash's sales turnover, saying only that it was in the "seven figures", with the online segment "increasing by 200 per cent" since a year ago.
At present, Refash handles an average of 5,000 drop-offs from sellers each month.
Mr Sng also noted that both companies are aligned on their goal to promote second-hand as the socially conscious option.
Agreeing, Mr Quek highlighted Carousell's vision to "inspire others to make second-hand their first choice".
"By 2030, we want to create an inversion: First-hand e-commerce will supplement recommerce, with consumers inspired and enabled to reuse items, and buying new only when necessary or after they have sold something," he said.
According to a report by ThredUp, the world's largest fashion resale platform, the global thrifting and resale industry will be worth an estimated US$77 billion by 2025 - more than doubling from the US$36 billion last year.
