There is little appetite for second-hand clothes traded in by customers in Belgium and France, Zalando notes. The fashion platform will no longer accept worn garments from customers there for the time being. However, customers can still buy the items.
Supply does not match demand
Zalando has had a Pre-Owned section on its platform since 2020, with second-hand clothes and accessories. To respond to the tremendously fast-growing demand for second-hand, the platform has since been buying items over from customers.
To avoid cannibalising its own sales, consumers do not sell there themselves, but Zalando arranges everything. The company suggests a purchase price, after which consumers can send the items free of charge. Consumers are also not paid in cash, but receive a voucher or can donate the amount to charity.
However, the system does not appear to work everywhere. Especially in Belgium and France, “the supply of second-hand items does not match the demand for them”, spokesman Gilbert Kreijger told Belgian newspaper Gazet Van Antwerpen. From now on, customers in those two countries can only buy second-hand clothes from abroad, but no longer offer products themselves. The service has been put on hold, but may return in the future.
