August 25, 2021
Urban Outfitters is planning to challenge popular online reseller marketplaces like Poshmark and Thred-Up by launching its own secondhand shop this fall.
The marketplace, called Nuuly Thrift, will be geared toward customers who have items they want to sell from any brand — including women's, men's and children's apparel and accessories.
"URBN has been in the vintage renewal business since our founding in 1970," said Richard A. Hayne, CEO and chairman of the Philadelphia-based lifestyle retailer. "With the launch of Nuuly Thrift, we're excited for URBN to capitalize on shifting customer behavior and gain market share in the rapidly expanding online resale market."
The idea for Nuuly Thrift was conceived as a sister platform to Nuuly Rent, which is URBN's subscription rental service for women's apparel. The company hopes that the two platforms will feed off each other through the incentivized payment structure on Nuuly.
When items are sold on Nuuly, sellers will have the option of either receiving their full earnings directly in their bank account or earning an additional 10% credit on the sale to be used at any of URBN's brands. That includes Nuuly Thrift, Anthropologie, Free People, Urban Outfitters, BHLDN or Terrain — online and in stores.
URBN noticed that many of its products are popular resale items on other platforms, and that a substantial number of URBN customers are active in resale markets, both as a sellers and buyers.
"With URBN's millions of existing customers, our merchandising and creative expertise, our deep technical capability, and the potential for Nuuly Cash to drive incremental purchases at our family of brands, we believe the stage is set to capitalize on a very large resale market opportunity," said David Hayne, URBN's chief technology officer and Nuuly president. "Our goal at Nuuly is to build a creative marketplace community – built around a best-in-class technology platform – where customers can be fashion-conscious, eco-conscious and financially-conscious, all in one place."
An exact date for the launch of Nuuly Thrift has not yet been announced.
