Balenciaga launched a re-sell program

Balenciaga has launched a circular economy program - that's the wording of the brand itself gives - along with technology and logistics platform Reflaunt to help customers sell their old clothes and accessories. Last year, Kering itself acquired a 5 percent stake in luxury resale platform Vestiaire Collective. In contrast, companies such as Chanel and Hermès are quite skeptical of online resale platforms, fearing they could negatively impact sales, encourage the counterfeit market or even damage a brand's image. The Birkin manufacturer's CEO, Axel Dumas, told analysts in June that entering the market would come at the expense of the brand's regular customers.

But the rapid growth of the secondhand market and the growing interest in resale as a way to solidify brand sustainability has quickly led some players to change that stance. In a statement, Balenciaga described its new resale initiative as a truly circular economy program. Balenciaga's collaboration with Reflaunt - whose CEO Cédric Charbit is an investor - will offer customers a comprehensive resale experience. Products can be picked up online or delivered to participating Balenciaga stores, where they will be sent in for authentication and pricing before being photographed and posted to a network of global marketplaces. The customer receives financial compensation or a discount of 20 percent or more, depending on the garment. This process of luxury fragmentation - a central theme in Balenciaga's communication strategy, which has repeatedly rewritten the rules for obtaining and presenting fashion products or collections - is part of a broader discourse that aims to exalt and raise the awareness of the heritage of a fashion brand that sees its archive and products as a source of continuous renewal, as well as sustainable. The initiative also allows consumers to be brought closer to the dynamics and processes within a brand's management, involving them firsthand in otherwise inaccessible activities.  

Balenciaga's re-sell program is available in Italy, France, the UK, US, and Singapore.