Schibsted is investing in Sweden-based second-hand fashion marketplace Plick, in a bid to capitalize on what is expected to remain one of the fastest-growing resale categories in the years ahead. The company did not make public the sum.
“By investing in Plick, we’re supporting the founders behind one of the key challengers in the resale marketplace for preloved fashion among younger consumers in Sweden,” said Christian Printzell Halvorsen, Schibsted’s EVP for Nordic marketplaces.
“The service fits well with Schibsted’s strategy to offer people transactional marketplaces that make it easier to buy and sell second-hand goods. It also complements our purpose of contributing to a sustainable world by giving people opportunities and helping them make smarter choices.”
He added that the investment was also motivated by Plick being active in Schibsted’s largest Nordic market, Sweden.
Founded in 2013, Plick has more than 500,000 users, largely young women and girls. It is active in the circular economy, helping drive more sustainable fashion choices, said the Oslo-based marketplace operator.
An early-stage investment, Plick will continue to operate as a standalone company supported by Schibsted.
“We are really excited to join the founders and the team, and to help develop Plick further,” said Halvorsen
Jimmy Heibert, CEO and founder of Plick, added, “The fact that Schibsted has demonstrated such faith in us, gives us great confidence in pursuing the exciting journey we have embarked upon. They possess competence that we can tap into, and enable us to scale our business in the Swedish market.”
The fashion resale sector is surging, partly driven by the pandemic. ThredUp’s 2021 Resale Report projects that the second-hand market will double in the next five years, to stand at $77 billion. Crucially, resale is on course to outgrow the wider retail clothing sector 11-fold by 2025.
Resale is tipped to grow by 5.4 times over the same period, accelerating post-Covid.
While in 2010, resale made up just 4% of overall fashion retail, the share had more than doubled to 9% by 2020 and is on course to double again by 2030.
And resale is particularly en vogue among younger consumers: according to the report, 42% of all consumers and 53% of millennials and Gen Z say they plan to spend more on second-hand in the next five years.