PMR study: Second-hands in fashion

Wpis dostępny jest także w języku: polski

According to a PMR survey conducted in April 2020, 31% of the respondents bought clothes in a second-hand clothing store during the three months preceding the survey, and 7% bought shoes in this way.

The age of the respondents did not have a significant impact on the distribution of their answers, while snooping around in the second trade was confirmed to be the domain of women. While the purchase of clothes in second-hand clothing stores in the surveyed period was declared by 17% of men, the percentage in women was already 42%.
In the case of clothing purchases, lumpexes turned out to be more popular than bazaars and market places, hypermarkets or outlet centers. It can be assumed that this position of second-hand clothing stores has both an economic dimension and is a manifestation of pro-ecological attitudes, a form of opposition to the idea of fast fashion, increasingly often associated with consumerism and environmental pollution.

Second-hand shops in shopping malls

Since September 2020, the City Bazaar has joined the list of tenants of Warsaw’s Galeria Młociny and it is the largest location of a second-hand clothing chain (previously second-hand Vive stores appeared in shopping centers). The founder of the concept, Tomasz Gałkowski, created it out of a passion for zero waste and circular economy. He was inspired, among others, by popular trends in Scandinavia, where the presence of second-hand clothing stores in shopping centers is not uncommon.

H&M looks for balance in used clothing

The Swedish company has reported in recent years that the sale of second-hand clothing is one of the fastest growing sectors in the fashion industry. The company is the majority shareholder in the startup of Sellpa, a portal that allows users to resell used clothes. Recently, the company has its own second-hand clothes trading platform, COS, also owned by H&M.

More on the prospects for the Polish clothing market in the latest PMR report: Clothing and footwear retail market in Poland 2020.

About autor

Magdalena Filip

Senior retail analyst

A senior analyst with ten years of specialization in the retail market in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. Areas of specializations: clothing and footwear retail market, children’s products market and private labels.