Reclaiming control: how The Fashion People helps fashion brands understand their resale market

While the fashion industry ignored resale for years, the playing field has been radically disrupted by the arrival of external tech platforms. As brands focused on the front end of their sales, players like Vinted built a parallel economic ecosystem that operates entirely outside the control of the original brand owners. Dias Nurlanov, CEO of The Fashion People, and Xander Slager, who previously founded the circular fashion brand New Optimist, among other ventures, believe the tipping point has been reached: for fashion brands, owning their own resale channel is no longer a “nice-to-have,” it is a necessity to maintain market position.

Previously, the division was clear: brands sold new, while consumers traded second-hand via platforms such as Vinted. According to Nurlanov, this represents a missed opportunity with direct impact on commercial performance. Most brands currently have no grip on the full lifecycle of their products. “For 95 percent of brands, there is zero interaction with the customer after the sale,” Nurlanov explains. “Brands are being cannibalized by platforms like Vinted; more and more customers are choosing second-hand as their primary purchasing channel, leaving the brand sidelined.”

More and more brands are now realizing that resale can no longer remain an external market. To regain control over data, customer relationships and revenue, they are looking for ways to bring the second-hand market into their own ecosystem.

The solution for a circular customer journey

The Fashion People provides a technological layer that Nurlanov describes as a “Shopify-like” solution for resale. While large companies such as Inditex are already rolling out these platforms with their own in-house tech teams, this innovation enables mid-sized brands to launch their own platform in record time. By integrating this infrastructure directly into the existing webshop, the brand experience remains intact while valuable data is captured.

“We build the entire marketplace model for them and can move quickly when brands are ready,” says Nurlanov. “The brand remains the ultimate owner of all data. They gain deep insights into who is selling second-hand items and who is buying them.” This information provides insight into sales dynamics, customer profiles and price sensitivity—data that was previously largely lost to external marketplaces.

Financial incentives and the blurring of retail boundaries

The economic logic behind this model is compelling, largely due to the integration of store credit. Data from The Fashion People shows that as many as 70 percent of sellers opt for store credit instead of a cash payout. This creates a closed-loop system in which the proceeds from second-hand clothing flow back into the purchase of items from the brand itself, rather than ending up as cash in the consumer’s pocket. This presents a significant opportunity for retention, particularly in segments such as childrenswear, where children quickly outgrow their clothes.

Nurlanov predicts that the worlds of new and second-hand will increasingly merge. “Second-hand is becoming the social norm, especially for younger generations. For brands, being present in that market is essential to stay relevant. It also allows them to reach customers for whom the new price point may be too high, or those looking for a specific item that has sold out elsewhere.”

A strategic shift toward product quality

The move toward branded resale also encourages brands to fundamentally rethink their production processes. When a manufacturer has a financial stake in maintaining a product’s residual value, incentives shift toward quality.

“What fascinates me is that sustainability in fashion has been difficult to scale until now,” says Slager. “By connecting the new and second-hand markets, a new dynamic emerges. It is now in the brand’s interest to develop products with long lifespans and strong residual value. The focus shifts toward items that last for years and whose resale is facilitated by the brand itself. That is the complete shift we are going to see over the next five years.”

Resale is coming… ready or not?

To prepare the industry for this transition, the event “Resale is coming… ready or not?” will take place in Amsterdam. During this session, experts such as Pim Roggeveen of RE Agency and e-commerce specialist Jons Janssens, former Chief Digital Officer at Ace & Tate and founder of Conway & Co, will explore how resale is becoming an integral part of the customer journey. The session offers brands concrete tools to bring e-commerce, loyalty and branding together into one coherent commercial strategy.

Today, the question is not whether you engage in resale, but whether you retain control over your own brand value. As Nurlanov concludes:
“Ultimately, branded resale is not just about sustainability—it is about a brand’s survival strategy in a world where the consumer has already taken control.”