Fashionphile opens 60-000-square-foot authentication center in Manhattan

Fashionphile is on a mission to bring customers properly authenticated luxury resale. The latest step in their quest includes the opening of a 60,000-square-foot authentication center and showroom in New York City, located in the Starrett-Lehigh building in Chelsea.

The new center features views of the Hudson River and will give the public an inside look at the world of resale as a place to shop, sell, and witness the inner workings of a resale company. Resale is a continuously growing category in fashion, but customers don’t often understand how companies like Fashionphile handle their merchandise and authentication process. This new center and showroom are a first-of-its-kind interactive resale experience that will allow customers to better understand how the pre-loved, ultra-luxury accessories market works. Fashionphile carries major luxury brands including Hermès, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Prada, Cartier, and Patek Philippe.

The new space houses the company’s operations, including authentication, shipping, receiving, warehousing, a photo studio, and a high-security, climate-controlled storage area called “The Cage”, which will house up to 15,000 luxury handbags and accessories at any given time, including the largest collection of Hermès Birkins in the world. The center will also feature eight procurement offices where customers can sell their items to Fashionphile.

This expansion marks Fashionphile’s first corporate presence in New York City and follows the opening of the company’s Madison Avenue showroom in 2018. In addition to its existing headquarters in Carlsbad, California, which includes a 30,000-square-foot showroom and authentication center - Fashionphile also operates a 105,000-square-foot distribution center in Moonachie, New Jersey, two technology offices in Los Angeles and Provo, Utah, and has partnered with Neiman Marcus as their exclusive re-commerce partner.

"After more than two decades of tremendous growth, FASHIONPHILE is thrilled to expand our operations to the East Coast and open a corporate authentication center & showroom for our customers in the heart of New York City," said Ben Hemminger, CEO of Fashionphile, in a statement. "We pride ourselves on providing best-in-class service to our customers, and this move enables us to expand our capabilities even further as the leading re-commerce company for ultra-luxury accessories."

The Starrett-Lehigh building that houses Fashionphile’s new center has been around since 1931. It was originally conceived as a warehouse, distribution, and manufacturing center. The Empire State Development offered Fashionphile 3.5 million dollars in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits over the next 10 years in exchange for the company’s job creation commitment to nearly 150 new, high-paying jobs. 2025 is the project's expected completion year.

Secondhand is driving a big piece of retail. North America currently leads global secondhand apparel market growth. According to a report by ThredUp, the U.S. secondhand market is expected to more than double by 2026 to 82 billion dollars. 70 percent of consumers say it’s easier to shop secondhand now than it was 5 years ago thanks to the emergence of technology and online marketplaces. The U.S. secondhand market is also seeing more sellers now than ever.