How to buy a crop top in Florianópolis

Then came the lockdown, and there wasn’t much use for the garment at home, miles from the beach. “For a while, I kept it as a memento from that trip, until I finally decided to sell it online,” Pazetti said. Rest of the world. In August 2021, she sent it to Repassa, one of Brazil’s largest second-hand clothing e-commerce companies.

Six months and 700 kilometers later, the condom was delivered to Luiza Balthazar, a 30-year-old lawyer from Florianópolis. “I wasn’t sure I was going to embrace the crop top trend, so I thought I’d give it a try by buying it used,” Balthazar said. “As well as being cheaper, it’s also more sustainable, as I would avoid adding a new item to an already saturated industry.”

Brazil’s online second-hand clothing market has grown dramatically during the pandemic. The resale of clothing on the internet has increased by an average of 50% per year since 2015, according to Alexandre Crivellaro, director of commercial intelligence at the Brazilian Association of e-commerce. That pace accelerated in 2020, he said, when more than 250,000 items were sold on Repassa alone. That year, the company’s revenue increased by 130% compared to 2019.

Brazilian consumers have been hit by high levels of inflation in recent years. Prices have climbed more than 10% in 2021, and clothing prices have increased significantly. The country’s economy has slipped into recession after being hit by COVID-19 and weaker global demand for its exports. In response, many Brazilians have turned to the second-hand market, both to maintain their spending habits and to earn some extra cash. “We know that people only wear 30% of their wardrobe,” said Repassa founder and CEO Tadeu Almeida. Rest of the world. “With the pandemic, they had more time to sort out the things they no longer wanted. And with the economic crisis, clothes have become an asset.

A seller on Ironpass typically pays 24.99 reais ($5.29) for a bag containing around 35 items, which can then be picked up at home or mailed to the business. The bags are collected at one of the company’s distribution centers. The São Paulo center is a three-story industrial building with an open plan and exposed brickwork reminiscent of a hip Silicon Valley startup, save for the hangers and floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with bags of clothes. A team of around 100 people checks the quality, steams the clothes, takes pictures, catalogs, and stores everything. The center hosts approximately 3,000 items a day, from tops to costumes, accessories, and footwear, 75% of which are approved and placed on the website.

50% The average annual growth rate of online clothing resale in Brazil since 2015.

Source: Brazilian Electronic Commerce Association

On the website, clothes are sorted by type, brand, size, and discount amount, which can be up to 90% below the usual retail price, according to Tadeu.

Balthazar, who bought the top from Pazetti, said she used to shop at thrift stores, but e-commerce has improved the experience. “It’s easier to filter online, and many of these stores organize what they sell,” she said.

The warehouse shelves are divided into “streets” and numbered, and each item is given a code indicating its address in the system. Once the sale is complete, a worker goes to the corresponding address of the item, picks it up, packs it, and prepares it for collection by mail or courier. Ironpass charges a 40% commission and guarantees three-day shipping anywhere in Brazil.

Ensuring that these logistics run smoothly and cost-effectively is vital for second-hand clothing platforms. A lot of money is flowing into the sector, some of it coming from more traditional retailers. In November 2020, Arezzo & Co., owners of brands such as Schutz and Vans Brazil, acquired 75% of Troc, an online savings company. In September 2021, fast-fashion brand Renner acquired Ironpass for an undisclosed amount. Enjoei, another Brazilian resale platform, raised 1.13 billion reais (about $227 million) in its IPO in November 2020. Troc and Repassa do not disclose their finances. Enjoei’s financial statements show that its losses rose from around 34 million reais in 2020 to almost 120 million reais in 2021, even as its seller base exceeded 1 million people.

Although she is happy with the platform, Pazetti is still trying to find a way to improve her sales. “You can’t tell what will sell and what won’t. I sold a really expensive pair of sunglasses and still haven’t sold a cheaper skirt,” she said. But she is already organizing another bag to send to Ironpass.

“It’s a great opportunity to make money off of things that were just taking up closet space,” she said, adding that she was happy to know her clothes could circulate again. , like the white crop top she bought in Bahia and now belongs to Balthazar. “I hope it makes her as amazing and hot as it made me feel,” Pazetti said.