欧美二手名牌时装网店走红

Second-hand used to be a taboo. No self-respecting fashion fan would admit to buying someone’s cast-offs, especially just a few seasons old. Fashion was all about new, new, new. Times have changed. Now it’s about the nearly new; pre-owned pieces bought for a thrifty price, just a few seasons after their catwalk debut.

买旧衣服穿，在过去是大忌。有自尊心的时尚拥趸都不会坦承自己买过别人穿过的二手衣服(尤其是只过了几个时尚季的装束)。时尚过去总是“以新为上”。但如今早已今非昔比，现今追求的是八成新，只过了几个时装季的二手装往往以很优惠的价格就能淘到手。

At the same time, avid shoppers have become shrewd sellers, turning to booming consignment websites to shift unwanted goods quickly and conveniently. Previously, their options were donating or going through the inconvenient, time-consuming process of selling-on through bricks and mortar stores. Online, the vast eBay marketplace was their only obvious option.

与此同时，狂热的买家如今摇身一变成了精明的卖家，他们借助快速发展的代销网站便捷处理自己的累赘东西。在过去，他们的处理办法不是捐赠就是通过实体店转卖，既麻烦又费时。而规模空前的eBay在线拍卖市场曾是其唯一选择。

Julie Wainwright, chief executive and founder of The RealReal, noticed a gap in the market. “As a shopper, you run out of space in your closet. After a while it just piles up. Before us your options for reselling were limited and clunky,” she explains. In five years of business (predominantly in the US), The RealReal has sold on 2.5m items. Chanel, Hermès, Prada, Rolex and Louis Vuitton are some of the biggest sellers. Consignors earn 60 to 70 per cent of the sale.

The RealReal创始人兼CEO朱丽•温赖特(Julie Wainwright)注意到了市场存在的巨大缺口。“对买家来说，家里的储衣柜已无多余存储空间。过不了多久，就会衣满为患。大家把它们再转卖的选择余地既小又别扭。”她解释道。运营五年来(主战场在美国市场)，The RealReal已成功售出250万件物件。香奈儿(Chanel)、爱马仕(Hermès)、普拉达(Prada)、劳力士(Rolex)以及路易威登(Louis Vuitton)是最受欢迎的品牌。零售价的60-70%归委托人所有。

“Second-hand used to have a stigma. Today it has none: worldwide last year $200bn dollars of personal luxury products went into the market, in the US $60bn were sold,” says Wainwright. “There are multiple reasons — one is a generational shift, one is a green thing — when you buy something previously owned, you’re recycling, it’s a circular economy — the other is the internet and access to information.” To her, the biggest shift that laid the foundations of the consignment boom occurred in 2008. “It was such a devastating time for almost everyone and the financial crisis brought a sense of guilt to shopping. That said, no one is going to stop buying luxury but post-2008 the idea of buying luxury on value became important.”

“买二手时装在过去是件丢脸的事，如今则大不一样了：去年全球个人奢侈品的销售额高达2000亿美元，光美国就达600亿美元。”温赖特说，“买卖二手货原因多种多样——其中之一是出于更新换代，第二个原因是为了环保：购买二手货属于回收利用，是循环经济;另一大原因是因特网的广泛应用以及获取信息的渠道异常便捷。”在她看来，奠定网络代销蓬勃发展基础的最大转变始于2008年。“金融危机对几乎所有人造成了毁灭性打击，当时花钱购物有某种负罪感。即便如此，消费者仍然大肆购买奢侈品，但2008年金融危机后，高性价比地购买奢侈品变得越来越盛行。”

While the US market is dominated by The RealReal, France’s Vestiaire Collective has monopolised the European market. It started in 2009 with just 3,000 items from friends and networks, discloses Fanny Moizant, one of the site’s original six. Now, they have more than 400,000 items online and took €78m in 2015. Its bestsellers are Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Louboutin, though mid-priced labels such as Isabel Marant and Maje also do well. Moizant also cites the financial crisis as a catalyst. “I saw the marketing phenomenon that was the fashion bloggers. In France they were called the Recessionistas, because they appeared at the height of the crisis and were finding a smart way of reselling their own pieces on blogs and making money, even though there was no real system.” She agrees that the taboo around “second-hand” has disappeared.

美国市场由The RealReal主宰，而欧洲市场的主导者是法国电商Vestiaire Collective。据该电商最初6位创始人之一的范妮•莫藏(Fanny Moizant)透露：网店创建于2009年，起初只有朋友与其它网站提供的3000件二手奢侈品。如今，网站销售的二手奢侈品超过了40万件，2015年的利润高达7800万欧元。网站最畅销的品牌是路易威登、香奈儿以及娄伯丁(Louboutin)，尽管伊莎贝尔•玛兰(Isabel Marant)与Maje等中等价位品牌也异常抢手。玛兰也认为2008年金融危机是二手奢侈品网店井喷式发展的“催化剂”。“我当初看到各大时尚博主这类营销现象。在法国，这些人被称为‘不景气时尚达人’(Recessionistas)，因为他们出现在金融危机最严重的时候，找到了一种在博客兜售自己用过的奢侈品并且赚钱的妙招，尽管当时并没有实际销售平台。”她也认同社会上“二手奢侈品”犯忌之说已烟消云散的看法。

“Fashion consumption has changed. Your mother or grandmother would buy a coat for a lifetime, we buy two or three coats a season. People need our service — they need a place to let go and get rid of this excess.”

“时尚消费观念已经大变样了。我们的母亲或祖母那一代人往往会买件外套穿上一辈子，而我们这一代人每个时装季会买上2、3件外套。消费者需要我们提供这样的服务——他们需要处理自己多余服装的场所。”

Their success comes from their ability to mimic the luxury shopping experience. “We have a deep appreciation of the brands, the products, the quality and the craftsmanship,” says Wainwright. “Ebay was sad. The romance was broken. It lacked integrity. So our goal was to maintain the brands’ integrity.” Moizant agrees: “Before us, there was a second-hand market but it lacked this — we brought in two big pillars. The first was trust, which eBay lacked. The second was curation — the internet is so vast, so we do the job of selecting the best pieces. We have a team of stylists, who each day go through about 4,000 pieces and vet them digitally and pick the best. We also authenticate with a whole other team of experts.” Often this involves working with brands and anti-counterfeit organisations.

这些网店成功的秘诀缘于完全模仿奢侈品购买体验。“我们对各大品牌的内涵、旗下产品、质量以及做工了如指掌。”温赖特说，“Ebay是个伤心地，破坏了消费者购置奢侈品的浪漫心情。Ebay没有诚信。所以我们当初设立的目标就是维系各大时尚品牌的诚信。”莫藏对此也深有同感：“在我们网店成立之前，曾有个二手奢侈品交易市场，但它缺少两样东西，而这两样东西后来成为我们的立身之本，其一是诚信(Ebay缺乏)，第二是产品管理——因特网功能强大，所以我们挑选最好的产品。我们有专门的设计师团队，他们每天在网上浏览4000件时装，并做出甄别，择优选择。我们还聘请另一专家团队对其进行鉴定。”通常这意味着与品牌公司以及其它防伪机构进行通力合作。

Neither platform sees itself as a vintage site. “We want people to feel like the pieces are in stores now, or could be — that it’s modern,” says Wainwright, explaining that most products are two to three years old (though some handbags or watches go back 10 to 20 years). The platforms offer the same service as luxury retailers — slick delivery, broad choice, informed advice, a social shopping experience, as exemplified by Vestiaire’s user profiles. “We go beyond e-commerce into being a social network for fashion. It’s so rare to find that in a second-hand website — and that’s what women and girls love; sharing their love of fashion with other fashionistas.”

无论是The RealReal还是Vestiaire Collective，都没把自己视作旧货交易场所。“我们希望消费者感觉它们就是(或者说尽可能是)门店销售的产品，让消费者感受到那种时尚快感。”温赖特说，并解释为何所售商品多数为两三年前的东西(有些手袋与手表是10-20年前的东西)。两大在线销售平台提供的是与奢侈品零售商同样水准的服务——送货灵活、选择多样、咨询全面以及颇具亲和力的购物体验，Vestiaire的客户资料就是个明证。“我们突破了纯电商领域，变成了时尚社交网站。这在二手奢侈品网店显得凤毛麟角)这正是女性朋友喜欢我们网店的原因所在：与其他时尚达人(fashionistas)分享时尚的爱好。”

It’s all about celebrating the joy of shopping. “Our average customer shops six times a year, so every other month — they browse,” says Wainwright.

最重要的就是大家同庆购物之快乐。“客户每年在我们网店平均购物6次，也就是说每二个月就会光顾一次我们网店。”温赖特说。

Moizant’s Vestiaire shoppers spend on average €400 each time. She’s identified two main behaviours: “One is looking for a piece you missed — sold out, or something you regretted not buying. The second is price-driven — you want a Chanel bag but can’t afford full price.

光顾莫藏Vestiaire网店的购物者每次平均花费400欧元。她认定有两大原因：“其一是淘自己错过的东西——销售一空或是自己遗憾当初没买的东西;第二是价格原因——自己想要个香奈儿包，但掏不起全价。”

On both sites, the selling experience is just as slick — aside from photographing garments and deciding what to sell, there is little to worry about. “We make it really easy — we pick up the pieces, we get rid of any inconvenience or friction. Most of our consignors work a lot — they don’t want to run around chasing their previously owned goods,” says Wainwright. “We pay and communicate regularly — it becomes an easy source of income.” The majority of our consignors are not whales — they’re making $8,000-$10,000 a year, though others have made enough to remodel their homes.”

两大网店的销售经验都非常老练——除了给上架服装拍摄照片以及决定销售内容之外，其它一切无需担心。“我们确保销售顺畅——挑选好产品后，消除任何不便或是争执。我们多数委托人的工作都很辛苦——他们不希望整天紧盯自己委托卖出的二手货。”温赖特说，“我们给对方付费并与其定期沟通——这是份轻松稳妥的收入。多数委托人并非名人，他们每年在卖二手时装上能挣8000-10000美元，尽管有些人从中挣的钱足够装修房子了。”

Vestiaire offer a concierge service for the top 10 per cent of clients — they will photograph, sell and store items on their behalf. For those doing it themselves, there are simple instructions detailing how to shoot your stock in the best way.

Vestiaire为前10%的客户提供贵宾服务——代表对方为其二手货拍照、销售以及存储。对于那些喜欢亲力亲为的客户，网店会简单指导对方如何给自己的二手货拍出最佳效果来。

Wainwright can see the potential for attracting those who shop at the highest end. “A key growth area of The RealReal is jewellery. We’ve set up valuation offices for fine jewels and watches in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles where you can meet with a gemologist and get a report about what they would sell for. It’s totally different to the pawnshop experience.” Onsite you’ll find special edition Rolexes selling for more than $40,000 and Cartier bracelets for more than $10,000.

温赖特十分清楚能够吸引那些高端购物者的巨大商机。“The RealReal增长最快的领域是首饰。我们在纽约、芝加哥、旧金山以及洛杉矶等地建立了高档首饰与腕表的估价办公室，委托人可与宝石专家见面，获得自己二手奢侈品的评估报告。这与典当行截然不同。”消费者能在网店上淘到售价4万多美元的限量版劳力士腕表与售价1万多美元的卡地亚(Cartier)手镯。

Noting the success of these womenswear platforms, in 2014 Arun Gupta started menswear market place Grailed — a reference to “that specific piece you obsess over owning, but can’t ever find or afford”. The site began in his bedroom after he trained himself to code. In the week we speak, 50,000 items were on the site. The team has also just launched a content platform, Dry Clean Only, to profile and discuss the items on Grailed. “When we started out there were five to 10 women’s marketplaces, already fairly popular,” he explains.

看到二手女装在线销售平台的成功后，2014年，古普塔(Arun Gupta)创建了Grailed男装网店——特指“个人觊觎已久、但苦寻无踪或是超出自己财力之物”。古普塔自从学会编码方法后，就在自己卧室创建了Grailed网店。就在接受我采访的那一周里，Grailed网店上架了5万件男装。此外它最近还成立了内容平台Dry Clean Only，对Grailed网店销售的男装进行简介与评价。“我们成立伊始，已有5-10家知名度很高的二手奢侈女装网店在运营，他解释道。

A fashion obsessive, like Wainwright and Moizant he noticed that the second-hand gems came from personal connections, rather than surfing eBay. “Not having much money to spend, I spent hours on the internet looking for deals. I found the best prices — and best pieces — always came from friends or other enthusiasts on key menswear forums.”

作为与温赖特以及莫藏一样的时尚痴迷者，古普塔留意到二手首饰往往从私人关系圈、而非eBay淘得。“自己余钱不多，所以在网上淘宝，我发现最低价格永远来自自己的好友或是各大男装论坛上的时尚痴迷者。”

On Grailed, bestsellers are very much what’s currently big in stores; Saint Laurent, Raf Simons and Rick Owens, and streetwear brands such as Supreme and Palace, though the site also has a reputation for playing host to rare gems, such as Simons pieces from the 2000s. Gupta takes a low commission; 6 per cent. He identifies the same two user patterns as Vestiaire’s Moizant. “Some people are specifically looking for rare items to add to their ever-growing collections — we’re one of the few places you can find rare Japanese brands like Undercover and Julius. At the same time many people are just looking for good deals.”

Grailed上的畅销货往往与实体店的热销款大同小异;圣罗兰(Saint Laurent)、拉夫•西蒙斯(Raf Simons)以及瑞克•欧文斯(Rick Owens)等时尚名品以及Supreme与Palace等街装品牌的二手货异常抢手，尽管Grailed还时常销售稀缺款宝石(如产自21世纪初的拉夫•西蒙斯宝石)。古普塔只收取6%的佣金。与Vestiaire的莫藏一样，他也发现了客户的两大相同消费模式。“有些消费者为了增加自己藏品而专淘稀品——我们是少数几家可淘到Undercover与Julius等日本稀有品牌的其中一家网店。与此同时，很多消费者就想找物美价廉的二手货。”

So what do the brands have to say? Legally they have no right to complain, thanks to the precedent set by pivotal case Tiffany Inc vs eBay Inc in 2010. “Ebay won. Brands were told that they can’t control the resale market. That case is so clear that there’s no obstacles for us to sell something that is previously owned,” says Wainwright. “We’re not going anywhere. The world has changed. And at some point brands are going to have to realise that.” Less than 5 per cent of The RealReal’s sales come from vendors, though Wainwright sees growing ways to collaborate with brands now their relationship has mellowed. “They are going through an evolution. Our first year, I heard they hated us. Now, they’re keen to find a way to work together. They’ve realised they can maybe learn something from our data.” In her mind, they should be grateful.

那么，各大品牌对此有何看法?从法律层面说，它们没有申诉权利，这都要归功于2010年蒂芙尼(Tiffany)起诉eBay的关键判例。“法庭最初判eBay胜诉，各大品牌被明确告知eBay等网店难以控制再卖市场。该判例清晰明了，所以我们销售二手货在法律上毫无障碍。”温赖特说。“我们并非四处出击，现在跟那时早就不一样了。总有一天，各大品牌会明白这一点。”虽然The RealReal与各大品牌的合作方式越来越多(如今双方关系日趋紧密)，但只有不到5%的销售额来自小二。“各大品牌对我们代销网站的态度经历了演变过程。The RealReal成立第一年，我听说它们对其恨之入骨。如今，他们挖空心思找法子与我们合作。对方意识到也许可以从我们的客户数据库了解相关情况。”在温赖特看来，各大品牌应对RealReal心存感激。

“This year, we’re going to put into our consignors’ hands, all of whom are in the US right now, $220m in payment. They’ll use the money they make from the site to go back into the store to buy new — they’ll go and buy more.”

“今年，我们打算把2.2亿美元的返款全部交给二手奢侈品委托人(他们如今全在美国)。他们会用这笔钱进实体店买新奢侈品——他们肯定会大买特买。”

What they buy will be increasingly shaped by the resale market. One of Wainwright’s proudest achievements is the way she’s slowly affecting the luxury market and changing how people shop — particularly by putting the spotlight on the true value of specific pieces and popular brands. The lack of lasting appeal for some key houses is evident in the sites’ pricing and sales and may surprise. Although changes within a brand can do a lot to create resale buzz.

而消费者的购物习惯将越来越取决于二手时装市场。温赖特最引以为豪的是，自己正逐渐影响奢侈品市场以及正改变消费者的购物模式——尤其是让消费者对特定款式与流行品牌的真实价值一清二楚。有些大品牌的吸引力难以为继，在网店的定价与销售额量就已一目了然，这可能会出乎业界意料。然而品牌内部的人事变动对于自身二手品的热销与否也会有巨大作用。

“Two-and-a-half years ago, Gucci had really bad resale value,” offers Wainwright, citing the recent appointment of Alessandro Michele as a turning point. “Now it’s right up there — it’s big. They reinvigorated the brand and people got excited, so now we can even sell old Gucci, from pre-Michele, particularly the logo stuff — it has value again.”

“两年前，古驰(Gucci)的二手货售价差强人意。”温赖特主动说道，并说古驰最近聘请亚历山德罗•米歇尔(Alessandro Michele)出任创意总监成为其转折点。“如今古驰又成了高大上的抢手品牌，它又焕发出勃勃生机，消费者对其趋之若鹜，因此现在甚至米歇尔之前几位创意总监设计的古驰(尤其是带标识的那些类别)都容易出手——它又变得价值不菲了。”

She feels resale educates consumers, giving them power and knowledge. “Our shoppers look to check the resale value of things. They do notice if a brand has no resale value and move away from it. When I meet consignors they always say ‘You’ve changed the way I shop.’”

她认为二手奢侈品的买卖很好地教育了消费者，让其增加了信心、增长了见识。“我们的消费者期望检验二手奢侈品的价格。他们真的注意到：如果该品牌没有二次销售价值，他们就会移情其它品牌。我与委托人见面时，他们总是这样说：‘您改变了我的购物模式。’”