Ba&sh to deploy its second-hand service in Europe

For 20 years, premium Parisian brand Ba&sh, founded by entrepreneurs Sharon Krief and Barbara Boccara along with Dan Arrouas, has championed “smart fashion.” In November 2022, the women’s fashion label launched its second-hand service. Just over a year after its launch, the women’s fashion brand hails a positive balance sheet, with this eco-responsible initiative now accounting for 5% of its online revenue in the French market.

While second-hand fashion became more prevalent during the Covid-19 pandemic, this model, emerging as a new way of consuming fashion, raises questions about its profitability for the industry. In France, this competitive market saw the rise of platforms like the French Vestiaire Collective and the Lithuanian Vinted, along with the emergence of circular offers from brands such as Maje, Balzac Paris, and The Kooples.

Ba&sh, a company that had experimented with circularity as early as 2019, has almost reached a profitable model for the second-hand fashion niche. The premium Parisian brand, under the leadership of Pierre Arnaud Grenade, applauds the success of its responsible offering, conceived in collaboration with the French start-up Faume and simply named “Seconde Main.”

Its second-hand offering has captivated a third of its clientele

This fledgling initiative has generated 1.15 million euros in revenue, constituting 5% of its business in the French market. Ultimately, it could gradually replace traditional sale periods. Towards the end of 2023, the brand inaugurated a temporary store dedicated to second-hand fashion in the Parisian shopping center Beaugrenelle, in partnership with Faume.

Since the program’s launch, a total of 20,294 products have been accepted in France (customers can deposit their clothing and accessories in-store or on Ba&sh’s designated second-hand website section), and 16,159 articles have been sold. Among these, 7% were sold in the United States through their American partner, Archive Resale. The Parisian brand boasts a turnover rate of 74% for the products, with “4,522 items available online.”

“We are proud of the progress made in a year with our second-hand initiative,” detailed Pierre-Arnaud Grenade in a statement. “2024 will be the year of profitability. These figures reflect our commitment to sustainability and demonstrate the timeless value of our pieces,” added the CEO of the brand.

Termed an “undeniable success,” this initiative has “led to the acquisition of 1,917 new customers since its launch” in autumn 2022, accounting for 37% of its entire customer base.

International deployment of the initiative

The fashion brand is aiming to swiftly reach 1.5 million euros in revenue with this circular program and plans to extend it online to Germany, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands this year. Additionally, the brand will be launching four pop-ups in France and abroad to promote its circular offering.

Embracing multiple eco-friendly initiatives, Ba&sh joined the Fret21 initiative last summer, a responsible logistics program backed by the ecological transition agency Ademe. In November, it also committed with the company Nativa to promote regenerative agriculture on the farms in Uruguay where it sources its wool.

As a flagship of French fashion, Ba&sh rode an impressive growth wave of 22% in 2022, achieving a turnover of 310 million euros. The brand, present in over 70 countries through its retail network of 320 stores, welcomed a new majority shareholder in May 2022: the French fund HLD, alongside historic shareholders and the management team.