Thrift+

Idea

Introduction

Second-hand shopping is booming and our attitudes towards fast fashion have changed - the once fusty world of second-hand is transforming into a whole new, aspirational category, with a brand new name; pre-loved.

Sustainability is a huge part of this shift, but underpinning it all is the fact that shopping pre-loved is incredible value. As a result of this, the cost of living crisis is only expected to accelerate this shift to thrift.

So how come, when 70% of the population say that they are ‘open to shopping second-hand’ - it's estimated that only 25% actually do? We believe that’s because shopping from a stranger on a person-to-person marketplace isn’t for everyone.

That’s where we come in.

Thrift+ is a managed marketplace. We sit in the middle of sellers and shoppers, adding a professional layer of quality control. By doing this, we pull second-hand shopping into the modern world of e-commerce.

We're building a new kind of fashion marketplace, built on trust, so that every customer can shop pre-loved with confidence.

*Revenue information from unaudited management accounts.

Substantial accomplishments to date

Since our first sale in 2018, over 500k items have been given a new lease of life and our community of sellers has donated almost £1.5m to charities across the UK.

The last 12 months have been incredibly strong for Thrift+ with YTD GMV up almost 60%, at a time when new retail is struggling (GMV growth based on Q1-Q3 2021 Vs Q1-Q3 2022). We partner with some of the biggest brands in fashion, including FARFETCH, Gymshark and Fatface who promote our ThriftBag fashion take-back service to their customers.

And we’re backed by some top entrepreneurs and impact investors.

Customers love our platform with a CES score of 86%, whilst over 90% of buyers would recommend Thrift+ to a friend.

“I choose to buy second-hand because there are enough clothes in the world and websites like Thrift+ mean buying new is no longer the only easy option. I couldn’t recommend Thrift+ enough, I’ve told all my friends about it!” - Thrift+ customer.

We've designed our platform to benefit from strong network effects - our sellers can redeem credits with our brand partners, incentivising them to promote to new sellers; and spend credits on Thrift+ converting existing sellers into new shoppers.

Our economics are improving as we scale our operations and with our investment in technology we will look to continue to drive further efficiencies.

With sales of second-hand clothing set to out-pace sales of new clothes in the next few years, now is the time to invest in circular fashion.

Monetisation strategy

The second-hand clothing market is worth $71bn, which is estimated to quadruple by 2030 - with the potential to make the second-hand market larger than the fast-fashion market.

We look to attract new customers and turn them into repeat customers through the convenience of our offering. We handle listing, dealing with buyers/sellers, shipping, etc. This means zero-hassle resale for sellers and zero-risk shopping for buyers.

We charge a £3.75 + 35% fee on successful sales; the remaining proceeds are issued to sellers as credits which can be redeemed with partners, spent on pre-loved fashion, or donated to charity.

Currently, around 3% of charity retail is online compared to 20% for new retail. We believe capitalising on the inevitable digitisation of second-hand retail represents a big revenue generating opportunity.

Use of proceeds

So what’s next for Thrift+?

1. Firstly, we will look to expand our brand partnerships, enabling us to acquire more customers at scale.
2. Secondly, we will invest in our technology, rebuilding our shopping site from the ground up to supercharge our sales.
3. Finally, we will overhaul the Thrift+ brand, with a view to establish ourselves as the go-to platform for circular fashion.

As part of our latest funding round, and at this incredibly exciting time for the business, we’d love for you to join us as a shareholder and help us to close the loop on fast fashion once and for all.