The demand for second-hand luxury goods is on the rise in India, showcasing the increasing ambitions of young buyers and consumers in tier-II and tier-III markets. This trend is driving growth in a previously unexplored market segment.
Despite indications of a slowdown in the worldwide luxury goods market, Luxepolis in India, boasting an online user base of 3.5 million, achieved over 80% sales growth this year.
“We are planning to expand our retail footprint in 2024 with a couple of stores planned for Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. Pre-owned luxury has definitely hit the mainstream market in India with many consumers buying pre-owned luxury goods and many smaller players launching me-too pre-owned luxury businesses,” said Vijay KG, founder of Luxepolis, an online marketplace for certified pre-owned and discounted new luxury goods.
“As per our research, there are about seven new pre-owned businesses launched this year,” he said.
According to Anvita Mehra, CEO of Confidential Couture, 2023 marked the most successful year for the company since its establishment nine and a half years ago, experiencing a 60% year-on-year growth in sales.
This year, Confidential Couture opened its first experience center in Delhi and has plans to launch similar centers in other markets.
“The entire industry has been on an upward swing. The best performing category is handbags for us, followed by watches, and other accessories such as scarves and wallets. This whole combination of e-commerce backed by experience stores should be the future for anybody in this space. We are not a Nykaa. Our price points are very different and can go up to ₹16 lakh for a very high-end bag,” she added. Mehra sells products of brands such as Hermes, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Prada.
Arjun Singh Hira, the founder of chronoseconds.com, a seller of pre-owned luxury watches, stated that the market is expanding, and sales have increased. As an example, his company successfully sold a vibrant Grand Seiko rose gold watch for INR 15 lakh to a buyer in Lucknow.
“The interesting thing about pre-owned watches is they don’t devalue. Cars devalue. If you buy a pre-owned watch, depending on the watch it will correct to a market price and then it will keep rising. That’s why people talk about watches being an investment,” he said.
“The popular brands are Rolex, Omega, Cartier, IWC and Panerai. In our portfolio, the most expensive watch costs about INR 35 lakh, while the cheapest could be for INR one lakh,” he added.
Chitra Goenka, the founder and CEO of LabelCentric, expressed that this has been the most successful year for her company.
“The awareness is so much. Brands such as Balenciaga, YSL, Valentino are coming into India through official retail channels, which will make the market even bigger. Our discounts can vary from 20% for a relatively new item to up to 90% when it comes to shoes and clothing. We recently set up a permanent space at Nariman Point for customers to see the stock,” she said.
“We have also started a private members-only group called LC Sourced through which we can source new products of brands that are not available in India through luxury shoppers in Europe,” she added.