The old is the new ‘new’: Emerging business models in the luxury field: renting and resale

Over the past decade, technological innovations, increased digitalization\r\nof customer exchanges and the rise of experiential consumption\r\nhave revolutionized many industries and resulted in some fundamental\r\nrestructuring (Holmqvist et al, 2020; Christodoulides et al, 2021).\r\nConsumers, especially younger ones, now expect immediacy, availability,\r\nand instant gratification, so many logics of fast fashion have\r\nalso been embraced by the luxury industry. As a generation who grew\r\nup digital, they are less enthralled with owning goods, since they are experimenting with ways to access goods besides purchasing, ranging\r\nfrom clothes and music to homes or vehicles.\r\nYoung people want items that align with their values, desires and\r\nidentity, and demand a more democratic luxury that is convenient,\r\nseamless and flexible. This has resulted in a boom of new means to\r\naccess luxury; unconventional forms of consumption are emerging,\r\nshifting the focus from ‘having-to-being and from owning-to-experiencing’\r\n(Cristini et al, 2017, p.101).\r\nAfter all, we have long shared things with family and friends, and\r\nthe internet and the sophistication of digital devices, further accelerated\r\nby lockdowns, have facilitated commercial sharing and trading\r\namong peers (Gibson et al, 2018; Widlok, 2017), contributing to the\r\nsuccess of the so-called sharing economy.\r\nThe sharing economy is an umbrella concept that encompasses\r\nseveral theoretical constructs including collaborative consumption,\r\ndefined as an economic model based on sharing, second-hand purchasing,\r\nand renting or leasing products and services (Iran and\r\nSchrader, 2017; Hamari et al, 2015; Möhlmann, 2015; Botsman,\r\n2013). Collaborative consumption involves temporary or permanent\r\nconsumption and peer-to-peer or business-to-consumer exchanges\r\nplatforms (Kumar et al, 2018). By integrating the concept of the sharing\r\neconomy into the clothing sector, collaborative fashion consumption\r\nprovides consumers with alternative options to the classic model\r\nof purchasing garments, and people participate in an organized system\r\nof acquisition and distribution of previously owned clothes or\r\naccessories for a fee. Moreover, facilitated by technological advances,\r\nthe secondary market has substantially expanded opportunities for\r\nconsumers to dispose of apparel while recouping some of their previous\r\ninvestment by reselling or renting still-valuable items (Sihvonen\r\nand Turunen, 2016). A good example of this trend is the three-day\r\nsale organized by the Kardashian-Jenner sisters with The RealReal,\r\nproposing a vast assortment of designer items from their rich closets.