Inside Thailand’s luxury second-hand fashion boom

Thai retailers are tapping the booming market for second-hand luxury fashion, with the global sustainability trend expected to drive annual growth of 12%.

Thani Samseecharoenlap, chief financial officer of second-hand fashion store Bagnifique, said Thailand’s growing second-hand market was worth around 40 billion baht last year.

Market growth is being driven by younger generations who are interested in high-quality preowned products with friendly price tags, he said.

Thani added that Thailand is a regional second-hand fashion hub, attracting consumers from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and other Asian countries.

Somruthai Sangchaiphum, CEO of preowned fashion store Perrine Porter, said the market is playing a vital role in driving the circular economy.

Second-hand fashion is trending because it allows buyers to access high-quality products at reasonable prices and sellers to swap their unwanted clothes for cash to buy new items, she explained.

Thai retail giant Saha Group has partnered with two Japanese second-hand luxury chains – Komehyo and Ragtag – to cash in on the sustainable fashion boom.

Komehyo opened its fifth Thai branch in The Mall Lifestore Bangkapi in Bangkok last year, purchasing and selling second-hand brand-name products.

Ragtag opened a pop-up outlet at CentralWorld mall in Bangkok’s Pathumwan shopping district in April last year.

Meanwhile, luxury second-hand fashion glittering on the shelves at Siam Piwat’s new Circular of Lux store on M floor at Siam Discovery mall. Circular of Lux allows customers who purchased luxury goods from Siam Paragon or IconSiam to take part in sustainable fashion and responsible consumption trends. The preloved luxury-brand bags, clothing, leather goods, fashion accessories, and shoes are a big hit with wealthy gen Z customers, according to the retailer.