Vivrelle and Fashionphile Lean into Brick and Mortar Retail

Luxury resellers are increasingly focused on developing the in-store experience to win in the growing $26 billion luxury resale space

As we continue to observe post-pandemic recovery in physical retail traffic and in-store spending, several luxury resellers have opted to expand their physical footprints. The RealReal, a leader in the luxury resale space, opened its 19^th store in February of this year (photo above), and others are following suit:

• This June, Vivrelle announced plans to lease a new 14,000-square-foot showroom for its luxury rental service in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood.
• Late last month, Fashionphile introduced its 60,000-square-foot showroom and authentication center in New York City.

Read on for our take on the latest experiential store concepts from luxury resale purveyors Vivrelle and Fashionpile.

Vivrelle Showroom Unlocks Exclusive Experiences for Member Community

Member-only, digitally native luxury platform Vivrelle enables a shared digital closet of preowned designer handbags and accessories for consumers to rent or purchase. In addition to showcasing its covetable product offering, Vivrelle utilizes its new showroom space to catalyze community connections. The space operates as a social club and lounge, with a centerpiece bar, areas to chat and mingle, and exclusive member-only programming, such as workout classes with celebrity trainers, social events co-hosted with luxury brands, private events and branded activations.

Photo Credit: Vivrelle

Photo Credit: Vivrelle

Fashionphile’s Connected Showroom Delights Omnichannel Shoppers

Fashionphile, an early adopter of the luxury resale model, got its start in 1999 as an eBay seller. Twenty years later, Neiman Marcus acquired a minority stake in the company and, as a part of the investment, Fashionphile established a greater physical retail presence through shop-in-shops in select Neiman Marcus stores in the past couple of years. Fashionphile has also dabbled in physical retailing through a handful of pop-ups within Neighborhood Goods stores. This year, the company has embraced flagship retailing with a 14,000-square-foot showroom and authentication center in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City.

The digitally-enabled format allows customers to select items from Fashionphile online, make an appointment, and pick up their purchase in-store. Upon arrival, the Wi-Fi-equipped space recognizes the customer’s mobile phone and ceremoniously sends the items purchased out on a carousel to be picked IRL.

Photo Credit: Hisashi Miyao

Luxury Resellers Tap Physical Spaces to Grow Customer and Brand Loyalty

Lavish omnichanneled retail spaces offered by The Real Real, Vivrelle, Fashionphile and others convey a sense of status, belonging, and exclusivity to their shoppers that should benefit these platforms. Physical outposts with personalized offerings and shareable community moments can grow brand awareness, inspire visits, conversion, and increase average customer lifetime value while elevating the secondhand branded shopping experience to a luxury level. In addition, showrooms act as important centers for acquiring products from luxury shoppers wishing to sell their pre-loved items while adding credibility for luxury brands that increasingly view digitally native secondhand players as worthy wholesale distribution points.

Stay tuned to our blog as we continue to comment on innovative retail developments that inspire us. Follow along with us on our blog and our Instagram feed and stories.