Lampoo Takes Secondhand Experience to the Storefronts
MILAN — The opening in December 2020 of a brick-and-mortar store in Milan’s Brera district was a strong sign that Italy-based consignment marketplace Lampoo was trying to expand its footprint beyond the digital realm.
Now the company, which is growing its scope rapidly, has forged ties with premium Italian retailers to bring the secondhand experience to storefronts. This step is in sync with founder and chief executive officer Enrico Trombini’s vision regarding the role physical retail can play in the resale market, which is expected to be worth $77 billion by 2025, according to resale marketplace ThredUp.
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“In two to three years we will no longer buy our fashion the way we’re used to, [shifting the model] is part of the survival of retail,” said Trombini, comparing fashion to the automotive market, which has increasingly moved toward rental and leasing to keep growing.
“Flagship stores and multibrand retailers will allow customers to give back used goods in exchange for credit to be channeled into new clothing,” he said. “Stores are going to become a pivotal hub for circular fashion; it’s unlikely they will be entirely cut out from this business model,” he offered.
As part of the project Lampoo has sealed a deal with Italy’s Camera Buyer – The Best Shops and has already convinced marquee multibrand stores in the country including Como’s Tessabit; Spinnaker, which counts several stores in the Liguria region; Julian Fashion based in Ferrara, and Al Duca D’Aosta, among others.
The multibrand stores will serve as a gathering point for secondhand goods, wherever these were acquired. The products will then be collected, evaluated and priced by Lampoo following a procedure named “Certified by Lampoo.” The e-tailer will place fashion and accessories on its site, remitting the value to the stores, which can convert it into credit for their clients.
Courtesy of Lampoo
A range of 30 top-tier brands’ handbags are considered hot tickets, meaning that Lampoo will pay the stores for their values immediately upon evaluation, while ready-to-wear pieces are offered on the platform on a consignment basis.
“This service represents a trigger for stores’ customers in that it boosts their loyalty and supports upselling,” Trombini said. “Customers are likely to spend more than their credit’s value. Overall it’s a service with which retailers can engage their clients.”
In his view, online consignment platforms and shops offering similar services will coexist. “It’s up to customers to decide whether they want credit to be spent on new goods, thus going into stores, or fresh money to invest on other leisure activities and sell directly on e-tailers,” the entrepreneur said.
After jump-starting the project, which is officially kicking off at the beginning of February, Trombini has a busy 2022 ahead, he said.
Internationalization is key, and while Lampoo already generates 45 percent of its revenues outside Italy, and especially in the U.K., France, Germany and the U.S., he see greater potential in foreign markets.
At the same time, he’s consolidating the consignment site’s Italian business, with the opening of a second brick-and-mortar store planned for the third quarter of the year to flank the existing unit in Milan’s Brera district. On the operational front, Trombini is aiming to ramp up technology enablers to speed processes and become more competitive.
Courtesy of Lampoo
After receiving two rounds of investment since its launch in March 2020, the most recent of 6 million euros last July, Lampoo is now looking at a third round to further spur growth. Trombini stayed mum about 2021 revenues, but he said they tripled compared to 2020 and are expected to make a similar jump in 2022.
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