Amazon Luxury Stores Enters Resale With Hardly Ever Worn It in Europe
LONDON — Resale platform Hardly Ever Worn It, best known as HEWI, on Tuesday launched on Amazon Luxury Stores in Europe bringing pre-owned luxury items to customers in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
Ruth Diaz, vice president of Amazon Fashion Europe, said the partnership with HEWI enables the site’s customers to choose from a wider range of brands and styles.
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“We’re always looking to innovate and engage with our diverse customers, and launching pre-owned goods allows us to do just that, whilst also creating an opportunity for us to offer our customers accessible luxury,” added Diaz.
Tatiana Wolter Ferguson, chief executive officer of HEWI, said Amazon Luxury Stores brings a new level of visibility for luxury resale.
“Our collaboration with Amazon is a testament to our commitment to making high-end circular fashion accessible to a diverse and wide-reaching audience. By joining one of the world’s most trusted marketplaces, we are able to bring this to fruition, enabling more people to experience the joy of resale,” she said.
Rare finds from the launch drop include a two-tone Mini Kelly II priced at 24,995 pounds, a Prada leopard calf hair bowling bag at 825 pounds, and a Chanel black-and-white faux-fur-trimmed jacket that is on sale for 6,750 pounds.
It’s understood that all listed pre-owned products have gone through a pre-screening process designed by HEWI to ensure authenticity.
The HEWI launch on Amazon Luxury Stores is accompanied by the spring campaign “Luxury Finds, Loved Before” featuring models Ikram Abdi and Noel Capri, shot in the Barbican Conservatory.
Founded in 2012, the Marylebone-based HEWI now sells to more than 40 countries. In 2021, the platform launched a crowdfunding campaign and refreshed its online platform with a focus on personalization. The following year it unveiled an improved online platform, expanded its at-home and VIP services, and has been moving toward a carbon-neutral logistics program.
Amazon Luxury Stores made its European debut in the summer of 2022 with a campaign featuring Kristen McMenamy, Precious Lee, Leon Dame and Dara, nearly two years after launching the concept in the U.S.
The collections on the site are sold directly by the brands and designers, which make “independent decisions regarding their inventory, selection and pricing,” according to Amazon.
While the Amazon Luxury Stores is still a work in progress — as some brand managers told WWD earlier that they were disappointed both that Amazon had opened Luxury Stores to a broader audience and that the big-name luxury brands never arrived — the recent downfalls of Farfetch and Matchesfashion have given the operation, which is backed by the world’s largest e-commerce player, a chance to take up more share in a market that witnessed a tectonic shift in 2023.
Jonathan Siboni, founder and CEO of Luxurynsight, which provides luxury, fashion, and beauty brands with data-driven insights, told WWD earlier that online specialty stores could eventually give way to big, ambitious retailers such as Amazon, eBay, Tmall and JD.com, which already drive high traffic, and which could make space for luxury on their sites.
“The only companies that can survive in the online business are the big [commercial] platforms — not the luxury ones. These companies, which have other businesses [and other demographics], can make room for luxury stores in their portfolio because they already have the traffic,” he added.
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