H&M becomes majority shareholder in resale platform Sellpy

H&M Group has further invested in fashion resale, or re-commerce, platform Sellpy becoming the majority shareholder in the business.

Through its investment arm CO:LAB, H&M Group has been investing in the business since 2015 and has since participated in all investment rounds. Its latest investment means it now owns around 70% of its shares, and says it intends to increase its stake in the coming years to 74%.

"We keep investing in Sellpy because we strongly believe in the company and its founders. Sellpy is a unique circular business model, which perfectly aligns with H&M Group's vision to become fully circular," said head of CO:LAB Nanna Andersen.

Sellpy was founded in Sweden in 2014 and will use the latest injection of cash to expand internationally with the initial focus on Germany. The site sells used fashion for men, women and children, as well as household items, electronics and beauty items.

Michael Annör, CEO of Sellpy, commented: “We are excited to continue to work even closer with H&M Group to empower everyone to live circular, regardless if they live in Sweden or elsewhere. With the support of H&M Group we can continue to innovate and drive awareness and adoption of re-commerce.”

Second-hand fashion is one of the fastest growing sectors of the market, with Millennials and Gen Z consumers being particularly strong advocates, which has led to a number of brands and retailers supporting resale platforms as both growth opportunities and as part of sustainability strategies.

Yesterday luxury fashion platform Farfetch announced it was teaming up with Thrift+ to enable shoppers to earn credits to spend on-site by donating unwanted clothing. Farfetch also supports Thrift+ through its Dream Assembly start-up incubator.

Earlier this week, Burberry announced it was partnering with resale platform TheRealReal to encourage consumers to resell their old Burberry items and refresh their wardrobes with second-hand buys.