Dive Brief:
- Continuing with its sustainability mission, Eddie Bauer is adding resale to the Eddie Bauer (Re)Adventure program, the brand announced via email to Retail Dive.
- Starting Monday, shoppers can buy used clothing and gear at a discount through the company’s (Re)Adventure site.
- Eddie Bauer teamed up with Arrive, a tech and reverse logistics firm, to launch the program, per the announcement.
Dive Insight:
Eddie Bauer’s resale program ties back to the company’s overall sustainability goals of designing for versatility, utility and longevity while embracing circular business models.
The brand began experimenting with the space a year ago with its gear rental program. The company tapped Arrive Outdoors to deliver rental gear and clothing to customers in the U.S. as part of a larger effort to make outdoor activities more accessible.
Eddie Bauer joins other brands that have launched resale platforms over the past year. In April, Dick’s Sporting Goods and its subsidiary brand Public Lands began buying back customers’ outdoor gear starting with shoppers in Denver and Pittsburgh. Lululemon that same month expanded its recommerce initiative nationwide after piloting the program in more than 80 stores.
Other retailers have collaborated with resale companies to launch similar programs. In July 2021, Fabletics partnered with ThredUp to launch its resale initiative, which provided Clean Out Kits for customers to fill with clothing, shoes and accessories from any brand and ship to ThredUp for free. Target recently partnered with ThredUp to pilot its used clothing marketplace, where shoppers can choose from about 400,000 women’s and children’s items. According to 2021 research from Wells Fargo, ThredUp’s resale-as-a-service platform could generate more than $300 million by 2025 and could be more valuable than its secondhand clothing sales.
Besides offering consumers rental and used options, Eddie Bauer has also worked to expand its physical footprint. The brand began offering seasonal and year-round outdoor products within Kohl’s locations last year, a move intended to help the retailer meet rising demand for outdoor goods. Eddie Bauer recently faced a shakeup in its C-suite as well: In May, CEO Damian Huang departed his role after only a year as CEO and more than a decade in other roles at the company.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly referenced Arrive Outdoors. Arrive is the tech and logistics firm.
