Dive Brief:

• Luxury resale company Rebag on Thursday announced the opening of its Rebag Bar, a 180-square foot micro-store, in New York City inside The Shops at Columbus Circle, according to a company announcement emailed to Retail Dive. 
• The store features all categories Rebag carries, including bags, watches, fine jewelry and accessories. Customers can sell items within an hour at the location, according to the company. 
• Customers can not only shop a curated selection of products but will also be able to digitally access the company's entire inventory at the Rebag Bar. 

Dive Insight:

Rebag is expanding by going small. 

"We are constantly seeking new ways to democratize luxury resale, and this micro concept will achieve exactly that," said Charles Gorra, founder and CEO of Rebag, in a statement regarding the new store. "COVID-19 has reshaped urban and suburban consumer behaviors across the country. The nimbleness of this new Rebag Bar format will enable a hyper-local and efficient roll-out." 

The platform, which was primarily known for its secondhand luxury bag offerings, broadened this fall into other categories, namely watches and fine jewelry. Before that, the company landed $15 million in Series D funding last May at a time when many nonessential retailers were still recovering from temporary shutdowns implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19. 

The resale market has been one segment of apparel expected to grow, while many other players in the space have had a difficult trajectory, even before the pandemic. This year has seen 29 major retailers file for bankruptcy so far, many of which were clothing retailers or had apparel as a core offering including J.C. Penney, Lord & Taylor, Brooks Brothers and Ascena. The secondhand market is projected to reach $44 billion by 2029, according to a recent report from ThredUp. Even though many people plan to decrease their apparel spending, 52% of consumers are expected to spend more money on secondhand fashion. 

Other retailers are also launching stores that are small in size. The RealReal is testing a mini-store concept that is between 2,000 to 3,000 square feet with "about 400 to 500 SKUs max in the front and then luxury consignment offices in the back," according to founder and CEO Julie Wainwright in the company's November earnings call. Nike, too, is planning to open up to 200 small-format stores in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, similar to its Nike Live concept. 

Rebag was launched in 2014 as a digitally native brand and currently has physical store locations in New York, Los Angeles and Miami.