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2025 was the year that confirmed what brands and consumers have been signaling for years: secondhand is fully embedded in how people shop, dress, and engage with the brands they love. Resale has moved from the periphery of retail strategy to the center, and as demand has accelerated, brands that invested early in resale have seen those bets pay off in meaningful ways: stronger customer loyalty, new shopper acquisition, and an increasingly powerful engine for profitable growth.
It was also a standout year for Archive and our global brand partners. As resale matured, tariffs created supply chain uncertainties, and economic uncertainty drove an increase in cost-conscious consumers, our partners scaled meaningful, customer-centric businesses—capturing high-quality supply, driving loyalty and up-spend with seamless credit experiences, and improving margins through advanced warehouse workflows built specifically for resale. Resale businesses are now a crucial part of a brand’s growth strategy, integrated deeply with brand ecosystems and resonating with millions of customers. And we are seeing the market data to support it:
*Nearly 30% of the average consumer’s closet is secondhand, only slightly behind ecommerce’s share and spanning all generations (BCG x Vestiaire Collective).
*The global secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $367 billion by 2029, growing 2.7X faster than the overall global apparel market. In the U.S., resale is expected to grow 4X faster (Thredup).
*Global companies have been hit by an estimated $35 billion in US tariffs, with many accelerating domestic or warehouse-stock strategies to avoid new import burdens (Reuters).
Read on for some fun Archive highlights as we look back on this past year.
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2025 was a year of real momentum—for the resale category, for our brand partners, and for Archive. As secondhand became an even more essential part of how people shop, the businesses we power continued to grow in meaningful, sustained ways.
*We saw nearly 3X year-over-year GMV growth, as resale programs matured into meaningful revenue drivers for partners. As consumer demand for secondhand goods rose, we sold 2.9X the amount of secondhand items YOY, avoiding 13M kg CO2e — the equivalent of nearly 20,500 one way plane tickets from from San Francisco to New York City.
*We launched 11 new resale businesses with Karhu, Rachel Comey, Simms Fishing, Lovevery, Peloton, A&Be, Keen, Ecco, Yeti, lululemon, and The North Face in Germany. These brands broadened the array of retail categories we support, including exercise equipment, toys, bridal, and lifestyle.
*We also helped brands scale their existing resale businesses by adding new resale models for continued growth. Faherty launched digital and in-store trade-in, Christy Dawn launched digital trade-in, and Karhu added peer-to-peer to their resale offering. Ariat and Dagne Dover both expanded their supply sources, adding brand-owned inventory to their assortment.
*We repaired more than 17,000 items—nearly half of those repaired from very poor condition and given a second life.
*In February, we announced our $30M Series B. The round was led by Energize Capital, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, G9 Ventures, Capital F, Woodline Partners LP, and Frontline Growth.
*Our team grew 88% to 81 employees across 23 states in the U.S. (…with a European office opening in January 2026!), all working toward one mission: keeping products in circulation for as long as possible.
As we gear up for some exciting innovations and launches within our platform in early 2026, we are incredibly proud of the dozens features we launched this year that enable our brand partners to operate their resale businesses more efficiently, productively, and profitably. Below are some highlights
*3rd party marketplace integration: By integrating with 3rd party marketplaces, we have unlocked another demand channel for brands to route aged or secondary inventory — ensuring items with longer time to sell or those that non-core SKUs have an optimal listing location to complement a branded resale channel.
*Advanced fulfillment capabilities: For the launch of Peloton Repowered, we integrated with AptDeco to support pickup and local delivery for large or heavy items. We also broadened our fulfillment capabilities for non-apparel goods, and built more flexible and variable fulfillment options for all of our partners to support their unique needs.
*Self-service tools for brands: We expanded our CMS and listing management functionality, giving brands the ability to have more real-time control over the look and feel of their site.
*Customer360: We launched our advanced analytics dashboard that connects resale and mainline sales and customer data, allowing brands to measure customer overlap, acquisition, up-spend, and behavioral trends across their full business.
*Auto-delisting: For peer-to-peer models, we introduced a new feature to reduce cancellations by ensuring listings are current and not already sold elsewhere.
*Warehouse Management System (WMS) advancements: We’ve rolled out various improvements to our Warehouse Management System, including more granular data, improved reporting capabilities, and more advanced check-in workflows.
We were grateful for every opportunity to gather with our partners and the broader retail community. Whether onstage or around a dinner table, these in-person moments helped deepen relationships, engage consumers, and spark ideas that shaped the year.
SXSW 2025 Activation With lululemon Like New
In March, we teamed up with lululemon to take over The Peach House in Austin during SXSW, turning secondhand shopping into an immersive and engaging consumer experience. The activation featured a Like New pop-up with curated racks of merchandise selected by local influencers, pilates classes, AG1 refreshments, saunas, cold plunges, and a community run.
Second Hand September
We hosted a multi-brand NYC pop-up at Seven Wonders Collective, paired with an influencer-led campaign that lit up TikTok, Instagram, and Substack.
Archive Resale Summit
In October, we brought our community of brand and logistics partners together at the Bowery Hotel in NYC to share ideas, problem-solve, challenge assumptions, network, and celebrate the brands shaping the future of resale. We were thrilled to spend the day thinking big about the future of branded resale and what’s possible when we collaborate as an industry. Our goal was for our partners to leave inspired, with actionable insights and relationships that would help fuel the next phase of their resale journeys, and we left feeling incredibly energized!
Conferences, Dinners and Events
We attended 12 industry conferences and hosted 8 dinners for brand leaders (+1 very sweaty workout class!) — all of which put resale on center stage.
Resale ruled the headlines this year, and Archive was proud to help shape the narrative. As brands, consumers, and policymakers looked to understand the rapid shift to circular commerce, our work and our partners’ leadership were part of the broader cultural conversation.
*Archive and our brand partnerships were featured in more than 60 media articles this year, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg, Business of Fashion, Fast Company, and Vogue, underscoring the outsized impact of branded resale.
*Our team spoke on 9 panels—with highlights including SXSW, Draper’s Conscious Fashion Summit, and FDRA’s Shoe Sustainability Summit—and joined 5 podcasts/webinars.
*Our CEO and Co-founder, Emily Gittins, was named to the prestigious Inc. Magazine Female Founders 500, a recognition that celebrates female entrepreneurs whose ideas are moving their industries forward — a testament to Emily’s visionary leadership in shaping the future of resale.
*Quite possibly the most newsworthy topic of 2025, Archive addressed the impact of tariffs and how resale is a key opportunity brands are leaning into to hedge against supply chain uncertainty. The proposal resonated on linkedin and across the media.
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*Top Selling Item: New Balance 9060
*Fastest Item to Sell: lululemon Define Cropped Jacket Nulu, sold in 30 seconds
*Most Expensive Sold: Oscar de la Renta Waved Grid Organza Gown, sold for $5990
*Most Viral Moment: A tik tok post about New Balance Reconsidered, 55K likes, 19.7K saves, and 12.1K shares
*Heaviest Item Sold: Peloton Bike, weighing 140 pounds
*Lightest Item Sold: Cuyana Zip Cardholder, weighing 2 oz.
*Most Favorited Item: lululemon Define Jacket Nulu, 4000+ favorites
This year didn’t just prove the staying power of branded resale. It cemented it as an essential, scalable, and profitable part of modern retail. Secondhand shopping is now a foundational part of how consumers build their wardrobes. We are so energized to ride this momentum with our brand partners, and together shape the future of what secondhand shopping can be.
And as proud as we are of the progress, we are even more excited for what comes next. 2026 is all about scale and innovation for Archive, with exciting new product developments, global expansions, and new brand partners set to raise the bar with us in the coming year. A huge thank you to all of our partners for a pivotal 2025!
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