HONG KONG — Pre-owned luxury is having a moment here. Long weighed down by negative cultural connotations that secondhand means second-best — or worse, a fake copy — a number of companies in Hong Kong are growing the selection of used high-end shopping options by offering a mix of physical retail, butler services and charitable causes.
The most obvious sign of a shift was the arrival of Vestiaire Collective, the Parisian secondhand designer goods platform in August when cofounder Fanny Moizant relocated to the city to set up the business’ Asian headquarters.
Despite its position as a leading platform in its sector, with 4,000 to 6,000 items on the site on any given day, Moizant said brand awareness was low and the company has had to navigate its way around the preference among Asian consumers for brand new items — common to markets with newly created wealth — and beliefs that a used product can pass on bad energy from a previous owner.
“I think it’s very true for the older generation, my age and above [to think those things here],” she said. “I think the new generation, Millennials and Generation Z, are way more open and they are very savvy regarding price.
“There’s a
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