Faherty launched Second Wave in June 2023 as another pillar in the brand’s commitment to minimizing its own—and the fashion industry’s—impact on the environment. The brand already prioritized designing durable garments from sustainable materials, utilizing lower-impact dyes and finishes, adopting plastic-free and responsibly sourced packaging, and providing complimentary repairs, so resale was a natural evolution in the brand’s circular ambitions.
The Second Wave business features both a peer-to-peer resale marketplace as well as the sale of brand-owned, like-new inventory, including returns, damages, and samples. Faherty sends this inventory to Archive's logistics partner, Tersus, which uses Archive’s Resale Ops technology to process the items, clean and repair them if necessary, and then list and fulfill the items through Second Wave.
Second Wave is a prime example of how a brand can employ multiple resale models to build a successful resale business. Faherty has a loyal customer base that is hyper-engaged with selling and purchasing on Second Wave. The program proved early on to be successful in increasing the LTV of their customers, with sellers spending 2-3X their resale earnings on their next mainline site purchase.
In fact, shopper demand on Second Wave was so high that there was a clear opportunity to grow the business simply by increasing supply and assortment. Though Faherty launched with a managed resale model alongside peer-to-peer, they did so at a small scale. A few months post-launch, they identified a large assortment of owned inventory to send to Tersus, which increased the total listings on the platform by 50%. Tapping into this additional supply drove sales 40% over their monthly average, and increased conversion from 2 to 3%. The initial success from scaling the managed side of the business has set the stage for further growth in 2024.
Archive is uniquely able to support a variety of resale models, and we ensure our partners can scale a profitable resale business regardless of which model, or combination of models, are employed. With Faherty, they knew they wanted to launch resale to help ensure their pieces stayed out of landfills, but weren’t sure which model was best for them. Archive helped advise on the combination of peer-to-peer and managed, which has provided customers a trusted environment in which to buy and sell secondhand Faherty items, while also giving the brand an outlet to keep inventory that could not be sold as new in circulation. We are excited to continue to work with the Faherty team to grow Second Wave.
Archive’s sophisticated data capabilities allows us to easily assess the health of the business in real time and helps us make informed decisions. What could have been a monstrous undertaking has been mostly turnkey—and the best part is that there’s an immediate seen and felt benefit to the brand, the customer, and the planet.
At Archive, we partner with brands to build programs that meet their unique business objectives. Whether you already have a vision or are just starting to think about circularity, we’d love to hear from you!
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