Depop

Last updated

Depop Limited
Depop logo.svg
Type of business Subsidiary
Available inEnglish, Italian
Founded2011;13 years ago (2011) in Roncade, Italy
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
No. of locations
  • London
  • Manchester
  • Milan
  • Los Angeles
  • New York City
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s) Simon Beckerman
CEOKruti Patel Goyal
Industry Online shopping
Employees400 (2021) [1]
Parent Etsy
URL depop.com
Users Increase2.svg 30 million (2021) [2]

Depop is a social e-commerce company based in London, with additional offices in Manchester, Milan and New York City. The company has an expanding global presence being popularised in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Italy. It allows users to buy and sell items, most of which are used and vintage pieces of clothing.

Contents

History

Depop was founded in 2011 by entrepreneur Simon Beckerman at an Italian technological incubator and business H-Farm start-up centre. [3] Paolo Barberis and Nana Bianca were two of the first investors in the platform in 2012 with a seed investment. [4] Its headquarters were moved to London in 2012. [5] Depop expanded and opened additional offices in Milan and New York City. [6] Beckerman raised €1 million in funding in October 2013 from Red Circle Investment and brought on Faroese Runar Reistrup as new CEO. [5] In 2015, Depop secured another investment of $8 million from Balderton Capital and Holtzbrinck Ventures. [6] Most active users of Depop are located in the United Kingdom, Australia, United States and Italy. In March 2016, former CEO, Runar Reistrup, stated that Depop's growth was achieved through word of mouth. [7] Depop was the official app sponsor of the 2016 Vans Warped Tour. [8] [ better source needed ]

In June 2019, Depop raised $62 million in Series C from General Atlantic to fund its expansion. Previous investors HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, Balderton Capital, Creandum, Octopus Ventures, TempoCap and Sebastian Siemiatkowski also participated. [9]

In 2020, Depop's gross merchandise sales and revenue both more than doubled to $650 million and $70 million respectively. [10] In June 2021, Etsy announced it would acquire Depop for $1.6 billion in cash, making it Etsy's most expensive acquisition, but that Depop would continue operate as a standalone brand independent from Etsy. [11] [12]

Overview

Depop is a social e-commerce platform where users can buy and resell their items. As a mobile app, it is available on iOS and Android platforms. [13]

Most of the items sold on Depop are used, vintage, and repurposed pieces of clothing. Its user interface is modeled after that of Instagram, and users can sell items by posting pictures of them to their profiles, along with descriptions, hashtags, and prices. Many sellers model the clothes they sell themselves. [14] Users can also follow other sellers, whose posts will appear in their feeds. The platform's "Explore" page features items picked out by Depop staff. Users can pay for items using PayPal. [15] Depop users are also encouraged by the platform to use other social networking services such as Instagram to promote their shop profiles. [16] Celebrities have resold their own items on Depop, with some donating proceeds to charitable causes. [17]

As of 2021, Depop has over 21 million users, 90 percent of whom are under the age of 26. [12] It is the 10th most-visited shopping platform for Gen Z consumers in the US, [18] and, in a poll conducted by The Strategist in 2019, Depop was voted by teenagers as their favorite resale website. [19] [20] According to Taylor Lorenz of The Atlantic , Depop draws in Gen Z users through being easily accessible and having affordable prices, and much of its user base uses it to track trends in fashion. Popular sellers on the platform often go on to become social media influencers. [15]

Criticism

Depop has garnered criticism from users and critics due to a number of its sellers buying clothes from thrift shops and reselling them for higher prices than they were purchased for. [21] The platform has also been criticized by its users for picking predominantly thin models wearing straight size clothing to showcase on its Explore page, which some have described as sizeist. [22] [19]

In November 2019, Business of Fashion reported that users within the Depop app were receiving sexually suggestive messages. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reseller</span> Company or individual that buys goods or services for resale

A reseller is a company or individual (merchant) that purchases goods or services with the intention of selling them rather than consuming or using them. Individual resellers are often referred to as middle men. This is usually done for profit. One example can be found in the industry of telecommunications, where companies buy excess amounts of transmission capacity or call time from other carriers and resell it to smaller carriers. Resale can be seen in everyday life from yard sales to selling used cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Used good</span> Item that is not new being sold or transferred

Used goods, also known as secondhand goods, are any item of personal property offered for sale not as new, including metals in any form except coins that are legal tender, but excluding books, magazines, and postage stamps. Used goods may also be handed down, especially among family or close friends, as a hand-me-down.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrift store chic</span> Styles of dress where clothes are cheap and/or used

Thrift store chic refers to a style of dressing where clothes are cheap and/or used. Clothes are often bought from thrift stores such as the Salvation Army, Goodwill, or Value Village. Originally popular among the hippies of the late 1960s, this fashion movement resurfaced during the mid-1980s among teenagers, and expanded into the 1990s with the growing popularity of such music and style influences including the grunge band Nirvana. Thrift store chic can be considered as an anti-fashion statement because it does not follow fashion trends and does not attempt to look expensive or new.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vintage clothing</span> Garments originating from a previous era

Vintage clothing is a generic term for garments originating from a previous era, as recent as the 1990s. The term can also be applied in reference to second-hand retail outlets, e.g. in vintage clothing store. While the concept originated during World War I as a response to textile shortages, vintage dressing encompasses choosing accessories, mixing vintage garments with new, as well as creating an ensemble of various styles and periods. Vintage clothes typically sell at low prices for high-end name brands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etsy</span> E-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items

Etsy, Inc. is an American e-commerce company focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. These items fall under a wide range of categories, including jewelry, bags, clothing, home décor and furniture, toys, art, as well as craft supplies and tools. Items described as vintage must be at least 20 years old. The site follows in the tradition of open craft fairs, giving sellers personal storefronts where they list their goods for a fee of US$0.20 per item. Beginning in 2013, Etsy allowed sellers to sell mass-manufactured items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taobao</span> Chinese website for online shopping

Taobao is a Chinese online shopping platform. It is headquartered in Hangzhou and is owned by Alibaba. According to Alexa rank, it was the eighth most-visited website globally in 2021. Taobao.com was registered on April 21, 2003 by Alibaba Cloud Computing (Beijing) Co., Ltd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second-hand shop</span> Shop which sells used goods

A second-hand shop is a shop which sells used goods.

Social commerce is a subset of electronic commerce that involves social media and online media that supports social interaction, and user contributions to assist online buying and selling of products and services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Exchange</span> Fashion resale retailer

Buffalo Exchange is an American fashion resale retailer. Operating under a "buy, sell, trade" business model, it buys clothing and accessories from the public and resells them to the public. Buffalo Exchange targets a wide range of styles and ages with a mix of new and recycled clothing and accessories, including current trends, everyday staples, vintage, one-of-a-kind items, designer and more. Though often considered a thrift store, rather than receiving donations, they hand-select and purchase the majority of their inventory from the local community. This makes for a more curated selection.

Balderton Capital is a venture capital firm based in London, UK, that invests in early-stage, technology and internet startup companies in Europe. It is considered to be among the four-biggest venture capital firms in the English capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poshmark</span> Social commerce website

Poshmark is a social commerce marketplace where users can buy and sell new and secondhand fashion, home goods, and electronics. The platform has over 80 million users, with over 200M available listings. The company is headquartered in Redwood City, California, with offices in Canada (Vancouver), Australia (Melbourne), and India (Chennai). The company operates as an independent subsidiary of Naver Corporation since January 2023.

Chairish is a curated online marketplace for high-end vintage home furnishings and art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carousell (company)</span> Mobile and online marketplace

Carousell is a Singaporean smartphone and web-based consumer to consumer and business to consumer marketplace for buying and selling new and secondhand goods. Headquartered in Singapore, it also operates in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Carousell is available on both iOS and Android devices.

Vinted, UAB Group, commonly known as Vinted is a Lithuanian online marketplace for buying, selling and exchanging new or secondhand items, mainly clothing and accessories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wish (company)</span> American online e-commerce platform

Wish is an American online e-commerce platform for transactions between sellers and buyers. Wish was founded in 2010 by Piotr Szulczewski and Danny Zhang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xiaohongshu</span> Chinese social media and e-commerce platform

Xiaohongshu is a social media and e-commerce platform. It has been described as "China's answer to Instagram", and as such, is sometimes referred to as "Chinese Instagram".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020s in fashion</span> Fashion-related events during the 2020s

The fashions of the 2020s represent a departure from 2010s fashion and feature a nostalgia for older aesthetics. They have been largely inspired by styles of the late 1990s to mid-2000s, 1980s, and late 1960s to early 1970s Early in the decade, several publications noted the shortened trend and nostalgia cycle in 2020s fashion. Fashion was also shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a major impact on the fashion industry, and led to shifting retail and consumer trends.

Shein is a fast fashion retailer. Founded in Nanjing, China, in October 2008 as ZZKKO by entrepreneur Chris Xu, Shein grew to become the world's largest fashion retailer as of 2022. The company is currently headquartered in Singapore.

Thrilling is an online marketplace for vintage clothing, apparel and home goods. The company partners with independent vintage and secondhand clothing stores that use the platform to list, sell, and ship inventory. Thrilling was founded by Shilla Kim-Parker and Brad Mallow in 2018, In 2021, the company received $8.47 million in series A funding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental sustainability of vintage fashion</span>

Vintage clothing "Vintage" is a colloquialism commonly used to refer to all old styles of clothing. A generally accepted industry standard is that items made between 20 and 100 years ago are considered "vintage" if they clearly reflect the styles and trends of the era they represent. In recent years, the popularity of vintage clothing has grown, as consumers seek unique and sustainable fashion options.

References

  1. Stych, Anne (2 June 2021). "Etsy acquires clothing resale platform Depop for $1.6 billion". American City Business Journals .
  2. Huang, Kalley (25 July 2022). "Gen Z Designers Made It Big on This App. Now They're Graduating" . The New York Times .
  3. Morrison, Emma. "Artefact – In conversation with | Depop founder Simon Beckerman". Artefact . Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  4. "TechTalk con Simon Beckerman, Riccardo Donadon e Paolo Barberis su Depop, la startup diventata unicorno". la Repubblica (in Italian). 3 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  5. 1 2 Azeez, Wale (27 October 2015). "Depop: We're all shopkeepers now". Politico Europe . Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  6. 1 2 Lunden, Ingrid (29 January 2015). "Social Shopping App Depop Raises $8M, Hires Ex-Reddit GM To Break Into US Market". TechCrunch . Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  7. Reistrup, Runar (31 March 2016). "The Entrepreneur: Runar Reistrup, Depop". Startups.co.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  8. "Vans Warped Tour". Vans Warped Tour. Archived from the original on 18 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  9. "Depop, a social app targeting millennial and Gen Z shoppers, bags $62M, passes 13M users". TechCrunch. 7 June 2019. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  10. Scott, Charity L.; Kellaher, Colin (2 June 2021). "Etsy Buys Depop, Fashion Resale Site Popular With Gen Z, for $1.6 Billion". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  11. Paton, Elizabeth (2 June 2021). "Etsy is buying the fashion resale app Depop for $1.6 billion". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  12. 1 2 Lunden, Ingrid (2 June 2021). "Etsy is acquiring UK-based social selling site Depop for $1.625B in a mostly cash deal". TechCrunch. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  13. Satenstein, Liana (31 March 2016). "All Those Millennials Can't Be Wrong: Why Depop Just Might Change the Way You Shop". Vogue . Archived from the original on 6 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  14. Heilweil, Rebecca (2 June 2021). "Why Etsy dropped $1.6 billion on Depop". Vox . Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  15. 1 2 Lorenz, Taylor (13 June 2019). "Why Teens Are Selling Clothes Out of Their Closets". The Atlantic . Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  16. Vincent, James (2 June 2021). "Etsy targets Gen Z shoppers with $1.6 billion Depop acquisition". The Verge . Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  17. Jones, Georgina (13 July 2016). "9 Celebs With Depop: The Millennial Thrift Shop". Bustle . Archived from the original on 8 September 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  18. "United States B2C Ecommerce Market Report 2022: Market is Expected to Grow by 11.80% to Reach $1,574.5 Billion in 2022 - Forecasts to 2026". finance.yahoo.com. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  19. 1 2 Gates, Meggie (27 August 2021). "Depop Is the New Instagram — but Not in a Good Way". InStyle . Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  20. Sherwood, Jessica (25 October 2019). "Depop: Can pre-loved clothes make fast fashion sustainable?". BBC News . Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  21. Norvill, Yasmin (13 August 2020). "Is Depop being gentrified? Sellers and users weigh in on the debate". Dazed . Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  22. Smothers, Hannah (9 April 2021). "Everyone's Favorite Thrifting App Favors Thin White Models". Vice . Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  23. Lieber, Chavie (12 November 2019). "The Dark Side of Depop". Business of Fashion . Retrieved 21 April 2020.