Japanese resale (secondhand) companies touting "used in Japan" are accelerating overseas expansion, focusing on Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.
According to Nikkei Asia on the 29th (local time), Japanese secondhand distributors are targeting Asian markets such as Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong, promoting the high quality of Japanese secondhand goods and rigorous authenticity appraisal systems as competitive strengths. Their strategy is to capitalize on the rapid spread of secondhand consumption locally and the strong trust in "products used in Japan."
Notably, Tin Pan Alley, a subsidiary of the Japanese apparel company World, opened the first overseas store of its secondhand clothing brand "Usebowl" in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the 27th. Usebowl products mostly sell for around 2,500 yen (23,800 won) in Japan, but are priced at about 1,000 yen (9,500 won) in Malaysia. It is currently selling clothing, bags and shoes brought in from Japan, and plans to purchase items locally in the future.
Hirano Daisuke, head of Tin Pan Alley, said, "Malaysia has many low-priced resale shops, and the culture of secondhand clothing is well established, especially among young people," and "we judged that the highly price-competitive Usebowl would fit the local market well."
Tin Pan Alley also expanded last year into Thailand and Taiwan with Ragtag, a secondhand select shop handling higher-priced items, and plans to open a store in Hong Kong at the end of July. The company aims to expand to a total of 30 Ragtag and Usebowl stores across Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia by 2029.
Geo Holdings, one of Japan's largest secondhand chains, is also ramping up its push into Southeast Asia. The company plans to increase its secondhand store brand 2nd Street to 55 locations in Malaysia and 50 in Thailand by March 2035. In Thailand, that would be a fivefold increase from the current level.
Treasure Factory was operating six stores in Thailand and three in Taiwan as of April this year, and with the overseas business's revenue base established, it plans to open two to three new stores every year going forward.
According to Nikkei Asia, companies assess that "secondhand goods used in Japan" have become a brand in their own right. They use products sourced directly from Japanese stores as initial inventory for overseas outlets, and the rigorous authenticity checks and cleaning and repair processes are winning strong trust from local consumers. Some clothing, anime merchandise and musical instruments reportedly fetch higher prices overseas than in Japan.
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) forecast in a report late last year that the global secondhand fashion and luxury market will grow to as much as $360 billion by 2030, about 60% larger than today. BCG consultant Morita Akira analyzed, "As secondhand clothing becomes a fashion culture among younger generations, the Southeast Asian market will continue to grow."