At a shopping centre in Shenzhen’s coastal business district, a store’s entrance feels more like a security checkpoint than a retail gateway. Customers check their bags, don white silk gloves, and pass through a gate.
Beyond the checkpoint, which also seems incongruent with the outer facade resembling a typical multi-brand fashion shop, lies a 2,000-square-metre (21,527-sq-ft) showroom.
Inside, luxury handbags are not displayed under artful lighting. Instead, they are tightly arranged in transparent cases, organised not by style but by asset class: Chanel, Gucci, Dior, and so on.
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It’s like a vault for luxury bags, and one’s smartphone is key. QR codes replace price tags, revealing discounts of up to 80 per cent off retail. This is ZZER, a second-hand luxury platform transforming how China’s wealthy – and aspirational – shoppers consume high-end goods.
The Shenzhen outpost, which opened last year, follows a massive debut in Shanghai in 2022. Founded a decade ago as an online platform, ZZER has expanded its bricks-and-mortar footprint since late last year to Hangzhou and Chengdu, the respective provincial capitals of Zhejiang and Sichuan. And a Beijing location just opened last week, according to information on its app.
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The expansion mirrors a broader shift. Fuelled by a mature e-commerce infrastructure and backed by a deep reservoir of inventory from years of spending, China’s second-hand luxury market is rapidly professionalising as consumers turn increasingly value-conscious.
Competitors are following suit. Hongbulin, founded in 2017 and acquired by resale giant Zhuanzhuan last year, made its offline debut in June inside a Beijing store.