New Delhi: India’s preloved luxury goods market is booming, with companies looking to expand in the space where retailers, both offline and on the Web, have reported a robust uptick in sales of ageless icons this year. Last month, Arjun Singh Hira, founder of chronoseconds.com that sells pre-owned luxury watches, clocked his biggest, one-time, solo billing to date, thanks to a billionaire from a tier-II city who shopped for watches worth ₹1.6 crore. Hira said sales have grown 4x over the last one year and the preloved market seems to be maturing.
The momentum in pre-loved luxury watches is no longer a trend-it’s a revolution, said Mukul Khanna, chief operating officer, Ethos. “Collectors and first-time buyers alike are embracing certified authenticity and trust-driven experiences, and the market is responding with remarkable energy,” said Khanna.
He said demand has been especially strong for ‘avant-garde’ creations from Urwerk, Jacob & Co, and H Moser & Cie, elegant dress watches from Girard-Perregaux, and aviator-styled tool watches from Bell & Ross, at the company’s newly opened Second Movement boutique in Gurugram.
“Encouraged by this response, we are actively evaluating opportunities to expand Second Movement boutiques, bringing the future of luxury collecting to more cities across India,” he added.
Bragging Rights
For Tata CLiQ Luxury, which launched the ‘Pre-Owned Timeless Icons’ category in January last year, crossbody bags have recorded nearly a 2x increase in gross merchandise value this year over last year, said chief executive officer Gopal Asthana. In the pre-owned luxury handbags section, the platform features handbags from brands like Bottega Veneta, Fendi, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. In watches, the platform has timepieces from brands like Omega, Breitling, TAG Heuer, besides others.
Peak Season
“The platform is also witnessing a strong demand from non-metro markets like Ajmer, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Guwahati, Patiala, and Raipur, which account for up to 45% of the total sales in the timepieces segment,” Asthana added.
He said the platform would be expanding this category further by onboarding more partners and introducing pre-owned products across other categories. Luxepolis has seen a 30% jump in sales this year over last year for second hand luxury goods, said founder Vijay KG.
“I haven’t seen anything like this in my previous stints. Customers in tier-II, tier-III towns have a lot of wealth and high aspirations,” said Hira. “Prices of top luxury watch brands have doubled over the past five years, and in the absence of access to authorised distributors, people turn to us. The peak season is yet to kick in, and we are already doing sales worth 2-3 crore every month.”
