LEADING AI-ENABLED SECONDHAND KIDSWEAR PLATFORM RETYKLE SCALES TO THIRD MARKET WITH UAE LAUNCH

Global kids resale platform Retykle has launched in the United Arab Emirates with a dedicated website for the region and a physical showroom in the heart of Dubai’s Investment Park offering their signature premium e-commerce experience. 

UAE-based parents can now shop for preloved and new designer, baby and children’s clothes, shoes and accessories, as well as become sellers and earn commission on their outgrown children’s clothes. While there are other resale platforms in the region, Retykle is the first online solution that is dedicated to baby and kidswear. 

The world’s leading luxury resale platform for baby and kidswear

Retykle was founded by Canadian-born fashion executive Sarah Garner in Hong Kong in 2016. After the birth of her first child, she realized that kids generate mountains of fashion waste and decided to do something about it.  Today, Retykle is a global e-commerce destination serving global shoppers from regional hubs.

Since its founding, Retykle has evolved into the world’s leading luxury resale destination dedicated to baby and kidswear. The UAE is Retykle’s third international market. The platform debuted in Singapore in October 2021 and has attracted hundreds of thousands of eco-conscious and budget-conscious parents to date. 

The platform curates over 2,500 top children’s designer clothing brands, offering discounts of 50-90% off the original retail prices. 

Since it began, Retykle has re-circulated over 500,000 items, significantly reducing waste and promoting eco-friendly practices and anticipates that it will rehome an additional 100,000 items by the end of the year. With tools like a carbon savings calculator and a premium e-commerce experience, Retykle offers its highly motivated community an attractive and seamless solution to reduce fashion waste and earn extra income. 

As a pioneering platform for kidswear resale, Retykle has leveraged cutting-edge technology to address the high-volume, low-price nature of children’s clothing. By developing a highly customized tech platform, Retykle has achieved operational efficiency and scaled to become a global leader in the circular fashion space. Recent advancements in AI have further optimized the model through automated product attribute tagging and descriptions. For users, purchases are seamlessly integrated into a virtual closet, allowing for easy resale with just one click. Additionally, Retykle offers a “circularity as a service” software solution, enabling brands to integrate circular practices via a simple plugin, and provides a drop shipping option for effortless liquidation of past-season inventory.

UAE marks third physical market expansion

“We are thrilled to launch in the United Arab Emirates after years of requests from parents who discovered us online and Retyklers who moved between Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai. We know they will love the convenience of our platform and the curated luxury edit we offer,” said Garner, Retykle’s founder and CEO. 

Speaking on Retykle’s expansion, Garner added, “With a large population of stylish parents who value well-made, premium kidswear brands, the UAE is the ideal market for Retykle’s third physical location. We are on a mission to empower parents in the Emirates and beyond to conveniently reduce children’s fashion waste by transforming the way they shop.”Garner added.

Armelle Liverton, Retykle’s UAE Director, is spearheading the company’s expansion in the region. With a diverse background in marketing, communications, business development, data analytics, and sustainability, Armelle has consistently been a strong advocate for the platform since its early days. Having spent time in Dubai since childhood, she recognized the UAE as an ideal location for Retykle’s next phase.

“As a longtime Retykler and founding team member, I couldn’t be more thrilled to lead the launch of our third physical market in the country I call home. The UAE and the wider region are at a pivotal moment, with a growing appetite for sustainable solutions. I’m honoured to bring Retykle’s circular mission to life here, seizing this opportunity to reshape how families shop for children’s fashion and drive positive change.” said Liverton, who joined Retykle in 2017 and has since worked across various business verticals.  

Venture-backed and ready to scale further 

To date, Retykle has raised $3.1 million in funding from investors across the world. Notable backers include Singapore-based Pine Venture Partners, as well as angels Tim Rath, co-founder of Lazada, and John Wood, author, investor, and NGO Founder. 

A testament to the demand for its solution in the region. Retykle received funding from Dubai-based investors to support the UAE launch. 

Retykle has garnered multiple awards and Garner has been recognized as a leading figure in the circular fashion economy space. Named a  GEN T Leader of Tomorrow by Tatler Asia, Garner was also chosen to become part of the prestigious Unreasonable Barclays Fellow, an invite-only program for growth-stage impact entrepreneurs.

“Sarah and the team have proven their ability to execute both digitally and physically in multiple markets, and this latest launch is a testament to the appetite for their solution from one of the most dynamic regions in the world,” said Hyk-tae Kwon, Managing Partner at Pine Venture Partners

“In the face of unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sarah demonstrated exceptional perseverance and creativity, driving innovation beyond Hong Kong and Singapore. Her ability to adapt and develop groundbreaking products and services not only sustained her ventures but also expanded their reach, setting a new benchmark for resilience in the industry that has not demonstrated any scalable reuse cases. Sarah’s vision and determination continue to inspire, proving that even in the toughest times, innovation knows no boundaries,” Kwon added.

The circular fashion market 

According to data from Tadweer, a UAE-based waste management conglomerate, the UAE consumes approximately 500 million pieces of textiles each year. Of these, about 210,000 tonnes are discarded, with up to 90% of these ultimately ending up in landfills.

Fashion waste is a major thorn in the side of apparel brands, resulting in 92 million tonnes of global textile waste annually. While recycling addresses 12% of this issue, resale, whereby consumers sell their second-hand clothing items, has become a key solution to the problem. That being said, it is often fraught with quality and convenience issues. A host of startups have entered the space in the past decade to address these concerns. 

With approximately 20 billion units of baby and kidswear sold annually, and the secondhand market is estimated to account for just 5% of the total, there is a great deal of potential to grow in terms of diverting waste from landfills and extending the lifespan of clothing already in circulation. 

While there are other platforms that serve the luxury resale market, Retykle is the leading global solution aimed exclusively at addressing the kids’ market, which has an even more pressing need for circular solutions because of how quickly kids grow out of everything they use.

Last Updated on 10 hours by News Desk 1