Sweden has a secondhand-only shopping mall

BUSINESS/ENVIRONMENT

The ReTuna shopping mall in Eskilstuna, 110 kms west of the Swedish capital Stockholm, is the first in the world to sell only secondhand and repurposed items. It celebrated its tenth birthday this year.

The mall is more than a couple of your regular op shops or vintage/antique stores. There’s a wide range of products on sale — fashion, sporting equipment, household items, children’s toys, antiques — and even an Ikea secondhand store selling previously used and repaired furniture; it is Sweden, after all! Everything sold has been donated by the public.

ReTuna opened in 2015 right alongside the city’s recycling centre and includes a dedicated drop-off point called The Return, where residents donate unwanted items. These are sorted and redistributed to the retailers in the mall. It does enjoy public funding and local government support.

However, what makes ReTuna so distinctive is not just its inventory but its atmosphere. Consumers describe it as “accessible”, “curated” and “convenient”. The mall’s layout and product displays mirror conventional retail spaces. So it looks like a shopping mall. Retailers use low-cost stock and infrastructure to create visually appealing stores, which set their stores apart from most secondhand retail.

Consumer interest in “pre-loved” fashion is booming, with the secondhand market growing 2.7 times faster than the broader apparel market, according to one recent industry report. Globally, it is projected to reach US$367 billion by 2029. And it is not only pre-owned fashion that’s growing. Another market research report forecasts the wider secondhand products market will reach US$1.04 trillion by 2035, growing at a compound annual rate of 17.2%. In a YouGov survey spanning 17 markets, 43% of secondhand buyers favoured instore purchases, compared with 39% who preferred online; 19% were undecided.

ABOVE Mall entrance and interiors

PHOTOS ©Lina Östling/ReTuna

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