In a fast-paced and unpredictable industry like fashion, one of the only things guaranteed season to season is dead stock. Now, if you’re one of the millions of people wondering “what the hell is dead stock???”, you’d be asking a completely fair question considering NO ONE EVER TALKS ABOUT IT.
The short answer is that dead stock is the inventory that doesn’t sell and has a low chance of selling in the future, which, to be fair, doesn’t sound that bad. But when big brands like Burberry are destroying £28m of dead stock or Urban Outfitters are literally slashing products they can’t sell in the name of “brand exclusivity”, that’s when we begin to see the wider issue.
Especially when the conversation around sustainability is so prominent right now and brands are being held accountable for pulling the aforementioned stunts insert eye-roll here.
Traditionally, there’s a huge stigma around dead stock because it basically suggests that brands don’t have substantial inventory control and are more than happy to waste millions worth of inventory instead of selling at a discount or even donating to one of the countless charities that provide clothes to the homeless…
Anyway, the culture around dead stock could be taking a drastic turn as multinational fashion giant, LMVH, just launched its own online reselling platform in a bid to re-source inventory and provide emerging creatives and brands access to high-quality textiles.
Nona Source is the first and only platform that has fabrics and leathers from big brands such as Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Fenty stocked and ready to deliver anywhere in Europe (Including The UK, thank God).
This could encourage other fashion conglomerates to follow suit and open limitless reselling opportunities, minimizing waste in the fashion industry.
The only real downside to this platform is the lack of accessibility for the “emerging creatives” mentioned above: to buy their products, you need to request an account with valid company registration and VAT number.
This means no love for those of us fashion lovers stuck at home with a domestic sewing machine and a dream… for now.
What do you think about fashion houses selling off their unsold textiles?
Written by Romone Clarke, InZone Plug (Fashion / Influencers)