Leader in secondhand luxury retail trying out brick-and-mortar

Online luxury consignment retailer The RealReal is taking its resale model into the physical space.



The retailer plans to open its first-ever permanent retail location in November, in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood, reported Women's Wear daily. The two-level, 8,000-sq.-ft. store will showcase items from all of The RealReal's categories and also feature contemporary artwork and a wall of Hermès bags, according to the report. It will host classes and discussions.



The RealReal made its first foray into brick-and-mortar retailing last December, opening a holiday pop-up in SoHo. Founded in 2011, the San Francisco-based company recently closed on $50 million in growth funding from private equity firm Great Hill Partners, bringing its total funding to $173 million.



The site boasts five million users, has sold four million items to date, and is expected to surpass $500 million in revenue this year.



Although it started out selling apparel, it now also sells jewelry and fine watches. The RealReal stands out in the resale market due to a rigorous authentication process that it uses to weed out fake luxury goods and authenticate the price of its goods.