Sign of the Times, the London-based luxury resale platform, has independently purchased the assets from PapillonKia, a designer preloved accessories marketplace, which closed its doors earlier this year.
This is the third acquisition for Sign of the Times in three years. It also bought the assets of the pre-loved marketplace Cudoni in August, after the start-up went bankrupt in April 2023.
Sign’s client database will rise by 40% as a result of the two acquisitions, propelling it to the top of the UK resale market. Prior to the acquisitions, however, Sign of the Times had enjoyed considerable success, expanding by 300% in the previous three years.
According to Thred Up’s resale study, in the present economic situation, consumers are feeling the affects of inflation and are increasingly turning to second-hand to get more for their money as traditional resale prices rise and allow them to continue to purchase the brands they love.
Antonia Johnstone, the Wwner and CEO of Sign of the Times, commented, “We have merged four resale businesses in the last four years, which cements Sign of the Times as one of the UK’s leading pre-loved businesses.”
The retailer has daily drops at 10 a.m. on the website (wearesott.com), with a total of 5,000 goods online and 2,000 in-store. These include fashion labels ranging from Chanel and Prada to Gucci and Ganni.
In October, the company received funding from BrandAlley, an off-price luxury e-tailer, as well as personal contributions from industry luminaries Tamara Hill-Norton, Founder of Sweaty Betty, and Sarah Welsh, CEO of N Brown Group.
