Secret Sales’s localised Belgian website. Image: screenshot of secretsales.be
Secret Sales has launched in the Netherlands and Belgium, in the first phase of a rollout across Europe. Its owners plan to make it the latest marketplace for discount fashion in Europe – and say funding is now in place to launch in 12 more European countries in the next two years.
“Secret Sales provides a sustainable route for brands to sell non full price stock, and the wider theme of responsible retailing resonates well with consumers in the Netherlands and Belgium,” says Chris Griffin, chief executive of Secret Sales. “The two territories are a natural fit for our first phase of expansion in Europe. Our marketplace is addressing universal challenges the retail industry faces and offers a long-term, clean and profitable solution. We are creating a new culture around non full price inventory.”
Shoppers can buy goods discounted by up to 70% from an initial 450 fashion brands – both international and regional – on the Belgium and Netherlands sites. Currently, more than €700m of inventory is live on the two sites. The two sites – secretsales.nl and secretsales.be – are both fully localised, with local languages and payment methods with no additional duties, as well as offering free delivery and 60 day in-country returns. Brands and retailers connect their supply chain and inventory systems to Secret Sales, eliminating the need to move stock to a third-party seller. The marketplace says this enables fashion, beauty and homewares brands and retailers manage stock more efficiently and profitably throughout the year.
The marketplace is building a local team within the Netherlands to work with brand and retail partners and customers in both countries.
“Secret Sales is a completely fresh take on the non full price experience, from the look and feel of the site to the shopping journey and delivery,” says Tom Kelly, head of the Netherlands and Belgium at Secret Sales. “Categories are curated to feature complementary product and brand adjacencies, and orders are shipped from the brand or retailer’s warehouse directly to the consumer, so carbon footprint is reduced.”
Retail entrepreneurs Chris Griffin and Matt Purt acquired Secret Sales in March 2020 and have since shifted it from a flash sales site to a marketplace. More than 1,600 brands now selling excess inventory on the UK site include Dolce & Gabbana, Versace 19v69, G-Star Raw, Superdry and Jigsaw.
In 2021, 31m unique users visited Secretsales.com in 2021, and the site has 6.7 million registered account holders.