GXO Gives PO.P Second Hand the upper hand

Customer challenge

Polarn O. Pyret (PO.P), a leading children’s clothing brand, has been a pioneer of sustainable production since its inception. The company is committed to producing high-quality garments that can be worn by at least three children and encourages hand-me-downs within families and among friends and relatives.

In 2022, PO.P identified an opportunity to go further in its sustainability mission by extending the lifecycle of its clothing through re-sale of pre-loved items. The goal was to create a single, go-to destination for both buyers and sellers, delivering a brilliant customer experience, profitably.

Solution

GXO already provided a variety of warehousing services through its GXO Direct shared warehousing service, including trade-in receipt and certification; photography; ozone cleaning and repair; pick, pack and dispatch; resale fulfillment; and returns management.

After trials confirmed there would be sufficient demand, GXO helped Sweden’s “greenest retailer” launch PO.P Second Hand — a scalable, profitable resale business — in just a few months. PO.P Second Hand gives customers more choice, while pioneering a “greener retail future” by reducing the environmental impact of its textile production.

The Polarn O. Pyret Circularity Project – Process Flow

How it works:         

• Customers register their trade-ins online via Tern Eco’s trade-in software, which is integrated into the GXO Direct operation and allows customers to send the unwanted items to the returns distribution centre. PO.P Second Hand provides vouchers in exchange for the returned used clothing.

• GXO consolidates the items and then undertakes a thorough rejuvenation process — which can include ozone treatment, spot cleaning, lint rolling, sewing repairs and steaming — to optimize their condition and maximize their resale value.

• The rejuvenated items are graded for quality and priced accordingly.

• The items are professionally photographed in the GXO Direct studio to the same standards used for photographing the company’s new clothing.

• The clothing is then packaged, placed in inventory, entered in a database and presented for resale on PO.P’s website alongside its new clothing, making it easy for customers to purchase new and second-hand clothing in the same order.

Results

Since the October 2022 launch of the scaled, fully automated PO.P Second Hand service, the partnership between GXO and PO.P has produced outstanding results, including:

• Reducing barriers to returning clothing for resale and creating a single site for second-hand clothing sellers and buyers to use.

• Restoring over 95% of returned clothing for resale.

• Expanding the customer base — 35% of PO.P Second Hand shoppers are new customers.

• Captured value for PO.P that would otherwise have been lost through other online marketplaces and helped increase customer loyalty with a truly circular solution.

• Expanded and optimized warehouse operations — including refining an inventory storage system and adding an on-site photo studio — to support demand that became 10 times greater than PO.P Second Hand initially anticipated.

• As a result of the initiative, PO.P Second Hand was awarded the fashion industry’s prestigious Drapers Award for Best Circularity Initiative for 2023.