AUCNET Expanding Its Pre-owned Luxury Goods Business by Opening Overseas Branches in Europe and U.S.

AUCNET INC. (hereinafter “AUCNET”), a Tokyo-based online auction company, will be expanding its subsidiary — AUCNET CONSUMER PRODUCTS INC. (hereinafter “ACP”) — globally, opening up two new international branches, one in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the other in Los Angeles, California, the United States, starting this November. Each branch respectively represents ACP’s presence in Europe and North America. The European branch will be run by COO Masaaki Furukawa, and the U.S. branch by COO Ayako Yamazaki, with Yasuto Saito remaining as CEO of both branches. By expanding its physical business into Europe and North America, ACP hopes to secure more suppliers of second-hand luxury goods, which its buyers can purchase with ease.

The expansion coincides with the growth of the global resale market, which, for clothing, including luxury brand-name items, was valued at about 35.4 billion EUR* in 2021 and which is expected to exceed 83.7 billion EUR* by 2026 (*1). While this resale industry contains products that offer profitable gains globally, these items are often supplied by individuals who choose to consign. Obtaining these items with a stable flow, while an essential part of the process, continues to be an uphill battle.

To help combat the supply issue, AUCNET founded its subsidiary ACP in 2015. Based in Tokyo and run by President and CEO Yasuto Saito, it currently has over 3,400 users worldwide. ACP conducts a luxury brand auction — selling over 657,000 items yearly — and is praised for being one of the top B2B second-hand luxury auctions in Japan, with a yearly Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of over 222 million EUR**.

By increasing the number of buyers in the target areas and following up with acquisition of more sellers, ACP plans to further expand its growth abroad and create circular distribution of its products worldwide.

References:
(*1) thredUP “2022 Fashion Resale Market and Trend Report”
https://www.thredup.com/resale/

*All USD to EUR conversions based on the following rate: 1 USD = 1.01 EUR (as of November 2, 2022).

**JPY to EUR conversion based on the following rate: 145 JPY = 1 EUR (as of November 2, 2022).

A message from the President & COO of AUCNET INC., Shinichiro Fujisaki

Photo: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M105709/202211109598/_prw_PI1fl_892ARNAG.jpg

“We at AUCNET are happy to announce the establishment of our two new entities abroad with the aim of a global B2B distribution service in the second-hand luxury goods market. We currently have over 3,400 users worldwide, and our buyers abroad are specifically strengthening their presence year by year. Seeing Europe as one of the world’s biggest reuse markets with room still to grow, we chose Denmark for our new entity. We would like to deepen our understanding of the European market as well as improving our customer service for our European clients. We will focus on expanding our buyer network in all areas of Europe as a first step. As the next step, we will plan an even broader expansion of our client network abroad by acquiring sellers in Europe. Our future goal is to develop a unique, one-of-a-kind global B2B market originating from Japan. Denmark, where we have founded one of our new legal entities, ranks in the top 3 countries every year for the countries with the highest level of SDGs achievements (*2). With the new establishment in Denmark, a leading country in SDGs participation, we at AUCNET will strive to contribute to sustainability along with even more partners, utilizing the location to directly source information and ideas from this new and developing field to create a society where all objects of worth can be circulated on a global scale.”

(*2) For ranking details, please visit “Sustainable Development Report 2022”: https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/

– European Entity
Company name: AUCNET EUROPE ApS
Address: Gothersgade 11, 1123, Koebenhavn K
Representatives: CEO Yasuto Saito, COO Masaaki Furukawa

– North American Entity
Company name: AUCNET CONSUMER PRODUCTS USA, LLC
Address: 222 Pacific Coast Highway El Segundo (23rd Floor), CA 90245, USA
Representatives: CEO Yasuto Saito, COO Ayako Yamazaki

– Overview of AUCNET CONSUMER PRODUCTS INC.
Company name: AUCNET CONSUMER PRODUCTS INC.
Headquarters: Aoyama OM Square, Kita-Aoyama 2-chome 5-8, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8349, Japan
Representative: President & CEO Yasuto Saito
Date of establishment: January 5, 2015
Capital: 30 million yen (as of December 31, 2021)
Business description: Operation of pre-owned luxury brand auctions

– Overview of AUCNET INC.
Company name: AUCNET INC.
Headquarters: Aoyama OM Square, Kita-Aoyama 2-chome 5-8, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8349, Japan
Representatives: Chairman & CEO Kiyotaka Fujisaki, President & COO Shinichiro Fujisaki
Date of establishment: June 29, 1985
Capital: 1,806 million yen (as of December 31, 2021)
Consolidated net sales: 36,710 million yen (for the year of 2021)
Number of employees (consolidated): 858 (as of December 31, 2021)
Business description: Information distribution support services business, including the organization and operation of online auctions
Listing: Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market (Securities code: 3964)
URL: https://www.aucnet.co.jp/en/

Source: AUCNET INC.