Sarah Davis, founder of Fashionphile, talks new mega Los Angeles flagship opening

On September 29, Fashionphile, an ultra-luxury re-commerce model, introduced the opening of a large 32,330-square-foot flagship retailer at Row DTLA in Los Angeles. It’s is a serious enlargement for the model, coupled with the current acquisition of the UK-based Luxe Collective resale firm. Sarah Davis, founder and president of Fashionphile, provides FashionNetwork.com particulars of her agency’s most up-to-date opening and shares the model’s ambitions for each the U.S. and worldwide markets.

FashionNetwork: Was Los Angeles a pure selection in your new flagship retailer?

Sarah Davis: Yes, Los Angeles was a pure selection for Fashionphile’s new flagship retailer. Our first mini flagship opened to the general public in 2006 in a second-floor area in Beverly Hills off Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Blvd. I used to be born in South Pasadena. LA represents our roots and the center of our largest U.S. buyer base. It has a world popularity for luxurious, development setting and movie star tradition that aligns completely with us. Fashionphile’s concentrate on authenticated pre-owned designer items and LA’s proximity to main trend hubs, Hollywood/media affect, and a longtime luxurious retail scene, together with Beverly Hills and the Westside, made it a strategic and symbolic selection for the flagship.

FNW: You are increasing from 7,000 to 32,330 sq. feett at Row DTLA. How are you utilizing this big area?

S.D.: Since 2006, Fashionphile has pioneered a mannequin distinctive in luxurious resale: the flexibility for patrons to stroll right into a full authentication heart and store instantly from the whole on-line stock saved onsite. No different participant in our area gives this expertise. We’re increasing from a 7,000-square-feet tech and digital workplace to a 32,330-square-feet multi-use flagship that may function a luxurious retail designation, an occasion area, a state-of-the-art operations hub and a workplace and content material creation studio for our LA based mostly advertising and marketing, digital, knowledge and tech groups. Behind the scenes, the enlargement permits us to take care of again of home operations, places of work, a studio for content material creation, packing and transport and coaching for Fashionphile college to develop the following technology of luxurious authentication specialists, all beneath one roof, bringing effectivity and transparency to each step of the resale course of.

FNW: You are selling a new immersive purchasing expertise. What precisely does that contain?

S.D.: The buyer entry of the area is designed as a world class, luxurious showroom the place native purchasers can store, promote, and expertise the perfect of Fashionphile. They can are available in to promote their extremely luxurious purses and equipment and receives a commission on the spot. And they will additionally store in particular person from as much as 10,000 objects accessible in our on-line stock for every part from uncommon purses to nice jewellery. This is a very distinctive expertise as there is no such thing as a different resale or retail vacation spot exterior of Fashionphile that may permit a buyer to wager paid up entrance and store from such an in depth stock.

FNW: Your gross sales grew strongly in 2024, with earnings up 67%. Is the event of bodily shops behind this success? Are there plans to open extra bodily shops?

S.D.: We’ve had flagship areas open since 2006. We opened in San Francisco in 2009, after which in San Diego in 2012. We opened a Salon off Madison Avenue in New York City in 2018 and a flagship there in 2022. We’re opening extra shops to help our progress however our success is coming from pushing in each channel.

FNW: What is the outlook for progress in 2025?

S.D.: We’re trying to proceed our income progress in 2025 and count on to beat our already aggressive progress plans.

FNW: In a extremely aggressive market, how do you clarify your success? Does the rise in retail costs within the luxurious sector encourage customers to show extra to the resale market?

S.D.: Fashionphile was the primary to carry data-driven pricing and scale to the secondary luxurious market. Many rivals adopted shortly to launch direct-to-consumer retailers. But they missed what was all the time particular and differentiating about Fashionphile. We’ve spent the final 25 years constructing a model that our model obsessed clients could be keen about. We’ve constructed a popularity as essentially the most trusted supply for pre-owned ultra-luxury, providing the identical requirements and elevated expertise that you simply’d count on from a primary market boutique. That stated, as retail costs for traditional baggage proceed to rise, resale has turn out to be not only a good different, however a better funding. Our progress comes from assembly that fashionable luxurious buyer precisely the place they’re. They need an elevated luxurious expertise, authenticity, and suppleness with out compromise.

FNW: Which merchandise are customers significantly interested by at the moment?

S.D.: It’s fascinating as a result of when you can see some actually nice insights, and particular knowledge round this, from our 2025 resale report, what stands out to me is how the enduring types have a lot sticking energy. Our primary top-shopped bag was the Louis Vuitton Speedy. It’s been in the #1 spot many of the final 40-plus years, which is why it was featured in our new ebook as one of the highest 25 iconic baggage.

FNW: You have been partnered with Neiman Marcus since 2019. How is that this partnership going and what different developments would you prefer to pursue with them?

S.D.: Our partnership with Neiman Marcus has been extremely profitable and continues to evolve over time. Since 2019, we’ve created a seamless bridge between the first and secondary luxurious markets, providing Neiman Marcus purchasers a simple and trusted technique to promote their luxurious items in retailer and on-line. It’s expanded our attain and given Neiman Marcus clients a full-circle luxurious expertise the place they will promote to Fashionphile after which take that cash and spend it at Neiman Marcus. Looking forward, we’re excited to deepen that partnership in ways in which make resale much more accessible to the Neiman Marcus buyer. More to return!

FNW: You have simply introduced the acquisition of Luxe Collective within the UK. What are your ambitions on this market?

S.D.: Yes, we’re completely thrilled about our acquisition of Luxe Collective within the UK. The UK is one of essentially the most refined and fast-growing luxurious resale markets on the planet, however there is no such thing as a one doing our model of resale at scale. This transfer is a vital step in Fashionphile’s worldwide enlargement plan. Our ambition is to carry the identical stage of belief, expertise, and white-glove service that defines the Fashionphile model right here within the U.S. to clients across the globe. The Luxe Collective crew has constructed an unimaginable social following, group and deep native experience, and collectively we’re combining that with Fashionphile’s superior authentication, knowledge, and logistics capabilities to create a very international resale platform.
FNW: What are your ambitions extra usually on the worldwide resale market?
S.D.: More broadly, we see quite a bit of alternative within the worldwide market. Demand for pre-owned luxurious is accelerating in all places, and customers are more and more embracing resale as each a sustainable selection and a sensible monetary choice. Our aim is to construct a constant, trusted expertise for patrons and sellers worldwide.