Canadian luxury designer resale store celebrates milestone year

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Mine & Yours founder Courtney Watkins admits that opening a new Vancouver store wasn’t exactly part of the plans for this year. 

“Initially I didn’t think it was the right time,” Watkins says of the new designer resale location in Kitsilano. “We started looking for office space, which we needed for our growing marketing and ecommerce team. While we were looking, my director of brand, Sophia, drove by this store in Kits for lease and called me to come check it out.

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“It was a beautiful space and I loved the neighbourhood, but since it was coinciding with our launch in Toronto, I thought it may be too much at once.”

But, a few months later, Watkins decided to revisit the idea after realizing her stock of designer resale pieces was surpassing the available stockroom of her three existing boutique locations.

“I called my realtor to look at the space again. It wasn’t available anymore but there was a space about one block away that was even better,” Watkins says. “When I walked in, it felt right and I often go with my gut. I had a few numbers to run, but I knew right away this was going to be our next Mine & Yours location.”

The fourth location for the second-hand reseller, the 1,760-square-foot resale shop is located at 2061 West 4th Ave. Mine & Yours also operates two stores in downtown Vancouver on Howe and Davie streets, as well as a boutique in the Yorkville neighbourhood of Toronto that opened earlier this year. 

“Kitsilano is a thriving neighbourhood in Vancouver, and we believe it’s the ideal market for our unique blend of luxury and sustainability,” Watkins says of the location choice. “Kitsilano is the perfect mix of being close to downtown while maintaining a neighbourly feel, making it the right place for those who appreciate luxury fashion but who also value supporting a locally owned business.”

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Designed by local interior design studio Fay Mihailides Design to feel like shoppers are walking into “what feels like your best friend’s closet,” according to Watkins, the new retail store features a Shoe Lounge and signature Bag Wall, which boasts a floor-to-ceiling display of preloved designer handbags. 

“Each Mine & Yours store has its own unique character, and the Kitsilano location is no different,” Watkins says. “We have created the in-store experience for it to feel like you are walking into your best friend’s closet to shop what feels like first-hand luxury at affordable prices.”

Founded in 2013, Watkins says Mine & Yours has “come a long way” during the last decade. 

“It started 10 years ago in a 300-sq.-ft townhouse,” Watkins recalls. “Fast-forward to now, we have 10,000 sq. ft of retail and office space.”

The growth of selling space has coincided with an increase in unique and rare preloved designer finds found at the company. Mine & Yours now regularly offers sought-after preloved handbags from luxury brands such as Hermés, Chanel and Dior, as well as luxury jewelry and watches from companies such as Cartier and Rolex.

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“I remember when we would be so excited to get one or two Chanel bags in-store at a time. And now we have 50-plus Chanel bags at a time coming in on a day-to-day between all our locations,” Watkins says. “We have really created a community of clients that we know really well, who have been with us from the beginning.”

In addition to offering fashion fans an avenue to “flip their closets” by selling unwanted pieces and purchasing new ones — based on the appraised resale value of a piece, Mine & Yours offers payouts of 30 to 40 per cent cash, 50 to 60 per cent store credit or 50 to 70 per cent consignment — luxury resale stores like Mine & Yours tap into the increasing interest in second-hand fashion as shoppers search for more affordable and more sustainable style options.

The second-hand luxury market is reportedly growing four times faster than the primary luxury market, according to a 2023 report by Digital Luxe, with the global luxury resale market reportedly valued at US$33 billion in 2021.

“We’ve seen the crowd shifting towards eco-conscious choices, and they’re after luxury on a budget. We’re hearing the call for responsible fashion, and we’re here for it. It’s all about giving people a taste of luxury and doing it in a sustainable way,” Watkins says. “Demand is growing — and so are we.”

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As Watkins looks toward the year ahead, she says the local company has “big plans” underway.

“Two-thousand-and-twenty-three was our biggest year yet and it will only grow from here,” Watkins says. “We’re eyeing more cities across Canada to spread the luxury resale magic. Our goal is to make high-end fashion accessible for everyone in-and-out of Canada.

“My business model revolves around the concept Bricks (store), Click (website) and Pop (pop-up stores), so stepping up our online game and pop-up shops is also something you can look forward to seeing in the future from Mine & Yours.”

Aharris@postmedia.com

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