Hyundai Department Store Introduces Secondhand Fashion Buyback Service... H Point Exchange

Membership Points Provided Equivalent to Secondhand Market Value
Full-Scale Launch After Two-Month Pilot in May
"Establishing a Resource-Circulating Recommerce Model"

Hyundai Department Store announced on July 9 that it will introduce a secondhand fashion buyback program called "buy back."

Hyundai Department Store Apgujeong Main Branch. Provided by Hyundai Department Store

This new service allows customers to sell their pre-owned fashion items and receive the equivalent amount of the item's secondhand market value in H Point, the integrated membership points of Hyundai Department Store Group. Hyundai Department Store had previously conducted a two-month pilot of this service starting in May, and decided to officially launch it this month.

The buyback service is available on The Hyundai.com website and application. Customers can apply to sell their items on The Hyundai.com, place the items in a box, and leave them at their doorstep. Hyundai Department Store, in collaboration with the resale solution startup Madeleine Memory, will then handle the collection and inspection of the items. The inspection process is based on criteria such as the presence of components and labels, and the release date. If the item passes inspection, the purchase amount is provided to the customer in H Points. H Points can be used like cash at Hyundai Department Store, Hyundai Outlet, and The Hyundai.com.

The buyback service covers about 130 premium fashion brands available at Hyundai Department Store and The Hyundai.com. Madeleine Memory plans to resell the purchased secondhand items as resale products on its own website starting next month.

During the pilot operation of the buyback service, over 1,000 customers participated, with more than 30% of them using the service more than once. In 45% of all buyback transactions, customers used the H Points received from the buyback to repurchase products from the same brand. The service appears to be especially popular among customers with high brand loyalty and shorter purchase cycles.

Hyundai Department Store plans to gradually expand the buyback service. In addition to online channels, the company will also increase offline customer touchpoints by operating secondhand product purchase centers within department store locations.

A Hyundai Department Store representative stated, "As sustainability and ethical consumption have become important criteria for purchase decisions, especially among the MZ generation (Millennials and Generation Z), we plan to operate the buyback service not just as a simple resale platform, but as a recommerce platform that promotes a sustainable fashion consumption culture."