VOA慢速英语--受欢迎的美国商店开始出售旧衣服

Popular American Stores Now Selling Used Clothing

More and more Americans are buying used clothes from second-hand¹ stores. Now, some major department stores have started selling old clothes, too.

Recently, J.C. Penney and Macy’s started selling used clothing from ThredUP, an online thrift² store.

James Reinhart is co-founder and chief of ThredUP. He said of the partnerships³, “You have to go where the customer is going.”

The fist big department store that entered the old clothes business was Neiman Marcus. In April, it received part ownership of Fashionphile, an online seller of used designer goods. And this fall, it will launch areas inside some of its stores where customers can sell old designer clothes directly to Fashionphile.

These and other recent moves show how businesses can no longer ignore the growing preference of buying and selling old clothes. Shoppers want to pay less for clothes. And they would rather see their old clothes worn again than thrown away.

Observers say selling old clothes is a way to bring customers back to the stores – especially young shoppers. But some people also fear that it could hurt businesses.

“It’s good that that they are looking at modern ways of shopping,” said Neil Saunders, a director of GlobalData Retail⁴. “But this is not the solution to their deep-seated problems.”

Saunders also believes it could hurt the relationship between stores and suppliers of new clothes. The suppliers would have to pay more for advertising⁵ -- while selling new clothes at a lower price.

Although the clothes resale business is still small, it is quickly growing.

A report for ThredUp predicts that sales of second-hand goods will grow from $24 billion last year to $51 billion by 2023. Another study by the Boston Consulting Group found that one-third of shoppers sold unwanted clothes in order to buy new ones.

Still, it is not sure that second-hand stores will bring young shoppers back into department stores.

Morgan Toliver has been buying used clothes at thrift stores for more than 10 years. The 24-year-old recently started buying clothes from ThredUP, too. She told The Associated Press she has not shopped at places like J.C. Penney or Macy’s for many years. And, she does not expect that to change.

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

thrift - n. careful use of money so that it is not wasted

preference - n. something that is liked or wanted more than another

rather - adv. to some degree or extent

deep-seated - adj. existing for a long time and very difficult to change

1 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

2 thrift   

adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约

参考例句：

• He has the virtues of thrift and hard work.他具备节俭和勤奋的美德。
• His thrift and industry speak well for his future.他的节俭和勤勉预示着他美好的未来。

3 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

4 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

5 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。