With their new Re-Jeweled experience, the twin sisters behind jewelry and accessories brand Lizzie Fortunato say they are proud to be pioneers in the industry’s resale space and give customers the opportunity to extend the life of their jewelry.
Earlier this month, the New York–based brand debuted Re-Jeweled, which cofounders Lizzie and Kathryn Fortunato say is the first integrated branded resale online marketplace offered by a jewelry company.
“By creating Re-Jeweled, we’re now giving [clients] an opportunity to search for their old favorites and breathe new life into a piece that another customer hasn’t worn in a while,” Lizzie Fortunato says. “We love the benefits of both the discovery and the circularity.”
Through Re-Jeweled, customers can resell Lizzie Fortunato jewelry that was purchased directly from the brand or from one of its retail partners. The pieces are offered in the Re-Jeweled collection on Lizzie Fortunato’s website, and sellers receive credit toward a future Lizzie Fortunato purchase as payment. The jewelry company is working with resale-as-a-service platform Recurate to operate Re-Jeweled.
“As we have focused on making all elements of our business more sustainable, we really liked the idea of resale,” Lizzie Fortunato says. “However, we were hesitant, knowing that the quality control and shipping of jewelry might differ from clothing. With that said, Recurate was super helpful in helping us navigate the challenges of building resale for a jewelry business, and we are so delighted with the result, especially the early enthusiasm from customers and our community about this new platform.”
Recurate’s technology covers the listings, approvals, shipping-label creation, and program analytics, Lizzie says. Recurate works with Shopify, so customers can add new Lizzie Fortunato items as well as Re-Jeweled purchases to their cart for a seamless checkout experience.
Lizzie Fortunato gives resellers 100% of the sales price in credit—which is highly unusual, Fortunato says (other resale websites typically pay sellers 30% or less), but intended as an incentive for customers to stay and shop.
“We hope that those sellers will engage at our website to invest in their meaningful store credit in new styles—a win-win for everyone,” Fortunato says.
Resale programs are growing in popularity with clothing companies and consumers. At the recent Conversations in Park City event, jewelers heard from Trove founder and executive chairman Andy Ruben about how resale efforts can build customer loyalty and brand awareness. Trove has created branded resale and trade-in programs for such major brands as Patagonia and Lululemon.
Lizzie Fortunato jewelry is often created in limited editions, so past styles can be difficult to track down for the brand’s collectors, and Fortunato says many customers have contacted the company to ask if they can purchase styles from previous seasons. Working with Recurate seemed like an ideal solution, she says.
Recurate started in 2020 and is headquartered in Washington D.C. It works with Steve Madden, Michael Kors, Frye, and other brands to add resale to their omnichannel sales strategies, according to the company’s website.
“At the end of the day, we love the sense of community and the benefit to circularity and sustainability that Re-Jeweled creates for Lizzie Fortunato,” Fortunato says.
Top: Kathryn and Lizzie Fortunato say they are pleased with the early results from the new Re-Jeweled experience that the Lizzie Fortunato brand is offering on its website. (Photos courtesy of Lizzie Fortunato)
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