Vietnamese fashion recommerce firm raises US$1 million

Piktina, an online marketplace for secondhand clothes in Vietnam, has raised US$1 million in seed funding from Touchstone Partners.

The Piktina team / Photo credit: Piktina

Founded in June, Piktina connects buyers and sellers of secondhand goods, targeting both individuals who want to free up their closets and businesses that specialize in pre-owned fashion items.

The recommerce platform was established by Phuong Nguyen, the former CEO of Vietnamese ride-hailing firm Be Group, and Huyen Trinh, also a former Be Group executive.

One of Piktina’s inspirations is Depop, which was acquired by US-based Etsy for US$1.6 billion in 2021. Depop says 90% of its active users are under 26 years old.

Similarly, in Vietnam, Piktina is betting on Gen Z consumers’ growing fascination with thrifting or using pre-owned clothing. The startup said that the cumulative value of secondhand fashion items in Vietnam that can be recirculated until 2026 is estimated to be around US$5 billion. 

The startup also noted that Vietnamese youth turn to secondhand fashion “not only for financial reasons but also the edginess it provides in contrast to fleeting fast-fashion trends.”

See also: Niche recommerce takes the fight to Carousell in SEA

Piktina will use the new funding to accelerate its growth and refine its business model. The firm currently charges a 20% commission fee for every successful transaction plus additional authentication costs if required. 

Recommerce is gaining momentum across Asia. Recently, South Korean internet giant Naver has inked a deal to acquire Poshmark, a Nasdaq-listed secondhand fashion ecommerce marketplace, for about US$1.2 billion. Naver also invested in Carousell in 2020.