The handmade and vintage e-commerce company Etsy announced on Wednesday that it is buying the cooler, younger rival, UK-based secondhand shopping app Depop.
Founded in 2011, Depop lets customers buy and sell used clothes through its online marketplace. Depop is more fashionable and attracts a younger audience through its social media and messaging on environmental and ethical shopping.
“We are simply thrilled to be adding Depop — what we believe to be the resale home for Gen Z consumers — to the Etsy family. Depop is a vibrant, two-sided marketplace with a passionate community, a highly-differentiated offering of unique items, and we believe the significant potential to further scale,” – Etsy’s Chief Executive, Josh Silverman said in a press statement.
“We see significant opportunities for shared expertise and growth synergies across what will now be a tremendous ‘house of brands’ portfolio of individually distinct, and very special, e-commerce brands.”
Depop’s CEO Maria Raga said in a statement that “Depop is where the next generation comes to explore unique fashion and be part of a community that’s changing the way we shop.”
“Our community is made up of people who are creating a new fashion system by establishing new trends and making new from old. They come to Depop for the clothes, but stay for the culture,” - she added.
The $1.6 billion acquisition lets Etsy approach Depop’s young and growing userbase. Etsy says more than 90 percent of Depop’s users are below 26, means they own to Gen Z, while Etsy’s own users are of a median age for sellers of around 39. Etsy asserts that Depop is the 10th most visited shopping site for Gen Z consumers in the US.
The deal marks the biggest acquisition for Etsy, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2015.
