Changing Disposal Habits What do you do if you love luxury clothing but worry about the price when bought new? One option is to start a new business dealing in second-hand luxury goods. This is what the owners of So Over It did. Rachel Solomon and Jordan Blair started the business in 2017. On the company's website, the owners describe their beginning (sooveritshop.com). After first discussing their shared interests over coffee, they launched the business online. One month later, they opened their first pop-up retail store. In another month their first physical store was opened: The "So Over It Studio." The luxury consignment store has three missions: sustainability, accessibility, and empowerment. The sustainability mission is intended to repurpose luxury goods and prolong their use for consumers. Luxury Goods Industry The industry for luxury goods has been on an upward trend for several years. However, Forbes predicts that 2019 might be a challenging year for luxury brands. One of the concerns in this market is the digital revolution and findings ways to attract the attention of younger consumers. Why are luxury goods companies looking at younger markets? According to Forbes, the focus on Millennials is due in part to the size of this generational cohort (73 million born between 1981 and 1996). One important cohort that is of interest is referred to as HENRYs (high-earners-not-rich-vet). How are companies trying to adapt to this digital revolution? Many luxury brands have made the move to online, with the exception of Chanel. This move makes sense as recent estimates suggest that sales of luxury sold online are growing at a rate that is three times faster than physical retail outlets. Luxury goods in the secondary market can ve considered "the new normal.? The number of methods available to find and sell these goods Is ever-changing as well New apps and new stores, all with the aim of helping you find or sell second-hand luxury items, continue to emerge. This is not surprising given that consumers are moving toward different disposal options, including reusing, recycling, gifting, and reselling. ' The peer-to. Peer marketplace is a popular option but requires some investment in terms of taking pictures of the items for sale and arranging shipping options. Consignment means less investment for consumers because it just requires arranging to get the item to the seller and agreeing on a sale price. From that point on, the seller takes over the work involved in selling the item Next Steps Rachel and Jordan now have their online store and a bricks-and-mortar one. What should be next on the horizon? 1. How have disposal behaviours changed in Canada? Do you think there are differences in behaviour across provinces and in rural versus urban centres? What do you anticipate for the future? 2. Should the business So Over It expand physical operations across Canada? If so, how should they proceed? 3. How would you convince consumers to adopt specific recycling behaviours? What positioning strategy / messaging would you utilize? What barriers exist here? How would you overcome them?