How A Used-Clothing Site Became A $184 Million Tech Giant

Who knew that a thrift shop could be so lucrative? ThredUp, which dubs itself the world’s largest consignment store, just went public, raising $168 million, with shares jumping 43% in its first day of trading. ThredUp’s business model depends on selling large quantities of low-priced used clothing and giving sellers a commission. By making pennies on each sale, the company racked up $128 million in profits in 2020, selling nearly four million garments—all while much of the fashion industry was pummeled by the pandemic. ThredUp’s IPO registration paperwork offers new insight into what has made consignment a nine-figure business: It all comes down to ThredUp’s complex, custom-designed warehouses, which use machinery and algorithms to automate almost every part of its logistics. Read more at Fast Company.