Marks & Spencer joins resale market with childrenswear investment

The high street retailer’s start-up accelerator Founders Factory has invested in the peer-to-peer marketplace, which specialises in children’s clothing.

The partnership will mean M&S customers will be able to use the Dotte platform to buy and sell their unwanted and outgrown childrenswear, in return for a £5 voucher off their next £25 shop, as well as the money from the sale.

Dotte was founded in 2020 by Louise Weiss and Samantha Valentine, and carries 16 smaller independent labels on its site, meaning M&S will be its biggest brand to date.

The site hosts over 400 M&S product listings currently.

The move represents M&S’ latest leap into the second-hand economy after it made a range of its party dresses available to rent on Hirestreet last year.

Head of M&S kidswear Alice Duggan said: “We design and make our products so that the M&S label means quality – product that can be handed down – because we believe style shouldn’t cost the earth.

“Pre-loved selling is a growing market and through joining the Dotte resale collective we’re looking forward to learning more from an agile start-up and supporting the circular economy.

”Through the platform, we also hope to extend our customer reach as we continue to make M&S kidswear more relevant more often for customers and the ‘go to’ destination store and website not just for uniform but for everyday style & value too.”

Dotte co-founder Valentine added: “As any parent knows, children just don’t stop growing. And all those growth spurts make kidswear one of the fastest areas of fashion, with 183 million items of kids’ clothing going to landfill every year in the UK alone. That’s why we set up Dotte.

”We wanted to give parents a simple way to pass on their clothes to other families, and at the same time recoup some of the money they originally spent and reduce their carbon footprint all in one go.

“Having a trusted kidswear retailer like M&S onboard signals a huge step-change in the industry itself, and the fact that they are rewarding their customers for selling M&S kidswear will encourage so many more families to get involved in the circular economy.  We’re so pleased to welcome them.”