We recently connected with Jade Maclaren and have shared our conversation below.

Jade, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think it takes to be successful?

I believe that hard work, determination and resilience creates success. Things won’t always go the way you want or expect but it’s the ability to persevere and have belief that will ultimately give you the best chance of success.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Jade Maclaren and I started Addicted to Handbags back in 2015 after spotting an opportunity in the market for preloved designer bags. My twin sister converted me into a handbag lover back in 2012/13 and in 2015 I started the business alongside my day job as a chartered accountant and chartered tax adviser. I originally only sold Mulberry as a brand and sold via social media up until around 2019, when Covid-19 emerged. I then started selling other brands such as Louis Vuittin, Gucci, YSL and Chanel and during Covid demand rocketed. In July 2021 I decided to focus on the business full time and left my employment in my tax role. Unlike a lot of our competitors, we solely operate online with minimal overheads, which allows us to offer reasonable prices. The reputation of the business has been built over several years and the attention to detail when describing item condition, coupled with a really rigorous authentication process means customers can place trust in us and know exactly what they are buying. I’m very passionate about ensuring items are guaranteed authentic and offering great customer service. In addition, I’m also passionate about sustainability and strongly oppose the fast fashion industry. By buying and reselling and creating a circular economy has both environmental benefits as well as cost savings for customers.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Growing up my parents were never into designer brands, fashion or handbags so it was only in my early 20s when my twin sister got me into it! From buying and selling a few bags from my own collection on ebay, I quickly noticed a gap in the market for preloved designer handbags at affordable prices (a lot of resellers still have very high prices) but from a reputable trustworthy source (places like Depop and ebay are notorious for selling counterfeits). It grew steadily over the first 4 or so years whilst I only sold Mulberry and I enjoyed fitting it round my day job. The catalyst for the surge in growth was due to Covid – strangely enough as nobody could go out and use their handbags! Again my sister said one day, “I know you don’t sell Louis Vuitton, but you should try. Here do me a favour and sell this holdall for me that is too big for me” and it snowballed from there. My expansion into other brands combined with customers boredom and extra money (from not going out in lockdown times) meant that sales skyrocketed. Our 2019 turnover was 80k, compared to approx £500k and £1.2m in 2020 and 2021 respectively, illustrating the huge growth we have had. Customer trends and pushes towards sustainability have also contributed to the increased demand for “preloved”.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I’ve learned it can take a long time to build a great reputation within a market such as reselling especially of high end goods, and similarly it can be very easy to have your reputation impacted. I believe my honesty, transparency and commitment to only selling genuine items comes across in our social media and sales channels and people believe they can trust that they are only ever buying genuine items from me. Our authentication process is thorough, as is our descriptions of item conditions on our website and we are honest and transparent about everything.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.addictedtohandbags.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/addictedtohandbags1
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/addictedtohandbagsuk/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jade-maclaren-ca-cta-773aba64/