Bazaara wants to be MENA’s go-to marketplace for second-hand fashion, lifestyle products

Fashion waste is becoming a burgeoning problem for the planet as the industry is not only responsible for 20% of global wastewater, but 73% of discarded clothing either ends up in a landfill or is burnt. There’s an urgent need to recycle and upcycle clothes to reduce the carbon footprint. 

One way to do that is by re-selling worn clothing and buying used apparel. This idea led to the birth of Bazaara, a UAE-based marketplace for buying and selling second-hand apparel and home products. 

Over the last three years, the startup has accumulated more than 25,000 listings, with a combined value of over $1.5 million.

Building Bazaara

For New Yorker Alyssa Mariano, thrift stores were a common sight in the US. However, when she shifted to the UAE in 2017, she noticed a lack of online opportunities for buying and selling second-hand apparel.

Three years later—noticing that the gap remained—Mariano decided to find a sustainable solution and met her future Co-founder and CTO Vitalii Duk through a mutual connection. They started building the peer-to-peer marketplace and launched the Bazaara app by the end of 2020. 

Available on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store—with a 4.8 rating on the latter, the app enables individuals to list the product they wish to sell.

“We were able to onboard about 2,500 users within the first week. And that showed the demand for this type of platform in this region,” Mariano, Co-founder and CEO of Bazaara, tells YourStory Gulf Edition. 

When a buyer makes a purchase on the platform, the seller is notified about the sale and can either counter or accept the sale within 48 hours. Once the sale is accepted, the courier is automatically dispatched to pick up the order from the seller, which is then delivered to the buyer’s address. 

“When a buyer makes their purchase, we hold the money in escrow until they receive the package, and then we release it to the seller,” the co-founder explains, who has studied business administration, management and marketing.

The platform takes a 12% commission on each transaction and includes that along with the courier charge in the total list price.

“The seller, who is listing their item for sale, can upload a couple of pictures, describe [the product] and categorise it, and then they choose their desired profit on that item,” she adds.

The startup also enables user engagement, allowing buyers and sellers to connect on the app by following, liking, sharing or commenting on users’ profiles and listings. 

At present, Bazaara’s app has over 21,000 registered users and an estimated 3,500-4,000 monthly active users. It has witnessed an average month-on-month growth rate of 70%.

1181 people loved this story

---

Despite global economic slowdown, M&A activity in GCC on the rise

Plans ahead

The market for pre-owned goods is on a rise in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 

“In the GCC, the UAE is expected to dominate the market for pre-owned apparel and clothing sector—the reason being the rapid emergence of startups and the rising popularity of online pre-owned and consignment marketplaces is expanding,” says Sneha Varghese, Research Manager for consumer foods and retail at Future Market Insights.

In March this year, Bazaara raised $230,000 in a pre-seed round led by Flat6Labs. The company has been trying to fundraise since mid-2021, however, it was delayed due to the pandemic as networking opportunities thinned out. 

The nine-membered team is working on an artificial intelligence (AI) powered tool to regulate the pricing of the products. 

“It will help the seller select a price for their product(s). So, for example, if you put a price too high, it will alert you and ask you to revise it,” Mariano explains. 

Currently, Bazaara’s app is live only in the UAE. The team is also working on an Arabic version of the app. 

“Once the app is ready, we will do an official launch in Saudi Arabia in the summer of this year, and then in Egypt later this year,” she adds. 

Mariano states that the two markets present significant opportunities when it comes to the second-hand clothing space. The startup also sees a dearth of competition there, which makes these countries prime to tap into.

“Also, a lot of investors are now based in Saudi, and that opens up our potential investor landscape as well,” she observes. 

The startup’s target market primarily comprises Gen Z and young millennials. A study by BCG and Vestaire Collective notes that the climate-conscious demographic is the most apt to buy and sell second-hand items.

While Bazaara competes with the likes of Luxury Closet, Dubizzle, Facebook Marketplace, Endless, and more, the company says it stands out as it accepts clothes of lesser-known brands as well.

“We are different from most of our competitors because we deal with mainstream resale fashion. So, we accept everything from Zara and Mango, up to the likes of Versace and Gucci,” Mariano states.