The RealReal CEO Talks Luxury Brands and Consumers

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bloomberg Talks – The RealReal CEO Talks Luxury Brands and Consumers

Date: December 24, 2025
Host: Bloomberg
Guest: Rati Ledeck, President and CEO, The RealReal

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Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation with Rati Ledeck, President and CEO of The RealReal, the world’s largest online marketplace for authenticated, secondhand luxury goods. The discussion centers on the rapidly growing luxury resale industry, changing consumer behaviors, competitive landscape, pricing trends, and The RealReal’s evolving business model—including physical stores and their impact.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Resilience of the Secondhand Luxury Market

• Consumers Remain Strong: Despite broader economic uncertainty and tariffs, The RealReal’s buyers are described as “quite resilient.”

• Gen Z & Millennials Lead the Trend: Younger generations are embracing luxury resale, making it increasingly mainstream.

  “Resale is becoming more mainstream...definitely seeing that led by the Gen Z and millennial consumer.”
  — Rati Ledeck [00:51]

• Shifts in Gifting Behavior: Gifting pre-owned luxury no longer carries a stigma; nearly 60% of consumers now prefer the secondary market.

  “Almost 60% of consumers now say they prefer the secondary market outright.”
  — Rati Ledeck [01:19]

2. Supply and Growth in the Market

• Untapped Inventory: There’s an estimated $200 billion worth of unworn luxury items in U.S. closets, growing by $80 billion annually.

  “There’s $200 billion trapped in people’s closets...$80 billion gets added every year.”
  — Rati Ledeck [01:52]

• New Seller Growth: Many consumers are consignment first-timers, contributing to double-digit increases in new sellers.

• Behavioral Shifts: More customers check secondary market prices before buying primary market goods, indicating new shopping habits.

3. Pricing Dynamics & The Circular Luxury Economy

• Prices Rise in Tandem: As primary market prices surge (e.g., Chanel bag price doubled since 2019), resale prices also climb.

  “Any time the price increases in the primary market, our pricing goes up too.”
  — Rati Ledeck [03:01]

• Circular Economy: Sellers often use RealReal earnings to buy new luxury items, then consign more items, fueling a cycle.

  “They get that first paycheck for the bag, and then they go back into the primary market with their check… and then they’ll consign two or three things instead.”
  — Rati Ledeck [03:18]

4. Consumer Preferences: Value, Luxury, and Unique Finds

• Intersection of Value & Luxury: Customers seek unique, one-of-a-kind pieces unavailable elsewhere and are drawn by the mix of value and exclusivity.

  “Most of our items you can’t buy anywhere else...It’s the badge of honor to wear something very unique from The RealReal.”
  — Rati Ledeck [04:09]

• Vintage & Condition: Vintage remains a top category. Buyers frequently prioritize value, sometimes choosing “fair” over “pristine” condition goods for lower prices.

• Key Categories: Fine jewelry, watches, and handbags remain most in demand.

5. Competitive Landscape

• Depth & Breadth of Offerings: The RealReal differentiates from competitors by the wide variety of categories offered (e.g., handbags, jewelry, textiles, silverware).

  “We offer very depth in product...And then we give you cash up front and that’s really important.”
  — Rati Ledeck [04:57]

• Trust & Member Base: With almost 50 million members and strong trust signals (pricing algorithms, authentication), The RealReal claims sellers “earn the most with us.”

6. Role of Physical Stores

• Contribution to Bottom Line: Stores are more than a marketing tool—they “pay back very quickly,” boost supply, and enhance customer engagement.

  “Stores pay back very quickly actually. And what we see is a halo impact.”
  — Rati Ledeck [05:54]

• Convenience & Expertise: Stores meet consignors “where they are”—through drop-offs or on-demand pickups. Access to in-person experts (gemologists, watchmakers) increases the value and volume of consigned goods.

• Driving New Customers: A quarter of new consignors come through retail locations, evidencing the effectiveness of physical presence.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Resale Normalization:
  “Almost 60% of consumers now say they prefer the secondary market outright.” [01:19]

• On the Untapped Market:
  “There’s $200 billion trapped in people’s closets...and so many people have never consigned anything before.” [01:52]

• On Changing Shopping Habits:
  “People are really starting to change the way they shop, and they’re checking the price in the secondary market before they’re even purchasing in the primary market.” [02:22]

• On the Circular Economy:
  “They get that first paycheck for the bag, and then they go back into the primary market with their check… and then they’ll consign two or three things instead.” [03:18]

• On Unique Inventory:
  “It's a badge of honor to wear something very unique from The RealReal.” [04:09]

• On Store Performance:
  “Stores pay back very quickly actually… for a quarter of our new consignors come from the stores.” [05:54]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• (00:24) — Introduction and context on The RealReal and luxury resale market
• (00:51) — Market resilience and Gen Z/millennial trends
• (01:40) — Supply dynamics; $200B in idle luxury goods
• (02:35) — Pricing dynamics, the circular economy, and the impact of luxury price inflation
• (04:03) — Consumer motivations: value, uniqueness, condition
• (04:51) — How The RealReal competes with other resale platforms
• (05:54) — Physical stores: operational impact, revenue, and customer acquisition

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Conclusion

This episode sheds light on the transformation of luxury consumption, with The RealReal helping reshape how people buy, sell, and value high-end goods. The secondhand luxury market is more robust and mainstream than ever, fueled by younger consumers, shifting perceptions, the circular economy, and innovation across both digital and physical channels.

Transcript

[Indiana University Narrator]

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[Rati Ledeck]

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[Bloomberg Host]

For more now on the second hand luxury market, we're joined by Rati Ledeck, the RealReal President and CEO. The RealReal, of course, the world largest online marketplace for authenticated resale luxury goods. Well, Rathi, you've been doing extraordinarily well at the RealReal. You know, increasing margins, increasing, you know, just the amount that you sell. How much have you been benefiting from things that are maybe a detriment to the economy, like tariffs?

[Rati Ledeck]

Yeah, you know, it's interesting. So what we're seeing, we're seeing the buyer be quite resilient at the RealReal. We're seeing consumers trends being quite strong around fine jewelry, watches, handbags. We're definitely probably a tariff beneficiary, but at the same time there's other things kind of impacting our business. Resale is becoming more mainstream. That's number one and definitely seeing that led by the Gen Z and millennial consumer, we're seeing fine jewelry and watches be very popular. Like I mentioned, gold pricing, silver pricing going up. And then we're also seeing gifting becoming less of a stigma in resale. So almost 60% of consumers now say they prefer the secondary market outright. So seeing luxury and seeing resale specifically becoming much more mainstream right now, now.

[Bloomberg Host]

You'Ve been aggressively cost cutting, restructuring your commission model and so on. Is there any danger that you will maybe not get in the supply that you need in order to keep supplying this market?

[Rati Ledeck]

Yeah. So you know, it's interesting, I think that one, one of the things is that there's $200 billion trapped in people's closets that in the US alone. And so it's such an untapped industry at the end of the day, $80 billion gets added to that every year. So so much, so much luxury goods just in the US alone. And so many of these people have never consigned anything before. So we're seeing people become kind of introduced to luxury for the first time. So double digit new seller growth, for example. So people are really starting to change the way they shop and they're checking the price in the secondary market before they're even purchasing in the primary market.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

I wanted to talk about prices ratty because our very own Amanda Mullet, Bloomberg wrote just a few days ago, 2019, the price of a Chanel flatback $5,800. Fast forward to right now. It's over $11,000. I'm wondering just how much the growth of the real real is coming out of the fact that people feel like they just can't, that they can't stomach the prices in the luxury market.

[Rati Ledeck]

Yes, there's a couple of things happening. Any time the price increases in the primary market, our pricing goes up too. So for whatever reasons, whether it's tariffs, whether the pricing of a Chanel bag goes up, for whatever reason, our prices go up as well. But like I said, what we're also seeing is more volume coming through. So more people being introduced to luxury and testing it out. And then they get that first paycheck. Right. They get that first paycheck for the bag and then they go back into the primary market. What we're actually seeing is that circular economy. And so they'll go back into the primary market with their check and buy the newest trend or buy something that they've been eyeing and then they'll consign two or three things instead. So we'll see that kind of trade up happening as well.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

And what are the consumers typically gravitating for on the realreal? Are they looking for a bargain on a classic luxury item or are they turning to secondhand markets when they want to buy something trendier?

[Rati Ledeck]

Yeah, so we're seeing that intersection between value and luxury. That's what we offer right at the end of the day. And then you've got very unique items. Most of our items you can't buy anywhere else. So they're looking for those one of a kind pieces. You know, they're kind of maybe done with the trends or everything's starting to look the same. It's the badge of honor to wear something very unique from the realreal. So think of them like drops. Thousands of items get dropped every day that are very unique to the consumer. Consumer. So that's number one. Fine jewelry. Like I mentioned, watches, handbags. Vintage is a big one, as is condition. Again, see more of that value play come through. People are looking for that value. They'll take something that maybe is in fair condition instead of pristine condition just a bit. It costs a little less at the end of the day.

[Bloomberg Host]

You know, there are competitors out there now. Fashion file rebag and so on. How do you compete with them? Ratty.

[Rati Ledeck]

Yeah. So you know, when I think about the real real, it's really around. We offer very depth in product. So we don't offer just one category. Right. It's handbags, it's jewelry, watches, fashion, textiles, silverware. All of that we're offering at the RealReal. So so there's a lot of. And then we give you cash up front and that's really important, right Versus trade up or trade in. And then you earn the most with us. And that's really important to say. And the reason why is because of the trust that we built with the consumer because we know, because you can sign with us, because we've got almost 50 million members now that we've built trust with because of our pricing algorithms. You can earn the most with us at the end of the day.

[Bloomberg Host]

I'm curious as well, how much are your physical stores contributing? Are they contributing to the bottom line? And you know, is it just a marketing play at the end of the day? And when does that bottom line, by the way, turn positive?

[Rati Ledeck]

Yeah, so the stores pay back very quickly actually. And what we see is a halo impact. So it's meeting the consigner where they are, whether they want to drop off in a store on their way to work, whether they want a van pick up at 3pm this afternoon on demand looking book that from their app. And we're seeing the consigner, the seller can sign more items when they interact with the store and more high value items because they're meeting with a gemologist and watchmaker. So yes, it's a place that people get introduced to our brand for a quarter of our new consignors come from the stores, from our retail locations. But we more see a halo impact. So from the consigner consigning more for us with us and then spending more at the end of the day too.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Bronte Levesque, CEO of the Real Real thank you for joining us.

[Indiana University Narrator]

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