Major brands including Lululemon, Canada Goose and IKEA are increasingly participating in Canada’s growing resale economy, as consumers look for more affordable ways to purchase clothing, furniture and other goods while companies explore ways to extend the useful life of their products.
The shift is moving second-hand shopping beyond traditional thrift stores and independent online marketplaces. Increasingly, established brands are creating their own resale, buyback and second-life programs, allowing customers to return or sell used products and giving retailers another opportunity to keep those products within their brand ecosystems.
Lululemon is the latest major Canadian brand to expand its resale operation into the domestic market. The Vancouver-founded athleticwear company launched its Like New resale platform in Canada in August 2026, following the program’s introduction in the United States in 2021. Canadian customers can now purchase gently used Lululemon products through the company’s dedicated online resale platform.
The Canadian Like New platform allows used Lululemon products to be listed and sold through a Lululemon-branded marketplace operated with resale technology company Archive. The company says the program is designed to give gently used products another life and forms part of its broader circular-innovation efforts.
The Canadian expansion has also created new demand for resale-processing infrastructure. A 25,000-square-foot facility in Calgary operated by Tersus Solutions is being used to process used Lululemon products, including cleaning, grading and fulfilment activities. The development illustrates how the resale economy is creating business opportunities beyond retailers themselves, including logistics, inspection, cleaning and refurbishment services.
Lululemon says its resale efforts are part of a broader strategy focused on extending product use, repair, resale and recycling. The company has said that more than two million pieces of gently used Lululemon products have been kept in circulation through the Like New program since its launch.
Other Canadian apparel companies have also been exploring resale and circular business models. Canada Goose and Arc’teryx have developed programs that allow consumers to participate in second-hand markets involving their products. The move reflects growing interest among premium outdoor and apparel brands in maintaining the value of products after their first purchase.
Canada Goose products, in particular, can have relatively long useful lives because many of its jackets and outdoor products are designed for extended use. A formal resale market allows customers to access pre-owned products while giving existing owners another avenue to pass on items they no longer use.
IKEA has taken a similar approach with furniture. Through IKEA Canada’s Buyback & Resell service, eligible customers can sell used IKEA products back to the company in exchange for an IKEA refund card. Furniture that meets the company’s requirements can then be resold through IKEA’s As-Is sections, giving the products another opportunity to remain in use.
IKEA says products submitted through the program must generally be complete, functional, clean, unmodified and in good resaleable condition. Items are physically inspected before a final offer is made, and products that qualify can be resold rather than discarded.
The company has also linked resale to its broader goal of becoming a more circular business. IKEA Canada has called for policies that would encourage companies to invest in takeback, repair, refurbishment and resale infrastructure, indicating that the retailer sees second-life products as an increasingly important part of the retail system.
Affordability is one of the factors contributing to the growth of resale. With many Canadian households continuing to manage higher living costs, purchasing used products can provide access to recognizable brands at lower prices than buying new. For premium clothing and furniture, the price difference can make second-hand products particularly attractive to consumers.
Resale also offers brands an opportunity to maintain a relationship with customers beyond the original transaction. A customer who sells an unwanted item through a brand’s resale program may use the resulting credit toward another purchase, while another customer can enter the brand’s ecosystem by purchasing a pre-owned product at a lower price.
There is also an environmental argument behind the trend. Keeping clothing, furniture and other products in circulation for longer can reduce the amount of material sent to landfill and potentially reduce demand for new products. Brands increasingly describe resale, repair and refurbishment as components of broader circular-economy strategies.
However, brand-operated resale programs also face challenges. Companies must develop systems for collecting, inspecting, cleaning, authenticating, storing and reselling used products. The economics can be more complicated than traditional retail because each second-hand item may have a different condition and resale value.
The growth of branded resale is also changing the relationship between manufacturers and the second-hand economy. In the past, much of the value created when a consumer resold a product went through independent marketplaces or private transactions. Brand-operated platforms give companies a greater role in that secondary transaction.
For consumers, the expansion means more choices. Instead of relying solely on general resale platforms, shoppers can increasingly find pre-owned products through programs operated or supported by the original manufacturer. As Lululemon expands Like New in Canada and companies such as Canada Goose and IKEA continue developing second-life initiatives, resale is becoming an increasingly visible part of Canada’s retail landscape. The trend combines affordability, sustainability and new business models, while giving established brands another way to keep products in use for longer periods.