North East designer retailer launches at Selfridges

Leading Newcastle-based luxury handbag restoration and preowned designer resale retailer, The Handbag Clinic, has launched at luxury department store, Selfridges London, as part of The Stock Market at the Corner Shop; a month-long circular experience where customers can uncover the value of what they already own, exchange items for Selfridges credit and restore or upcycle clothing and accessories.

As part of the month-long takeover, 15th May – 10th June, The Handbag Clinic will be offering its fully circular services of ‘Buy, Sell, Restore, Authenticate’. Customers can repair or restore their handbags, shoes or leather accessories, buy a preowned handbag from its curated in-store collection – or trade in a handbag for Selfridges credit following an on-the-spot valuation.

The Handbag Clinic’s team of experts, including authentication experts from its highly trained team in its Newcastle-based HQ; a team which has quadrupled since 2021 – will be on hand throughout the month to guide luxury enthusiasts on their circular journey. All restorations will take place at The Handbag Clinic’s HQ in County Durham, Newcastle.

The Handbag Clinic’s CEO and co-founder, Charlotte Staerck, said: “For a Northeast business which began with just two Artisans 10 years ago – our partnership with Selfridges marks an exciting milestone for our growth journey.

“As gatekeepers of the sustainable luxury market, we are delighted to strengthen our community of circular clients through our partnership with Selfridges, who share our vision of preserving the past whilst mindfully reinventing the future. We’re proud to help contribute towards Selfridges’ target of 45% of transactions coming from circular products and services by 2030.”

Drawing inspiration from the towering 360o desks and the rotundas of data-filled screens found at the London Stock Exchange, The Corner Shop will be transformed into a ‘trading floor’, an immersive hub for buying, selling, repairing and upcycling. Reselfridges stockbrokers will man the ‘trading desk’, encouraging customers to “go long” and enhance the value of products to keep or resell.

The stockbrokers will connect visitors to The Handbag Clinic alongside other premium circular services taking part in the initiative.

The launch takes place as part of Worn Again, a season of secondhand and circular shopping experiences at Selfridges. Running until August, Worn Again explores ideas, collaborations and events to keep products in circulation for longer and dial up the pleasure and reciprocity of shopping secondhand, as Selfridges aims 45% of transactions to come from circular products and services by 2030.

As an authority and market leader in innovation, The Handbag Clinic is the trusted go-to aftercare service, for 13 of fashion’s biggest luxury brands. It is proud to be making progressive strides towards a more collaborative and sustainable industry.

Recent collaborations include Fenwick, which houses in-store concessions for The Handbag Clinic in its Newcastle, York and Colchester department stores, as well as luxury vintage marketplace, Open For Vintage who partnered with The Handbag Clinic as its official repair and restoration service. The Handbag Clinic’s own patented range of Care Kits are also stocked in Harrods.

The Handbag Clinic, which restores over 700+ bags each month, is the best kept secret of fashion insiders, influencers and celebrity clients including Claudia Schiffer, Poppy Delevingne, Storm Keating, Heidi Range and Frankie Bridge, who use its services to continually update their look whilst being kind to the planet.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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