Appel & Ei

What Appel & Ei does

Appel & Ei BV is a Dutch second-hand clothing retailer operating 22 physical stores across the Netherlands through a predominantly franchise model (18 franchise stores, 4 company-owned as of 2024), with headquarters in Apeldoorn and a founding team led by Arda Palm. The company has been active in the second-hand clothing industry for more than 20 years (founded 2003), with the franchise organization formally established in 2014 to drive nationwide expansion.

The core business model is a circular consignment retail concept. Customers bring in clean, contemporary clothing, shoes, bags, and accessories on a seasonal schedule (spring/summer February–July; fall/winter August–January); items are sold over a 6-week window, after which unsold stock must be collected within two weeks or becomes company property. Sellers receive 40% of the selling price while Appel & Ei retains 60% and handles VAT, pricing, display, and the sale. The merchandise mix is complemented by sharply priced new surplus items from partner brands, with the Goudappeltjes sub-brand curating premium designer pieces. Gift cards in €10–€50 denominations, an in-store customer portal for consignment tracking, and donations of unsold items to Sheltersuit, Drop & Loop, and Trees for All reinforce the circular positioning.

Commercial activity is anchored in physical retail across major Dutch cities (Apeldoorn, Arnhem, Breda, Den Bosch, The Hague, Deventer, Groningen, Haarlem, Utrecht, and others), supported by a multilingual information website and social media channels. The company does not sell online and has no disclosed app, API, or AI/ML capabilities. Recognition includes the ABN AMRO Sustainable Retail Award 2025-2026, and active partnerships span PLEIN PUBLIQUE (surplus stock and Giving Back To Nature), Sheltersuit (manufacturing of wind/waterproof coats), Drop & Loop/Wolkat (textile recycling), and Trees for All (Green Friday). The firm is privately held with no disclosed investors or parent entity, and revenue is not publicly reported.

Name

Appel & Ei

Legal name

Appel & Ei BV

Website

https://appelenei.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Appel & Ei BV operates a 22-store Dutch second-hand clothing retail chain using a consignment model where sellers earn 40% of sale proceeds, serving fashion-conscious and sustainability-minded consumers across the Netherlands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Second-hand Clothing Retail

NAICS

Used Merchandise Retailers (459510), Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (458110)

SIC

Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600), Retail-Family Clothing Stores (5651)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYCRAFAGAA

Apparel, Footwear & Accessories Resale

Consumer Products & Retail/E-commerce & Marketplaces/Secondhand/Resale & Recommerce Platforms

SECONDARYCRAFAGAB

Luxury & Designer Resale

Consumer Products & Retail/E-commerce & Marketplaces/Secondhand/Resale & Recommerce Platforms

SECONDARYCRAAABAO

Value/Off-price Apparel Retail (Apparel-focused)

Consumer Products & Retail/Apparel, Footwear & Accessories/Apparel Retail (Specialty & Mass)

Keywords

• Second-hand clothing
• Consignment retail
• Circular fashion
• Pre-owned apparel
• Franchise retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Apeldoorn

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices22 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Consignment Sales Commission: Appel & Ei operates on a consignment model where customers bring in clothing, shoes, and accessories to sell. When items are sold, the consignor receives 40% of the selling price while Appel & Ei retains 60%. The company handles VAT on sold clothing. Consignors can collect their credit in-store or request bank transfer. Unsold items must be picked up within 2 weeks after the 6-week selling period, otherwise the clothing becomes property of Appel & Ei.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Appel & Ei operates a chain of 22 physical retail stores across the Netherlands selling curated second-hand clothing for men and women alongside new surplus items from partner brands. The company runs a consignment service where customers bring in quality clothing, shoes, bags, and accessories; when items sell, the consignor receives 40% of the selling price while Appel & Ei retains 60% and handles pricing, display, VAT, and sales operations.

Product overview

Appel & Ei operates a circular retail concept combining physical store operations with a consignment model. The core offering consists of second-hand clothing and new surplus items sold across 22 Dutch locations, supplemented by a consignment service where customers sell their quality clothing for a 40% commission. Supporting products include a customer portal for tracking sales and managing payouts, gift cards in €10-€50 denominations, and the Goudappeltjes premium sub-brand featuring high-end designer items. The company also facilitates donations of unsold items to charitable causes and textile recyclers, aligning with its sustainability mission.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Goudappeltjes: Premium second-hand and new items from high-end brands (e.g., Marc Cain, Cambio, Michael Kors) that have the 'wow factor', displayed with special placement and labeling in stores.

Products and services

• Second-hand Clothing Curated second-hand clothing for men and women, carefully selected to be clean, fresh, and indistinguishable from new items. Sold across 22 physical store locations throughout the Netherlands with daily-changing inventory.
• New Surplus Clothing Sharp-priced new clothing items often sourced as surplus stock from partner brands and stores, offering customers unique pieces and good deals in addition to the second-hand assortment.
• Consignment Service (Inbrengen) Service allowing customers to bring in quality clothing, shoes, bags, and accessories for sale on consignment. Sellers receive 40% of the selling price when items sell, and Appel & Ei handles pricing, display, VAT, and sales over a 6-week selling period. Items must be clean, contemporary (no older than two seasons), and in excellent condition.
• Gift Cards Physical gift cards available in denominations of €10, €20, €30, and €50, redeemable only at the store of purchase for any in-store merchandise.
• Goudappeltjes (Golden Apples) Premium Items Premium sub-brand featuring high-end branded items (e.g., Marc Cain, Cambio, Michael Kors, Liebeskind, Goosecraft) with special in-store placement, dedicated space, quality hangers, and labeled tags. These wow-factor items are priced fairly for both buyers and consignors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Stores have a 6-week selling period for consigned items
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PLEIN PUBLIQUEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Dutch women's fashion brand PLEIN PUBLIQUE partnered with Appel & Ei for their 'Giving Back To Nature' initiative, where 1% of revenue is donated to companies and institutions working to keep the planet healthy. Appel & Ei sells surplus stock from PLEIN PUBLIQUE, and money paid for their clothing is transferred to the initiative's savings account. Together they aim to give clothing a second life and make fashion more sustainable.
• SheltersuitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAppel & Ei partners with Sheltersuit to support homeless and refugees. Proceeds from unsold consignment help manufacture textiles for Sheltersuit products - wind and waterproof coats that transform into sleeping bags, and portable Shelterbag tents. Products are produced by people with a distance to the labor market in Enschede social workshop.
• Drop & LoopcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAppel & Ei partners with Drop & Loop for textile recycling. Unsold and unsellable clothing is donated to Drop & Loop for reuse or recycling. Drop & Loop works with Wolkat, the only sustainable textile processor in the world that sorts, spins, and weaves under one roof. Half of donated clothing is reused, half is recycled into new products without water, chemicals, or dyes.
• Trees for AllminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrees for All is a Dutch foundation behind the Green Friday movement. Appel & Ei participates in Green Friday by donating to plant 400 trees for the Green Friday Forest. In 2022, 260 companies and thousands of consumers participated in Green Friday, planting almost 23,000 trees together.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Vestiaire Collective: Global peer-to-peer luxury and designer resale marketplace. Direct comp for Appel & Ei's Goudappeltjes premium offering (Marc Cain, Cambio, Michael Kors, Liebeskind), and a benchmark for higher-end consignment economics.
• Winmark Corporation: Winmark is the parent franchisor of Plato's Closet, Style Encore, Once Upon A Child and Play It Again Sports — a portfolio of resale franchise concepts. Highly comparable to Appel & Ei's franchise-led second-hand clothing model and provides a benchmark for franchise economics in resale.
• Once Upon A Child: Winmark's children's and maternity resale franchise. Comparable franchise-based model for a specific apparel vertical that Appel & Ei could extend into given its existing family-friendly assortment.
• The RealReal: US-based luxury consignment operator with online and physical presence. Comparable in consignment take-rate economics and premium-brand curation; differentiated by being online-led.
• Style Encore: Winmark's women's resale franchise, accepting and reselling gently-used women's apparel and accessories. Directly comparable to Appel & Ei's core womenswear consignment offering and the Goudappeltjes premium positioning.
• Plato's Closet: US-based franchise resale chain focused on teen and young adult secondhand fashion. Closest direct comp on format: physical stores, franchise-led, consignment/buy outright from sellers, branded fashion assortment.

Broad incumbents

• C&A: European fast-fashion incumbent (with Belgian/Dutch roots) operating a We Take It Back second-hand clothing take-back program in stores. Comparable as a mass-market apparel retailer pushing into circular retail alongside its core new-goods business.

Others

• Patagonia (Worn Wear): Brand-led resale and repair program run by Patagonia. Comparable as a benchmark for circular-retail branded takeback and resale — though owned and operated by a single brand rather than a multi-brand marketplace.

Emerging players

• Vinted: European online C2C secondhand fashion marketplace. Competes for the same consumer wallet and consignment supply, but purely online — illustrates the digital channel Appel & Ei lacks.

Regional players

• Kringloop (Dutch thrift chains): Network of Dutch second-hand / thrift stores operating in the same geography. They compete for the same Dutch sustainability-minded consumer but typically operate on a charity/donation model rather than consignment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/appeleneitweedehandskleding
• Instagraminstagram.com/appelenei
• TikTokfacebook.com/appeleneitweedehandskleding
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/appel-ei

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Appel & Ei