OMAJ: the second-hand platform that combines ecology and fashion

Listen to the full interview on podcast, by clicking here.

We had the pleasure of chatting with Paul Charon, co-founder of OMAJ, the impeccably certified second-hand platform. During this rich conversation, Paul told us about his ecological transition, the building of OMAJ and the brand's future prospects.

From consumerism to ecology:

A Parisian for many years, Paul comes from a Franco-English family. Although his passions revolve around ecology and rugby, it's the former that he's decided to pursue in his professional career. And when asked what triggered him to adopt a greener lifestyle, Paul's answer is precise:

"On May 1, 2017, I was skiing with my wife, the weather was miserable. We stayed nice and warm, and to pass the time, we watched a documentary recommended by a friend. We used to be big meat eaters. In fact, our favorite restaurant in Paris was a meat restaurant. Then we watched one documentary after another, nourishing our ecological culture. After that, there was no going back, so we had to take action. We realized that the classic way of life of a young dynamic executive aged 25 to 30, who goes on vacation to the four corners of the world and eats meat, seemed unthinkable in such an environmental context."

The choice of fashion as the logical path in the ecological struggle:

In 2023, emissions generated by the textile industry worldwide will be responsible for 4 billion tonnes of CO2. This is equivalent to emissions from international flights and maritime traffic.

Topping the list of the most polluting brands is Shein, which alone is responsible for 22% of teenage girls' CO2 emissions, according to a Teenage Lab study.

With very regular collections and low prices (with an average price of €7.90 for Shein), it's impossible for responsible brands to keep up.

To counter this emissive mode of consumption, Marine and Paul, who have been friends since they met in higher education, decided to put a stop to fast fashion by creating OMAJ, a platform for selling second-hand clothes.

OMAJ: a turnkey solution for effortless selling

Omaj is the certified impeccable second-hand website. Created with the aim of making second-hand sales as simple as possible, the platform offers a turnkey service.

"sellers simply send us the clothes they want to sell, and we take care of everything else. Quality control, photo-taking, shipping ... then, as soon as the garment is sold, we credit the money to our sellers' wallets."

A great added value compared to the giant Vinted, which doesn't offer a similar service. Paul concludes by saying:

"Clothing prices are set by algorithms, and our customer service is available to answer questions. An important point, on OMAJ, it's possible to make returns. This is a real convenience for buyers, who don't end up with clothes they'll never put on their arms if something goes wrong."

A desire linked to Paul's not always good buying experiences:

"On Vinted, I was always very frustrated to receive clothes with stains, the visuals weren't pretty, the sizes sometimes wrong, and I couldn't make returns. "

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From Facebook group to sales site

It was while surveying the members of Facebook groups, divided by city, that Marine and Paul became aware of the problems associated with second-hand buying and selling. From lack of quality to time constraints, OMAJ's founders knew from the outset that they needed to address these issues.

When it came to testing their concept, Paul and Marine didn't hesitate to use Facebook groups again.

"We explained our concept while asking if any of the group members had clothes to sell. And then we were bombarded with messages. Quite simply, everyone had clothes to sell. It was crazy, so we went out and collected the first loads of clothes from our first bike sellers," explains Paul with a smile.

OMAJ: a community of 150,000 people on social networks

If the demand was there, generating the first sales was another matter altogether.

"To succeed in bringing traction to our site, we had to communicate. That's where the beauty of the photos came into play. We had to communicate in a very polished way to attract buyers. And in fact, when you start out as an entrepreneur, you think you're going to manage to get the first 10,000 subscribers easily, but then you realize that in the end it takes 6 months. Generally speaking, everything always takes longer than you think. By growing our team and employing people with expertise in marketing and styling, we've been able to increase both our productivity and our results on social networks. "

110,000 items of clothing collected since launch

With 30,000 items for sale on the site, 10,000 sellers and over 110,000 garments collected since their launch, Marine and Paul have succeeded in their challenge of making second-hand sales both simple and profitable, for sellers and buyers alike.

"Between today and a year ago, we've tripled business. The last quarter of 2023 was very good, and we're ending the first quarter of 2024 with strong results."

This fine development is due first and foremost to an intelligent offer that fully meets consumers' expectations, but also to the fact that the second-hand market is booming.

"In the textile industry, there are only two growing models: fast fashion and second-hand".

A paradox that can be explained by the quest for low prices. Beyond this point, everything separates these two markets. While one contributes drastically to social breakdown, while at the same time being a catastrophic vector of pollution, the other is an outstretched hand towards more responsible consumption.

"These are two markets that, unfortunately, are moving at the same pace, even though they don't share the same values," adds Paul.

Discover OMAJ

At Afffect Media, we're as passionate about marketing as we are about fashion. So, as we browsed the beautiful pieces offered by OMAJ, we were surprised to discover brands such as Prada, Givenchy, Maj and Agnès B, all at rock-bottom prices.

The platform combines modernity and diversity of choice, which not only supports our desire to consume second-hand goods, but also reinforces the quality of the customer service on offer.

During the interview, Paul took the time to explain to us that they had done some real groundwork to offer second-hand clothes, but with a service on a par with the new market. The gamble paid off.

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