Luxury does not discard anything: the case of LVMH and Nona Source

“We purchase deadstock from fashion houses: after estimating their value, we put them up for sale again at competitive prices.” Welcome to the unused materials upcycling project, supported by Bernard Arnault’s multinational corporation

We are not really talking about “unsold” articles. They are rather “unused” materials, such as fabrics, leather and much more, on which platform Nona Source has been focusing its work. In other words, a “re-sourcing” project which currently engages the whole of LVMH brands. In fact, luxury does not discard anything in the end.

Luxury does not discard anything

Nona Source is a B2B online platform dealing with all LVMH brands, including self-employed fashion designers. They first launched it on Monday, 26 April 2021, starting from 500 different fabrics (100,000 metres in total) and 1,000 square metres of leather, all coming from the warehouses of one sole fashion house (not mentioned though) run by LVMH group. What about prices? They are quite lower, 60 to 70%, compared to the original gross ones. It is no coincidence that a stock of reptile leather, fully made in Italy, went sold out in double-quick time.

The idea

Nona Source was designed and created by Marie FalgueraRomain Brabo (former buyer of materials, appointed by Givenchy) and Anne Prieur du Perray. It is a start-up business arising out of LVMH DARE project, whose primary aim is to enhance and make faster innovative solutions. “While I was dropping by warehouses – remarked Romain Brabo – I used to see that deadstock were growing bigger and bigger. I have therefore realized that, on the one hand, young fashion designers are on the lookout for materials to make their own collections and, on the other hand, fashion houses keep stockpiling materials they no longer need. How could I effectively link these things together?

How does it work?

“We purchase deadstock from fashion houses – pointed out Marie Falguera –: after estimating their value, we put them up for sale again at competitive prices.” For the records, resold materials do not have any logo. Any detailed information about products for sale can be found by buyers on the platform web pages. More specifically, they can find out more about their origin (including the name of the original supplier), size, weight, and composition. Furthermore, customers may also filter their search sorting results by price and quantity.

The (physical) location

Nona Source warehouse is located near Tours, France. Here is the hub from which they ship their goods that are addressed to Europe and UK customers only. No samples are available. Yet, in addition, they are planning to make a showroom at La Caserne incubator, placed in Paris.

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