Does the Circular Economy Stabilize Brand Value? Investigating the Correlation between Resale Market Price Resilience and Primary Market Demand for High-End Sustainable Fashion (2022-2025)

Abstract

Historically, secondary resale market has been viewed as a commercial threat by the luxury fashion houses. The perceived threat included cannibalization of primary sales and dilution of brand equity. This study investigates the impact of resale price resilience on the primary market demand- especially if it stabilizes brand value and drives primary market demand for high-end sustainable fashion brands through the period of 2022-25. Using a longitudinal empirical data based research design, this study tracks the quarterly Value Retention Rat (VRR) of 150 flagship products across three sustainable brands (Stella McCartney, Gabriela Hearst, and Patagonia) against a control group of conventional luxury brands with no established circular economic image over a period of sixteen quarters. The findings show a statistically significant positive correlation between secondary market value retention and primary demand (r=0.742,p<0.01). Time lagged analyses (r =0.791 at six months) indicate resale price resilience precedes primary demand shifts. Consumers look at secondary market price as a reduction in their ‘True Cost of Ownership’, which confirms that integration of circular economy actually reinforces primary brand equity rather than eroding it.