The Bay launches resale partnership with Rebelstork

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Sep 21, 2021

Canadian retailer The Bay announced on Monday its entry into the baby gear resale market through a partnership with Canadian startup, Rebelstork. 

As part of the partnership, as of September 26, customers will be able to access Rebelstork’s marketplace directly via thebay.com, allowing customers to easily upcycle their baby products to other parents. 

This partnership kicks off The Bay’s annual Baby Week Event, which will include trade-in events at two Hudson’s Bay locations —Guildford in Surrey, BC, and Square One in Mississauga, Ontario — where parents can bring gently used baby and kids gear and trade it in for a gift card from The Bay. Trade-in value is calculated using Rebelstork’s resale calculator, which takes into consideration programmed qualifiers like age, condition, and operational state.

"Last year, we began to reimagine our kids strategy at The Bay to elevate the entire shopping experience for families. From baby showrooms to our Rookie shops, we have evolved to be more relevant, more innovative and easier than ever to shop for all stages of childhood,” said Laura Janney, chief merchant, The Bay. 

“Our partnership with Rebelstork brings a whole new option to parents looking to make more sustainable choices for short-term product purchases, as well as options for those ready to part with gently-used items that kids have grown out of. We are very pleased to partner with Rebelstork in delivering this experience to our customers.”

Most recently, the Hudson’s Bay has transformed the way you shop at thebay.com. In March, it introduced a new marketplace format with plans to welcome more than 500 new sellers and introduce significantly-expanded product categories, by the end of 2021. Some of the newest offerings include outdoor gear, computers, sports nutrition and equipment, and gourmet and specialty food items, to name a few. The Bay has since spun off from Hudson’s Bay as a separate business.

The partnership with Rebelstork also comes as the resale market has taken off amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Since baby gear like cribs, bassinets, swings and strollers have a relatively short window of use, more parents are turning toward resale by purchasing second hand.

“It’s no surprise that babies are expensive: parents can spend upwards of $10,000 - $14,000 on their baby every year and many parents are only beginning to realize the significance that buying second hand or reselling gently used gear can have on the environment and on their finances,” added Emily Hosie, founder and CEO, Rebelstork. 

“Our mission is to help families declutter, save and make money, and ultimately contribute to the circular economy.”