RIYADH — Vintoria, a local startup, which pioneered in selling branded, designer, and luxury second-hand women bags, apparel, jewelries and accessories, intends to raise new funding this year for expansion. Eva Dirnhofer, co-founder and CEO of Vintoria in KSA, said in an interview, "We will introduce new products such as second-hand high-end smart phones and tablets and we will offer pre-owned luxury watches and designer jewelry.” She added: “At the moment we are depending on our self-funding. Once we break into the local market, we will raise new funding for further expansion.” Expounding on preowned designer luxury handbags available at their store, she said currently, the first batch we uploaded is around 30 bags. But we get new arrivals daily, which we check for authenticity and quality, as well as professionally photograph. Excerpts of the interview follow: Q. Which is the costliest handbag on sale and its brand, price, etc.? Why is it the costliest? The double flap red Chanel bag is with SR11,800, the costliest bag within our offer. Compared to the original price of about SR20,000 and considering the unused condition of the bag, this is a real deal. Chanel bags belong to the most iconic bags in fashion history. The finest quality of the materials, the excellent finishing and the attention and love put into the smallest details makes a Chanel bag so pricey. Q. Why do people opt for preowned branded luxury handbags in KSA? A preowned designer bag is affordable for every woman, also for the one with lower income. Being able to buy your own creates a sense of independence. On the other hand, there is a growing environmental awareness within Saudi women who are looking for new ways to reduce consumption. Q. How do you ascertain 100 percent authentication of the product? We employ well-trained specialists to check each item before we upload it to our website. Additionally, we are starting to implement an AI application which helps determine fakes. Q. How important is authenticity compared to price for buyers? Both aspects are important to our customers. The demand for affordable luxury goods is growing rapidly. We want to satisfy the desire for luxury, while making it accessible to more people. Q. Where did the idea for Vintoria come from and why does the market need such a platform? I’ve always been obsessed with fashion (one room in my house is dedicated to just clothes, bags and shoes). I’ve also always wanted to work in fashion and create my own designer resale site. Living in Riyadh for over 20 years I’ve seen how fashionable Saudi woman are and how much value they put into their appearance, even underneath the Abaya. They enjoy spending money on valuable designer pieces and looking good. But not everyone can afford this luxury, some women need to save for years or ask their husbands or fathers to buy them the designer items they want. Others simply have too many clothes and need to make space for new ones. My goal was to bridge the gap between these two consumers. We’re creating a sense of independence and accessibility to those who want designer items, while giving people who have too many designer goods a sustainable, profitable way to get rid of them. With the high quality of craftsmanship and materials the designer bags are made with, they really are created to be worn for years and years. My daughter is still wearing bags I bought before she was born, and they are still fashionable and in good condition. Q. What is your vision for Vintoria? What do you see it growing into? Our young startup’s vision is to extend the life circle of luxury goods. We want to give power to the people, letting women buy the bags they’ve always desired and giving others who have too many items a great way to make money from them. We live in a throw-away society, producing more and more waste and we’re here to show that pre-owned designer bags are high quality products and with a high value retention. A second-hand bag is as beautiful and as desirable as a new one. In the future we may also introduce pre-owned high-end smartphones, tablets and laptops, to extend the cycle of electronics too. Q. What are some of the main challenges the business is currently facing and how do you plan on tackling them? Our biggest challenge is to get known and to win the trust of the customers. Sending your bag or buying a bag from a new website can be unsettling, especially when many platforms attempt to sell fakes. These companies harm the designer brands smaller, genuine online shops like ours. Q. How you are unique compared to other regional websites? We are localized in the biggest market in the GCC region. Our company guarantees the quality and the authenticity of the items sold through us. Our big advantage is that we created our company without third-party funding, which allows us to be independent and make our own company policy. For example, we guarantee a higher payout to the customers selling their bags through us compared to other competitors. Q. Who are your buyers in KSA and regionally? The buyers are women interested in fashion, who love designer bags but cannot afford to buy them at full price. Q. Do you only cater to the domestic market or are you looking to expand your reach to other GCC markets? At the moment, we serve the domestic market only. In the near future we will provide our services internationally. — SG