Stores selling second-hand clothes are mushrooming in Hungary and are apparently profitable businesses, writes news portal index.hu, based on a recent survey by market researcher GfK Hungária.

Used clothing imported from western Europe is proving increasingly popular with Hungarians with an eye for style and many experts are predicting that Budapest will enjoy a similar second-hand boom to London and soon see streets full of second-hand clothing stores. Rákóczi út may be on of the first of these streets.

While last year's Ft 345 billion (roughly €1.4 billion) clothing market did not reach even the value of that two years earlier, the traffic of second-hand stores grew from Ft 5 billion in 2006 to Ft 7.3 billion. It is estimated that between 6,000 and 7,000 small entrepreneurs are currently trading in used clothes.

Krisztina Feövenyessy, managing director of the Garderobe store network of three Budapest stores, told the portal that increasing numbers of consumers are expected to buy second-hand clothes not only because of low prices but also the style of clothing. She said the boom in this segment was witnessed two to three years ago, and this year, a change in demand can be seen.

Although several international clothing store chains offering cheap products have appeared in Hungary, which mainly attract teenagers, the main group visiting "exclusive" second-hand clothing stores are those over 25. Most Hungarian second-hand clothing stores sell Marks & Spencer, Gap and Next, which many shoppers cannot afford to buy as new, said Zsuzsanna Bálint, managing director of Angex 2004 Kft.

There are several networks operating stores in more than one county, such as Angex 2004 Kft, the largest network in Southern Hungary with annual turnover of Ft 600 million to Ft 800 million. Bálint said customers prefer used clothes from known brands.

According to Enikő Harsányi, managing director of London Store Kft which operates stores in Northern Hungary, demand for second-hand clothes is predictable and can be planned, as products of high quality at consistent prices are in demand in every town.

In Hungary, there are two types of cheap clothing stores; those selling second-hand clothing of known brands, and those offering non-name-brand products manufactured in the Far East. The products and customers attracted by these stores are different, however, although in some towns where they are concentrated in one location, they can strengthen each other.