CTR Group has consolidated its circular retail businesses under the ZOA Group platform, encompassing fashion rental platform Hirestreet, secondhand marketplace Thrift+, and resale operations Wowzer and Reuseabook. The platform provides retailers with a single entry point for managing excess inventory, returns, and end-of-line products.

Key Points

  • ZOA Group integrates four businesses—Hirestreet, Thrift+, Wowzer, and Reuseabook—covering 20 sales channels and having processed over 10 million secondhand transactions cumulatively.
  • CTR Group acquired Hirestreet in September 2025 and Thrift+ in March 2025; its operating network handles over 1,500 tonnes of inventory per week and has 560,000 square feet of facilities in the UK and Europe.
  • ZOA Group plans to complete acquisitions of two more circular fashion businesses by the end of 2026.

ZOA Group's business model helps retailers maximize the value of unsold inventory through channels such as rental, resale, repair, and recycling, replacing traditional clearance and disposal methods. Leveraging CTR Group's logistics and operational infrastructure, the platform can track the full product lifecycle and direct products to the most commercially viable pathways.

Additionally, ZOA Group offers "rental-as-a-service," allowing retailers to integrate clothing rental functionality directly into their own websites, with ZOA handling warehousing, fulfillment, cleaning, and repair.

This consolidation follows CTR Group's acquisition of Hirestreet in September 2025. The deal gave Hirestreet access to the group's operating network—processing over 1,500 tonnes of inventory per week across 560,000 square feet of facilities in the UK and Europe. CTR Group also acquired Thrift+ in March 2025 as part of its strategy to consolidate consumer-facing circular businesses and help retailers generate more revenue from products through rental and resale.

For the used clothing and secondhand trade industry, the formation of ZOA Group signals that circular retail is moving from standalone operations toward platform-based consolidation, with leading operators seeking to provide retailers with one-stop inventory solutions through logistics, warehousing, and fulfillment capabilities.

Source: Hirestreet owner launches circular retail group as it eyes further acquisitions - Retail Gazette · Originally published 2026-10-13