Emily Hosie, founder of REBEL, is revolutionizing the returns industry with a sustainable platform that rehomes overstock and open-box goods while addressing major environmental challenges.
Emily Hosie, the founder of REBEL, a rapidly growing consumer tech company, is tackling the pressing issue of the retail returns crisis with innovative strategies and a commitment to sustainability. The company, which focuses on providing a platform for overstock and open-box returns, aims to address the significant environmental and economic challenges associated with unsold goods that often end up in landfills.
Emily Hosie’s journey into the retail industry began unexpectedly during her studies at Queen’s University, where a charity fashion show sparked her passion for fashion and retail. Initially working as a stylist for the show, she recognized that her time and enthusiasm could translate into a viable career path. She entered the retail sector as a buyer’s assistant at Holt Renfrew, gradually rising to prominent positions, including VP of Merchandising at Saks Fifth Avenue and Divisional VP at TJX Companies.
The COVID-19 pandemic created notable shifts in both retail and e-commerce, prompting Emily to observe the exponential growth of the returns industry. She explained, “E-commerce was accelerating the returns crisis, and the returns industry kept growing faster than any other vertical — faster than off-price, and faster than discount.” This pattern revealed the alarming fate of baby gear products, where “100 per cent of that product was going directly into landfills,” despite much of it being fully functional and simply returned.
In light of this growing crisis, Emily founded REBEL in 2020, a B-Corporation-certified re-commerce platform focused on rehoming overstock and returned goods. This platform has experienced substantial growth, expanding at a rate of 300% year over year. Utilizing Smart Pricing Technology, the company applies an AI-driven algorithm to analyze market data for fair pricing, ensuring that customers benefit from significant discounts, often as high as 50%. By serving over 3 million new and expecting parents each month, REBEL successfully diverts more than 25 million pounds of products from landfills annually.
With recent Series A funding of $18 million, REBEL is primed for further expansion. The company launched into the home goods vertical in the U.S. in November 2024 and plans to extend its operations into Canada and beyond. Emily highlighted the company’s growth potential, stating, “We’ve been able to grow our team and expand into the home vertical,” as they opened a new 300,000-square-foot facility in North Carolina, which is analogous to three Costcos in size.
In recognition of her contributions to the entrepreneurial landscape, Emily was honored with the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Start-Up Award. She appreciated the competitive nature of the award process, sharing, “It’s a rigorous application, but to me, that means the award is even more special.” Celebrating the win with her team and family, she expressed that the acknowledgment is not simply a personal accolade but a collective achievement for her dedicated employees. “I’m just the ambassador of the company,” she stated. “We’re so motivated to keep going and keep making an impact.”
As REBEL continues to carve out its niche in the re-commerce space, it sets a new standard in retail logistics while addressing essential environmental issues related to consumer goods and their lifecycle.
Source: Noah Wire Services
