‘The Moat That We Have to Protect’: The RealReal’s C.E.O. on Reviving the Brand

John Koryl spent his first months as chief executive of the RealReal helping to clean out customers’ closets. The company had recently changed its consignment policy for the luxury goods it offered, and Mr. Koryl wanted to see how people were reacting to it. So he traveled to people’s homes in Orange County, Calif., Long Island and elsewhere to find out what he couldn’t glean from his office.

In Mr. Koryl’s telling, he’s the “guy who folds things and packs the bags because that’s about all the value — other than listening — that I add.”

He brings an affable, disarming quality to his work. But his job now is exceedingly crucial: He is responsible for turning around a flailing business.

The RealReal is fueled by customers selling their expensive wares to the company; the company in turn authenticates the goods and puts them on its site or in one of its 12 retail shops, from Manhattan to Dallas and West Hollywood. When the item sells, the consignor receives a commission. (If the item doesn’t sell within a year, it is either returned to the consignor or donated to charity.) The e-commerce reseller was founded over a decade ago, and not long afterward people began to ask lofty questions about whether this San Francisco start-up could save retail.

But since going public in June 2019, its stock has declined 92 percent. As the luxury resale market continues to grow, the RealReal has struggled with inventory and other issues. The company changed policies to the disgruntlement of some customers, and it has conducted two rounds of layoffs this year.

Mr. Koryl said he was focusing on better understanding the RealReal’s customer — and finding even more people willing to consign their Hermes bags and 14-karat-gold diamond necklaces. He called 2023 the RealReal’s “reset year.”