Rent The Runway Goes Subscription

Fashion retail site Rent the Runway is unique. For just $75 per month, users can rent designer handbags, sunglasses, scarves, outerwear, hats and pieces of jewelry. While the brand names used to include the likes of Eddie Borgo, Pamela Love, Balenciaga and Oscar de la Renta, a recent Women’s Wear Daily article reported that the site is looking to expand into “everyday wear.”

Executives explained that the goal is to re-brand with clothing from stores like Zara and H&M. The company also plans to give customers the option to buy any items they’ve rented on the site at a discounted rate. This will be done via a Try to Buy service once the company officially relaunches in February. Currently, the site allocates inventory in a sale section.

The news source reported that last year, more than 90 percent of company customers were gained through word of mouth. Additionally, Rent the Runway’s user base has grown 126 percent year-over-year. In the last five months, the site has rented what would be the equivalent of $300 million in retail value of dresses and accessories.

Chief executive officer Jennifer Hyman predicts that number to be $600 million by the end of the year.

“It’s a new way to experience everyday style and trends and a new way to take what’s currently in your wardrobe and amp it up. It takes you out of fast fashion,” Hyman told the news source. “This is about transforming and disrupting the way you get dressed — which on one hand is letting you make the choice of: ‘Should I rent this or should I buy this?’ and second, ‘How long should I rent this for?’”

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