Rent the Runway is a New York-based subscription fashion service that powers women to rent designer styles, handbags and jewelry for everyday and occasion.
At about 4:30am the first of thousands of black garment bags arrive by truck at a vast warehouse fewer than ten miles from Lower Manhattan.
The bags brim over with designer dresses and other trendy clothing and accessories. Workers begin inspecting the garments. A billowy, patterned blouse smells a bit musky. A floor-length red gown has a tear. A stain sullies the floral pattern of a silk sundress.
Turnaround is quick. The blouse is sent to washing machines, the gown goes to one of the 75 seamstresses lined up next to a wall of thread, zippers, buttons and other adornments in every imaginable color, and the silk dress makes its way to the “spotters”: experts who know how to get tough stains out of delicate fabrics.
Most items are in and out of the warehouse in less than a day.
Such efficiency is essential for Rent the Runway (RTR), a New York- based, privately-owned startup with a value of almost $800m that rents out clothes, handbags and jewelry.
Hustle day in & day out
Its dry-cleaning warehouse is the world’s biggest, processing 2,000 items per hour. RTR started with formal dresses that women rented for weddings and other events.
Now nearly three-quarters of its 9m clients across America use it for work clothes.
For $159 a month, the company’s “unlimited” and most expensive plan, subscribers can rent four items at any one time.
Constant novelty seems to outweigh the “yuck” factor of wearing something that rubbed against someone else’s skin not long ago.
Some two-fifths of American women who have heard of the service (or any of its younger competitors) say they would be willing to rent outfits. Renting a ball gown when an occasion arises runs at about a sixth of what it would cost to buy it.
Cleaning and insurance for minor damages are always included.
Hustle and approach
To lure more customers, RTR has opened bricks-and-mortar stores in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, DC.
Anushka Salinas, who oversees sales, says foot traffic is up by 80% from the same time last year.
The firm had revenues of over $100 million in 2016, the latest year for which it has numbers, and says it is profitable at the level of operating earnings.
Customers do have some niggles. Sometimes, monthly subscribers receive frocks that have not been pressed or cleaned. A bridesmaid’s dress rented by Reagan Sims, a customer in Washington, DC, a couple of years ago worked well. But more recently, a dress she ordered for an annual ball she organizes came in a size she could barely squeeze into (RTR gave her a full refund).
Another snag can be shipping. RTR has a strict policy for non-returns, charging customers a late fee of $50 per day after a 24-hour grace period.
These charges mount up and can ultimately match the retail price. Late arrivals are another headache for customers, as well as patchy inventory.
Salinas admits that when RTR introduced its subscription services, it did not have enough inventory to meet demand.
The need to adapt and overcome
The company has since scaled up its supply, and there are now hundreds of units of each style and size.
Other brands are expanding upon RTR’s model. Christine Hunsicker, co-founder of Gwynnie Bee, an RTR rival with a niche in plus-sizes, is launching a service for conventional retailers looking to rent inventory.
The deal includes the digital technology, cleaning and warehousing services needed to run a clothes-rental business. Several American clothing brands, including Ann Taylor (popular for business attire) and NY&Co (a fixture in shopping malls) are also testing the model.
Jennifer Hyman, RTR’s chief executive, once said that she wants to put Zara and H&M, the giants of high-street retail, out of business.
For the time being, she is nowhere near that, but her clothes-renting model increasingly looks like more than just the latest fad.
It’s our first-ever closet collaboration: we teamed up with celebrity stylist Jamie Mizrahi for the ultimate winter capsule 💥
Sneak a peek at each style designed just for us, complete with cozy knits, comfy coats and silky dresses. Launching next week exclusively on RTR 👇 pic.twitter.com/OUOmSzseqX
— Rent the Runway (@RenttheRunway) November 7, 2019
