Optimera: Rent the Runway's bringing access-over-ownership to high-end fashion

torsdag 24 mars 2016

Rent the Runway's bringing access-over-ownership to high-end fashion

Rent the Runway’s Unlimited service, which lets customers rent three items at one time for the cost of $139 a month, officially launched Wednesday after two years in beta.
--
For a luxury brand, this model may feel like a sacrifice of the exclusivity and aspiration that comes with the hefty price tag and esteemed ownership of a designer item. But the sharing economy has changed consumer expectations — even for luxury fashion.
“Every chance a brand has to give a customer an experience is an opportunity to convince or persuade the customer to choose them,” said Julie Andrews, svp of client engagement at digital agency Rumble Fox. “The sharing economy has changed everything, including how customers approach and are introduced to brands.”
--
However, Rent the Runway is now seven years old and is established enough to introduce fashion borrowing to the mainstream. It boasts a 5-million-customer base, $800 million in luxury apparel as of 2015, 350 designer brand names and four storefronts in New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Las Vegas.