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Rent the Runway

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Rent the Runway
Type of businessPrivate
Founded2009
Headquarters
New York City
,
USA
Key peopleJennifer Hyman (CEO, Co-founder)
Jennifer Carter Fleiss (Co-founder)
IndustryE-commerce
URLRentTheRunway.com

Rent the Runway is an online service that provides designer dress and accessory rentals. It was started by Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss, who launched the company in November 2009. Initially a purely e-commerce company, it later opened brick-and-mortar retail locations in New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Los Angeles.[1]

History

In 2008, Hyman and Fleiss met as sectionmates at Harvard Business School. They regularly met to discuss entrepreneurial ideas, one of which was Rent the Runway.[2] They considered the concept would be part of the "access economy" along with companies like Netflix and Spotify, which favor access over ownership.[2] They launched www.renttherunway.com in November 2009.

The company has received approximately $126 million in venture capital from Bain Capital Ventures, Highland Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Condé Nast’s parent company Advance Publications, American Express, and Novel TMT Ventures.[3] As of October 2016, the firm has over 6 million customers, 975 employees, and over 400 designer partners.[4]

In 2015, the company suffered negative press after the departure of several executives such as CTO Camille Fournier and Linda Honan (now of BBDO).[5][6] However, it was reported to have a positive bounce back by the end of 2016 with a Series E venture investment from Fidelity Investments and the launch of new physical retail shops.[7][8] After Run the Runway closed a $125 million round of funding the valuation of the company reached $1 billion.[9]

Business model

Customers can rent one of the firm's designer clothing for a 4- or 8-day period for as low as 10% of the retail price through their traditional platform, RTR Reserve. Rent the Runway carries apparel in sizes 0 to 22, depending on the designer. Each dress rental includes a back-up size at no additional cost to ensure it fits. Customers can get a second dress style for an additional fee. Rental prices include the dry cleaning and care of the garments.

In March of 2016 the company launched Rent the Runway Unlimited,[10] the first fashion subscription service to give women access to designer clothes and accessories for a flat monthly fee[11]. Its customers select 4 pieces on the site and can keep each item for as long as they want or swap them out for new selections. The subscription costs $159 per month and shipping, dry cleaning, and insurance are included. In October 2017, the company announced a new, lower-priced tier of membership called RTR Update[12]. Customers select 4 pieces and keep them for a month. Customers can select four new items and return their previous items at any time.

The company also rents accessories, including jewelry and handbags, and sells “essentials,” including lingerie, tights, shapewear, and cosmetics.

Rent the Runway has physical locations in New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles[13]. Customers can visit any of Rent the Runway’s five stores, work with a personal stylist, and either take items directly with them or book dresses and accessories for future events.

The company has the biggest warehouse and dry cleaning complex in the world at 300,000 square-feet, in Secaucus, New Jersey,[10] processing 2,000 items per hour.[14] The company's business office is on Hudson Street, in Manhattan.[10]

Awards and honors

The New York State Society for Human Resource Management honored Rent the Runway as one of the best companies to work for in New York State in 2014.[15] In 2013, the firm was named one of the 50 companies disrupting the status-quo by CNBC,[16] one of the 10 most innovative fashion companies by Fast Company in 2011,[17] and one of the 50 best websites of 2010 by TIME magazine.[18]

The firm and its CEO and Co-Founder Jennifer Hyman was named one of the “12 Most Disruptive Names in Business” in 2013 by Forbes[19] and she was included on Fortune’s “Trailblazers” list of individuals changing the face of business in 2013.[20] Both Hyman and co-founder Jennifer Fleiss have been named Inc. Magazine’s “Top 30 Under 30,” Fortune’s “40 Under 40,”[21] Fast Company’s “Most Influential Women in Technology,”[22] and Fashion Group International’s 14th annual Rising Stars in Retail, [23] by Forbes in 2016 as "Women Entrepreneurs to Watch," [24] and as "The Creatives" on the 2016 Upstart 100. [25]

References

  1. ^ "Rent the Runway". Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b Black, Tiffany, “Jennifer Hyman and Jenny Fleiss, Founders of Rent the Runway”, Inc Magazine, July 19, 2010
  3. ^ Rao, Lena, "AmEx Backs The Netflix For Designer Clothes, Rent The Runway", "TechCrunch", March 11, 2013
  4. ^ Moore, Booth, "Rent the Runway heads to Vegas' Cosmopolitan in time for New Year's", "Los Angeles Times", December 17, 2013
  5. ^ Roberts, Daniel, "Exclusive: What’s behind the exodus from Rent the Runway?", "Fortune", Nov 17, 2015
  6. ^ Kosoff, Maya, "Why executives are fleeing $500 million startup Rent the Runway", "Business Insider", November 17, 2015
  7. ^ O'Connor, Clare, "Rent The Runway Raises $60M In Funding As It Rolls Out Retail Stores""Forbes", December 28, 2016
  8. ^ "Rent the Runway pivots away from rough year | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  9. ^ "Rent the Runway hits a $1 billion valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  10. ^ a b c Schwartz, Alexandra (22 October 2018). "Rent the Runway Wants to Lend You Your Look". The New Yorker. Retrieved 10 December 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  11. ^ "Update Your Wardrobe for Less Than $25 Per Piece With This New Subscription Service". Real Simple. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  12. ^ O'Connor, Clare. "Rent The Runway Adds $89 Subscription As Fashion Tech Startup Chases Younger Shopper". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  13. ^ "Store Location Listing". Rent the Runway. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  14. ^ "Rent the Runway is taking clothes-sharing mainstream". The Economist. 7 June 2018.
  15. ^ "Winners of 2014 Best Companies to Work for in New York State Announced", January 6, 2014
  16. ^ "CNBC's Retail Disruptors Revealed", "CNBC", May 13, 2013
  17. ^ Fast Company Staff, "Most Innovative Companies 2011 Top 10 In Fashion", "Fast Company", November 30, 2011
  18. ^ TIME Staff, "50 Best Websites 2010", "TIME", August 25, 2010
  19. ^ Carlyle, Erin, "Disruptors", "Forbes"
  20. ^ Fry, Erica, "Trailblazers: 11 People Changing Business", "Fortune", February 8, 2013
  21. ^ Keating, Caitlin, "40 Under 40", "Fortune", October 17, 2012
  22. ^ Evans, Suzy "The Most Influential Women in Technology 2011 - Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss", "Fast Company", January 10, 2011
  23. ^ "14th Annual Rising Star Awards", "FGI Bulletin", 2011
  24. ^ Savchuk, Katia. "From Serena Williams to Katy Perry: Eight Women Entrepreneurs To Watch". Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  25. ^ Moss, J. Jennings (18 August 2016). "The Creatives: Upstart 100 celebrates artful entrepreneurs". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2018-12-10. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
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