Possession versus use
The model isn’t new. Transport, household equipment, leisure…renting has already conquered a whole range of markets and users.
But where it might surprise you is when it comes to the clothes market. Who would have thought that it’s easier to hire a drill to make a few holes in a wall than it is to rent a dress or a pair of jeans? And yet…
For daily wear or that special occasion
As with many things, the market started out focusing on a niche area before branching out. 1ROBE1SOIR.COM (1 Evening 1 Dress), which specialises in designer dresses and accessories is a case in point. The site now offers nearly 700 references that can be rented for 4-8 days. Everything is included: dispatch, dry cleaning and return. The site offers a fashion consulting service by email or telephone to help customers make the right choice, and even offers a 2nd dress to try on when they are not sure which they prefer.
4 days renting an iconic Saint-Laurent dinner jacket will set you back €220, rather than the €2,500 it would cost to buy.
Bearing in mind that a designer dress will cost around 1.5 times more, the calculation is an easy one to make.
For babies too!
Another niche market: babies and maternity wear. That’s what MONLOUETMOI.FR is targeting.
The website is aimed at mothers and children aged between 3 months and 3 years. At a time when the body is changing constantly, and babies are growing fast, the site puts an end to filling the wardrobe with clothes that will only last a few months. Here too, everything is included: dispatch, cleaning and returns. The clothes are good quality, mainly from French designers, and stains and tears are taken into account. The little extra: you can buy the clothes at a reduced rate. Price-wise: for babies it’s around €20/month/item for 3 months’ rental and €15/month for 6 months. For mums: €9/month/item for 3 months and €7/month for 6 months.
Now everyone can try!
Launched in 2014 having gone through the incubator Paris-Dauphine, LE CLOSET went big from the start by offering the complete wardrobe for rental: from dresses to tops, for work and play.
Subscriptions start at €39 a month for 3 items of clothes and 2 accessories, and €49 for maternity wear. The start-up is firmly putting itself in the sustainable consumption and “zero waste” market.
And it works! Today the site has more than 10,000 subscribers.
Rent the Runway: the ideal
It is a moderate success in France, if you compare it to American cousin: Rent the Runway. Launched in 2009, the site has 9 million subscribers and a turnover of 100 million dollars.
In 2017 the company even opened its first physical shop and in 2018 signed a partnership with one of the American leaders in household linens (duvets, sheets, covers, curtains, cushions, etc.).
For the American market, it’s a way of going up against IKEA which is launching a rental service covering its whole range in a number of countries.