Amazon
Rent the Runway is now selling secondhand luxury goods on Amazon.
As part of a collaboration with Amazon Fashion, the rental company is offering lightly worn styles from more than 35 brands, including Diane Von Furstenberg, Tory Burch, and Kate Spade. The partnership also will feature items from the RTR Design Collective, clothes from emerging designers sold exclusively for Rent the Runway, the company announced on Thursday.
Founded in 2009, Rent the Runway is a subscription-based online rental service that allows members to borrow designer apparel for everything from black-tie events to office wear. The company offers different tiers depending on the number of items rented per month.
Rent the Runway co-founder and CEO Jenn Hymann said in a statement that the partnership will help bring "incredible brand awareness" through the e-commerce giant.
"We believe strategic relationships like this can ignite a new engine of growth for our business," Hyman said. "They also showcase demand for our products beyond our community and allow more customers to experience exclusive data-driven fashion from our top design partners."
The partnership also is another revenue stream for RTR, which has struggled amid the pandemic, as demand for rental apparel dropped significantly during widespread quarantines and social distancing. In August 2020, it permanently closed its five brick-and-mortar stores in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
While the company still managed to complete its initial public offering in October 2021, it's encountered difficulty regaining momentum. In September 2022, it laid off 24% of its corporate employees as it restructured, WWD reported.
In December 2022, the company showed signs of improvement, reporting narrowing losses and growth in its subscriber base. For its third fiscal quarter, RTR's net losses dropped to $36.1 million, down from $87.8 million the year prior, and its active subscriber number increased by 15%.
"We made considerable progress in 2022 in key foundational technology and customer initiatives," Hyman said in a statement at the time.
The Amazon collaboration will join existing resale retail partnerships Rent the Runway currently has with Saks Off Fifth and ThredUp.
