What: Online rental businesses are penetrating the mainstream further by venturing into white label solutions.

Why is it important: Fashion rental businesses were one of lockdown’s most unlikely winners, Hurr being one of the leaders and bringing Selfridges on board.

Rental pioneers including Hurr, On Loan and My Wardrobe HQ are all launching white label solutions this month, and everyone from major department stores, such as Selfridges, to contemporary brands, are jumping on board.

“The idea is that we’re powering the tech and the operations. It’s completely hands-off from the brand’s point of view, we do everything from using AI to power the smart-tagging of products to dry cleaning. Instead of having to invest millions of pounds into building their own rental operations after the pandemic, we’re telling retailers or brands ‘We’ve done it, and we can do it for you,'” said Hurr founder Victoria Prew. Selfridges is her first client.

Hurr has so far operated on its own platform, using both the peer-to-peer model and also stock from brands, which helps them to offer a greater variety and more depth of stock than a peer-to-peer only model.

In 2019, the company launched its first Selfridges concession and it was a hit. Ahead of Christmas, thousands of women used the service to rent festive pieces, according to Prew. It now has a permanent space within the department. Over the last year, the company had 2 million hits on its own site with people booking their rentals up to four months in advance, while still in lockdown, and driving what she said have been record revenues.

My Wardrobe HQ is another London-based re-commerce business debuting My Ventures, its own take on white label solutions across both rental and resale, to allow for bespoke solutions. “For some brands, rental is attractive as it provides a more accessible price point to a new Millennial audience, as well as a sustainable solution and marketing narrative. For others, resale is a more appropriate solution,” said Natalia Pawlak, the business’ COO.

“Blockchain is imperative for authenticity — we’re in a new age with all the buzz around NFT solutions from luxury brands such as Gucci. Gone are the days of certificates in boxes. Our blockchain solution solidifies item ownership and also provides the brands with automated recurring revenue which they haven’t seen before,” she added.

If the rental market is going to take the next step and go mass, brands and retailers will need to get more involved and put their own stock up for rent, according to Prew. Luxury players are now starting to see the opportunity too with discussions “coming forward five years,” said Prew, who thinks there’s no reason for apprehension – only a “mass market opportunity” to unlock a younger consumer base of environmentally conscious Gen Z-ers and Millennials. Rental is also more focused on trend or occasion pieces versus the brand classics customers prefer to invest in, so adopting the model won’t “cannibalise primary market sales” in any way.

Luxury Fashion’s Rental Market Is Ready for Takeoff