Fashion rental platform Hirestreet has announced a partnership with outdoor brand Decathlon amid moves to expand further into sports and activewear.
Hirestreet, which is run by former North East Young Business Person of the Year Isabella West, was formed in Newcastle four years ago on a mission to reverse the fast fashion trend in which customers buy clothes and hardly wear them before discarding items.
Decathlon has launched its first UK rental collection via Hirestreet, consisting of an exclusive ski-wear and outerwear edit.
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It is seeking to take advantage of the return to the slopes for many, whilst also offering a range of hiking gear to tap into the demand from those opting for staycations.
The Decathlon collection consists of 18 different styles of high performance ski and hiking jackets and trousers for women, ranging from sizes six to 16, starting from £15 to rent for a 4-day period.
The collection offers a sustainable and affordable alternative to purchasing the new items, making it perfect for those who may not regularly ski.
Ms West, founder and CEO of Hirestreet, said: “Demand for rental fashion boomed in 2021 and customers are now looking to hire items for more than just formal occasions. For many of us, who ski infrequently, renting ski-wear makes a lot of sense: it’s high in price, bulky to store and rarely used.
“I would love to use Hirestreet for skiwear. I am someone who skis very infrequently - I went on a uni ski trip in the last decade and invested in a bright yellow Top Shop jacket. So I’m absolutely someone this would apply to, who would love to try and go but definitely wouldn’t have all the kit myself. And I also don’t have the space to store ski kit.
“Decathlon has been a market leader in sportswear for decades and we share similar values to sustainably make clothing - be it sportswear or fashion - accessible to everyone and with the planet in mind. We are proud to be partnering with Decathlon for their first ever UK rental collection.”
Sharon Poulter, rental manager at Decathlon, added: “Renting our textile products is a new venture for us, and one that we’re excited to be sharing with Hirestreet. It is another way in which we are making sport more accessible - through convenience, price point and flexibility, all while reducing our impact on the planet. Renting ski wear was an obvious starting point, but we expect to expand our offer in the future to make getting active even easier and more sustainable.”
Ms West said Hirestreet is now looking to explore more activewear options, having also recently branched out with maternity wear and bridesmaids dresses.
She said: “Skiwear is an area we’ve had requested from our user base, a lot, but we’ve also been looking at other types of sport recently, so we’re also looking at wetsuits.
“This is just the start of our activewear edit, and it really has been led by our customers, by mapping out the market and looking at the leading brands.
“For us, a lot of the brands we work with see this as a way to attract a new and younger customer, who maybe hasn’t done that activity before and it’s also a great sales conversion tool.”
At the end of last year Hirestreet group announced it would be helping Marks and Spencer to launch its first clothing rental service, receiving an undisclosed investment from the retail giant.
Since then, the company has attracted a host of new firms looking to work with the fashion disruptor. It now works with 50 brand partners including M&S, Ghost, French Connection, ASOS, Nobody’s Child and others.
Ms West said: “We’ve been really working on our brand collaborations. For instance we’ve entered into new makrkets, such as maternity with a new brand called Frugi. We launched a small collection on Lipsy that’s targeted at bridesmaids, and we’ve launched with Nobody’s Child which is heavily focussed on sustainability.
“So behind the scenes over the last five weeks we’ve launched with several leading brands, it’s super-exciting and part of a new strategy of becoming a platform that empowers retailers to start their rental journey. Since we launched with M&S we’ve had a wave of demand in interest across different areas of retail.
“Different areas of the fashion industry are coming to us and see us as a go-to-market solution for rental which is amazing. I expect over the weeks to come we will see more of that.”
