North East fashion rental pioneer Hirestreet will mark its fourth year in trading with a new collaboration with a retailer every week ahead of the peak of the summer season.
The Newcastle city centre based business was launched four years ago this month by young entrepreneur Isabella West in response to the rise in fast and throwaway fashion. It offers customers the chance to rent outfits for big events and holidays rather than buy items they would potentially wear once before discarding them.
Starting with the rental of a handful of dresses, Hirestreet now ships out thousands of outfits on a daily basis and has 1.8m users, plus collaborations with some of the UK’s largest retailers through its white label platform Zoa Rental.
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The number of collaborations is set to double in the coming months, in deals triggered by companies wanting to follow in the footsteps of M&S, Hirestreet’s biggest partnership to date, which has in turn led to Hirestreet recording year-on-year revenue growth of 1,000%.
Zoa was set on an impressive growth path last November after sealing investment from Marks and Spencer’s Founders Factory, leading to M&S using the platform to rent out a seasonal collection – a link-up which has since been extended. Following the deal with M&S a steady stream of fashion brands have announced rental partnerships with Hirestreet, including Oasis, Nobody’s Child, Lipsy and Decathlon.
A further eight brands are now expected to be announced over the next two months, with Hirestreet launching a new rental collaboration every week ahead of peak-Summer 2022.
The first two were unveiled this week as womenswear brands Miss Pap and Little Mistress. From now, customers can rent new season collections from Miss Pap, and sold-out styles from Little Mistress, in sizes six to 18.
A recent survey conducted by Hirestreet found that demand for rental was driven by events such as weddings, hen-dos and holidays, with 41% of customers saying they were motivated to try renting because it is more sustainable, and 26% saying it is more affordable.
Hirestreet customers range in age from 18 to 67 but they are most commonly 21 to 32-year-old females with busy social calendars. On average they pay £32 to hire an item, and rent 10 outfits a year.
Ms West, CEO and founder, said big brands are keen to capitalise on the rising popularity of the rental market, while also benefiting from its sustainability credentials. When a dress gets hired 20 times, instead of sold and worn once, its carbon footprint reduces by 87%, even taking into account additional cleaning and delivery emissions.
She said: “Our partners work with us because they want to be ahead of the curve. Fashion brands succeed when they are responsive to consumer demand. In 2022 customers want a variety of choice, sustainability and affordability - that is what’s driving growth in the rental market and no one wants to miss out.”
