Online fashion rental business Hirestreet has unveiled a new collaboration with fashion giant ASOS which is said to be the biggest deal of its kind in the 海角视频.
Based in Newcastle city centre, Hirestreet was established in 2018 by award-winning entrepreneur Isabella West who was on a mission to disrupt the fast fashion industry by launching a sustainable service in response. Hirestreet sees customers rent outfits for holidays and special occasions, rather than buy clothes they would likely only wear a handful of times.
The company, launched with just a few of Ms West鈥檚 own dresses, now rents out thousands of outfits every week through its own website, and it has also joined forces with major retailers through its white label platform Zoa Rental, which has enlisted companies including M&S, French Connection, River Island, Oasis, Nobody鈥檚 Child, Lipsy and Decathlon. Now, a year after first announcing a partnership with ASOS, the companies have announced they are collaborating again 鈥 this time on a subscription rental service.
The initial deal with ASOS saw it launch its first ever rental edit in partnership with Hirestreet, in a collection featuring more than 180 occasionwear styles. The brand new service enables Hirestreet subscribers to rent five items a month for 拢75. Subscribers can choose from over 20,000 ASOS items, from its 拢250 ASOS Luxe gowns, to 拢170 Columbia puffers.
The new collaboration comes after Hirestreet saw a significant rise in demand for casual items in the first quarter of 2024. Total items dispatched to customers increased by 200% year on year, and 40% of items booked were casual pieces. Ms West said the launch marks a step forward for the 海角视频 rental market, which has lagged behind the US in recent years when it comes to subscription rental.
She said: 鈥淲e absolutely love working with ASOS. This is our second collaboration, but from the moment we pitched the idea, they have been incredible. They have such a strong understanding of the 海角视频 twenty-something fashion customer, and their willingness to innovate to meet her consumption needs in 2024 is what sets them apart.
鈥淚n the US, subscription is now the dominant form of rental 鈥 it accounts for circa 90% of the market. However, just like in the 海角视频, it didn鈥檛 start off like that 鈥 occasionwear rental was dominant until the pandemic. In the 海角视频, we have been through a rental-education phase over the last six years, and rental is now normalised as a consumption method for special events.
鈥淭here are now hundreds of thousands of active renters, who are comfortable with the process, and the next step is just inspiring them to consider rental for more casual moments in their life 鈥 like date nights or weekend walks.
鈥淲e already have hundreds of subscribers, and the feedback has been that a fashion-subscription makes them feel excited about getting dressed again. Many customers say they feel like they have loads of clothes but nothing they are excited to wear 鈥 this model just gives them that newness feeling in a guilt-free way.鈥
Ms West added that Hirestreet is looking at further, similar deals.
She said: 鈥淲e only have a limited number of subscriber slots left for 2024. We have to restrict the number of subscribers we have because we want to ensure that there is always lots of amazing stock for our subscribers to choose from - so we are actively seeking more stock from partners. There are also several categories that we have had customer requests to expand, including work, curve and maternity.鈥
