2023-12-18 08:05:00
H & M, Maje, Kiabi, Gémo… At a time of inflation and ecological awareness, these ready-to-wear brands, of different styles and prices, all have in common the ability to offer their customers a new mode of consumption: clothing rental. After the second-hand boom, brands are looking at this way of building customer loyalty while greening their image.
The market is in full development: occupied for around ten years by a few specialized companies, it is now being eyed by luxury brands. fast fashion. “Our competitors are neither Chanel nor Balenciaga, but rather the brands that sell a dress for 150 euros, which people buy to wear only once and which will then be thrown away,” explains Naïma Cardi, the founder d’Une robe un soir, a luxury and mid-range clothing rental company founded in 2016. The concept is simple: with a subscription or in one shotits customers – it has only just launched a men’s offering – can select one or more outfits on the website.
Renew your wardrobe at low prices
These are sent to them by La Poste for a rental that lasts four days or a month, depending on the option chosen. The clothes are returned in a package provided with pre-paid postage – no need to wash or iron them – and a new package arrives.
A “way to change your wardrobe every month at low prices,” explains Fatinia El Shekshaky, a subscriber for four or five years. “I had the unfortunate tendency to buy compulsively, without thinking,” remembers the 34-year-old woman. The subscription allows me to manage my wallet and wear clothes that would not otherwise be affordable. The eco-friendly aspect also spoke to me, and it’s practical, I receive everything at home. »
The formula one shot appeals to women whose job requires them to be well dressed but who don’t necessarily have the time – or the desire – to go shopping. “I am a business manager who is always in a hurry,” confides Katia Iobato, 48 years old. I don’t have time to go shopping, but I can’t afford to always have the same dress in the photos. This service suits me well, I order clothing depending on the event I am going to. It’s quick and efficient, it allows me to always wear pretty pieces and be on trend without wasting time or a lot of money. »
Extend the life cycle of a part
The stated aim of Une robe un soir is to rent each piece sixty times before putting it on sale second hand or donating it to Emmaüs. To be able to offer a wide variety of pieces, the company has established partnerships with brands from whom it rents clothing.
“We don’t throw anything away,” prides Naïma Cardi. Specialist tailors and cleaners work to maintain the dresses so that they are always in perfect condition. As soon as we have any doubts, we take it out of the rental circuit and send it to second hand. The loop is perfect, there are no losses. »
Downside: carbon emissions linked to transport. But the ecological cost remains, according to the CEO, incomparable to that of a new item of clothing worn once or twice and stored in the back of a wardrobe.
Faced with the contraction in sales and the rise of environmental issues, the fast fashion start doing the same. While several brands have gone out of business, Kiabi has been testing a rental service for more than a year in three of its stores. For 19 to 49 euros per month, customers can choose between 5 and 20 pieces of the brand which they renew at will provided they do not exceed the set number.
H&M is also launching into this niche: since November, the Antwerp store has been offering its subscribed customers the chance to rent pieces from capsule collections, produced in partnership with major fashion designers. Rental companies can also benefit from the advice of a stylist.
Maternity or nursing clothing
“We started experiments in 2021 with the rental of maternity and breastfeeding clothes, because these are pieces whose use is necessarily limited in time,” explains Adélaïde Vallée, the rental project manager at Kiabi. This allows us to learn a lot about customer behavior, to see their appetite for the economy of use… We are also testing the rental of children’s clothing premiums, for ceremonies or events. For the moment, everything is rather conclusive, people are there. »
The affected profiles are varied: families, adults, but also people starting “obesity surgery”, underlines Adélaïde Vallée. It’s a logical approach: they know that their body shape will change and that they will not keep their clothes for long. »
Due to the reduced scale of the experiment – around 300 customers have subscribed to the subscription – the clothes rented by Kiabi are not put back on the shelves or rented, but directly sent towards a recycling or sales circuit. second hand. Their life cycle is therefore not much longer than that of new clothing. A new way of shopping? To be continued…
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