by LONDON – Less than a year after crossing a funding threshold of 10 million pounds, circular clothing platform Hurr has hit a long-awaited new rental milestone.
The business, which operates peer-to-peer rentals and works with more than 130 brand partners including Net-a-porter, Selfridges, Ganni, Nancy Dojaka and Coperni, has secured £100 million worth of fashion rentals since its launch in 2018.
More from WWD
Hurr, which has no merchandise, operates peer-to-peer and brand-to-consumer platforms.
It takes their own technology to rent over 85,000 luxury fashion items currently on the site. It also applies its proprietary technology to its partner businesses, powering rental platforms for online and physical retailers and brands.
Co-founder and chief executive Victoria Prew said the £100 million rental target was set when the company launched, and that achieving that was “proof that fashion rental works. It’s a great opportunity for the retailers, the brands, and the customers who want that different way to shop.”
While the company encourages “access to ownership,” Prew said in an interview that she doesn’t want people to stop buying.
“We want to buy them better, and we see rental as a key way to find new fashion. You rent something from a brand, and if you love it, you can buy it in a more respectful way,” she said.
According to Hurr, 80 percent of customers say they are more likely to buy from a brand if they have rented from it first.
Over the past year, Hurr has also been refining its model with the launch of Hurr Flex, a credit system that allows longer-term and multiple rentals lasting up to 30 days.
Hurr launched the service in May after seeing a rise in consumer demand for more flexible terms. She said it is clear that clients are expanding their range and moving beyond occasion wear into casual clothing.
“According to the early data points we’re seeing, we’ve rented everything from a Toteme coat scarf, to a Burberry trench, to a Ganni knit vest. They’re not just the statement pieces you rent for four days,” she said.
While Hurr’s main business is rentals, the site also allows customers to buy their favorite pieces, and even relist them for rent on the site. Last year, leading peer-to-peer lender Hurr made £100,000 in revenue.
Items on the site do not last long. Hurr’s policy is to list pieces on its resale channel after they’ve been rented about 20 times, and even that channel is growing.
“We’re a rent-first business, but we’re also building a fully 360-degree circular offering, of which resale is a very fast-growing part. I see a lot of convergence between rental and resale, and we always talk about resale being an extended version of rental,” Prew said.
Hurr’s backers include Octopus Ventures, Praetura Ventures, Ascension and D4 Ventures. With their support, Prew is pursuing further category and sector expansions with a particular focus on outerwear and skiing, both of which outperformed in 2023.
In the coming months, Prew said Hurr will announce its first partnership with a luxury brand, although she declined to say which one.
The business is also very responsive to trends, looking closely at what people are wearing at music festivals and other public events. Hurr will often create an associated array on the site, or contact the relevant brands to arrange.
Hurr’s latest milestone comes at a time when rent is at an all-time high, particularly in the UK.
Last month, it was discovered that the new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, his wife Victoria Starmer, and top members of the Labor party cabinet had accepted thousands of pounds of free clothes and other gifts from donors rich party.
Although these types of donations are accepted within the rules, the politicians failed to disclose the gifts in a timely and transparent manner. The prime minister and his colleagues in the UK media were criticized and ridiculed, and eventually said that they would no longer accept any donations of clothes.
The media furor has also fueled public speculation about why politicians and their spouses don’t rent their clothes for public events, such as Britain’s former First Lady Carrie Johnson. Johnson, the wife of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, rented her wedding dress and set of outfits for the 2021 G7 summit from My Wardrobe HQ.
Rentals are big business, and it’s not just Hurr that’s growing.
Rent the Runway, a publicly listed company, led the rental category. Although it has had to cut back and fine-tune its strategies in recent years, sales are rising and losses are shrinking.
Later this week, RTR will embark on a college tour across the Southeast US and Texas to bring its fashion to major universities and a hungry Gen Z audience.
Fashion rental stores, showrooms and other services are also proliferating throughout Los Angeles. One of the latest showrooms to open is called The Show Must Go On, founded by Hollywood stylist and costume designer Zerina Akers.
The best of WWD
Sign up for the WWD Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
