Commitment issues over v-neck tees?... Perfect. Urban Outfitters is launching a clothing rental business: Nuuly. For $88, you get 6 pieces ($14.67 per item) + reusable bag + prepaid return envelope so you can send it all back in a month (or decide you love one/all of them and pay full price). The founder's son is running Nuuly, and he expects to hit 50K subscribers and $50M in revenues by this time next year.
Rent The Runway without the fancy... Urban's copying the model of clothing rental pioneer RTR, whose core biz is making glam gowns you can't afford (nice $650 Solani) yours for the weekend. Urban's focused on the un-ironed options stuffed in your drawer, starting this summer.
- Anthropologie & Free People: Urban owns both boho-chic brands, so they're included in the rental wardrobe.
- Random new partners: Reebok, Gal Meets Glam, and Levi's are also involved.
- Flea markets: Yep. The Urban team is hitting stands to curate pre-worn classics. Which you can rent. And then Urban dry-cleans and re-rents.
But will it cannibilize sales?... Unlike Rent The Runway, which only rents, Urban has to sell you clothing too... hopefully after you've rented. And the CEO thinks renting is just "trying before you're buying." With Urban stock down 19% this year, it's trying the clothing-sharing/closet-renting industry that's growing 20% annually.
PS: Urban also announced quarterly earnings after markets closed yesterday, and the results sent shares down 6%.