What's Behind the Exodus from Rent the Runway? • Hacker News Board

Re: What's Behind the Exodus from Rent the Runway?

#41

Post by dragonwriter » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 7:58 PM UTC

harryh wrote: post #24

notahacker wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm also sure people actually feel inclined to rent movies more often than they need to rent clothes. People buy the clothing they need to wear every day.

People also tend to throw out a lot clothing because they're bored with it, not because it gets worn out. There does appear to be a pretty big opportunity there.

> People also tend to throw out a lot clothing because they're bored with it, not because it gets worn out.

"Bored" is probably not the right word; getting rid of clothes that aren't worn out is driven, AFAICT, largely by changes in fit (because people change over time) and changes in fashion; the former doesn't tend to be planned/anticipated except for children or people engaging in deliberate programs (like planned diets), the latter also entails significant depreciation in the clothing (which occurs even if the reason the particular person gets rid of clothing is the first.)

There's obviously some opportunity for rental services (and several online rental services exist), but its not clear to me that its a "pretty big" opportunity, because for most people, the turn around times, even when they don't involve wear, are long enough that they involve significant depreciation.

Re: What's Behind the Exodus from Rent the Runway?

#42

Post by danieltillett » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 8:02 PM UTC

sageabilly wrote: post #2

Wow, the CEO sounds extremely out of touch with the company culture. If your company has a Facebook group for ex-employees to come together and process their terrible experience working for you, there's a problem regardless of if you're able to admit it to yourself. [Edit] Also, what happens if I rent a dress and hate it? Suddenly I'm two days out from an event with a dress that looks terrible and that I've spent $15…

I also fail to see how this service could possibly work. Based on my observation it is not like women walk into a store and know exactly what will look good on them just by looking at some dress hanging on the rack. The more fancy the dress the more fussy the whole process.

I have often wondered if a book-of-the-month type model would work with dresses. Lots of women have no real interest in following fashion, but they still want to look good. Just ship a new dress you know will fit and suit the women once a month (or week) and they keep it or ship it back.

Re: What's Behind the Exodus from Rent the Runway?

#43

Post by magic_beans » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 8:28 PM UTC

danieltillett wrote: post #42

sageabilly wrote: post #2

Wow, the CEO sounds extremely out of touch with the company culture. If your company has a Facebook group for ex-employees to come together and process their terrible experience working for you, there's a problem regardless of if you're able to admit it to yourself. [Edit] Also, what happens if I rent a dress and hate it? Suddenly I'm two days out from an event with a dress that looks terrible and that I've spent $15…

I also fail to see how this service could possibly work. Based on my observation it is not like women walk into a store and know exactly what will look good on them just by looking at some dress hanging on the rack. The more fancy the dress the more fussy the whole process. I have often wondered if a book-of-the-month type model would work with dresses. Lots of women have no real interest in following fashion, but th…

This exists already: https://www.trunkclub.com/

Re: What's Behind the Exodus from Rent the Runway?

#44

Post by magic_beans » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 8:30 PM UTC

xacaxulu wrote: post #30

"Three of them likened the atmosphere at Rent the Runway to the 2004 film Mean Girls. Each one made that reference separately, without prodding." "The former employee adds that there were “frequent screaming matches” in the office between top executives." “You don’t feel it’s an environment where women support each other,” an ex-employee told the the magazine under condition of anonymity. “It felt like high school, i…

Women aren't magical angels. Just like men, if you get a lot of ambitious, alpha women together, there WILL be contention.

Re: What's Behind the Exodus from Rent the Runway?

#45

Post by ismail » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 8:51 PM UTC

harryh wrote: post #24

notahacker wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm also sure people actually feel inclined to rent movies more often than they need to rent clothes. People buy the clothing they need to wear every day.

People also tend to throw out a lot clothing because they're bored with it, not because it gets worn out. There does appear to be a pretty big opportunity there.

* Note: not a women, Do not fashion trends. This is purely based on my observations of the women around me (wife, sisters etc etc), and some cursory reading on Zara etc.*

1. Things come and go into fashion, you have trends and 'mini-seasons' or something like that.

2. This is still driven by the major fashion labels

3. A critical thing has changed though: quite a number of companies have optimized their supply chain. I believe the term is called "Fast-fashion".

5. Examples: Zara, H&M, Mr Price (South Africa).

6. They are cost effective.

7. This means they get can a new design in stores within 2-4 weeks.

7. In other words, you could wear something that is 'in-fashion' at the same time as other high-end labels, previously with the long lead times and manufacturing in china you would get the item a season later. The followers were always behind.

8. This has resulted in changing behavior. Buying items from these stores. Using them for a few weeks or 1-2 months. And then getting rid of the item.

In other words, i believe the value proposition for rental of 'every-day' wear is quite weak.

Re: What's Behind the Exodus from Rent the Runway?

#46

Post by harryh » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 8:57 PM UTC

dragonwriter wrote: post #41

harryh wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People also tend to throw out a lot clothing because they're bored with it, not because it gets worn out. There does appear to be a pretty big opportunity there.

> People also tend to throw out a lot clothing because they're bored with it, not because it gets worn out. "Bored" is probably not the right word; getting rid of clothes that aren't worn out is driven, AFAICT, largely by changes in fit (because people change over time) and changes in fashion; the former doesn't tend to be planned/anticipated except for children or people engaging in deliberate programs (like planned…

The depreciation issue is offset by the fact that you could get more usage out of a single outfit before it goes out of fashion if it was shared. People aren't wearing the same thing every day. Clothes sit unused in closets for weeks at a time while they are still in fashion.

Re: What's Behind the Exodus from Rent the Runway?

#47

Post by harryh » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 9:03 PM UTC

ismail wrote: post #45

harryh wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People also tend to throw out a lot clothing because they're bored with it, not because it gets worn out. There does appear to be a pretty big opportunity there.

* Note: not a women, Do not fashion trends. This is purely based on my observations of the women around me (wife, sisters etc etc), and some cursory reading on Zara etc.* 1. Things come and go into fashion, you have trends and 'mini-seasons' or something like that. 2. This is still driven by the major fashion labels 3. A critical thing has changed though: quite a number of companies have optimized their supply chain.…

It's interesting that you admit that this is a topic on which you are largely ignorant and yet you speak with such confidence about your beliefs.

Re: What's Behind the Exodus from Rent the Runway?

#48

Post by wdewind » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 9:04 PM UTC

peterjancelis wrote: post #25

ismail wrote: post #9

“Given that Netflix is a $60 billion company—and we don’t have to watch TV or movies every day, but we do all have to get dressed—the potential for Rent the Runway was 10 times bigger than I ever thought,” This sound like a terrible investment thesis? It is ignoring all the differences between how you consume clothing vs media. The fact that there is physical distribution required vs digital. OR am I missing somethin…

We all have to breath way more than we need TV, yet oxygen isn't a 60 billion market. It's just a nonsensical statement.

Actually she's not that far off. It's a stupid way to phrase it, but the global apparel and global entertainment market sizes (as well as their corresponding USA measurements) are pretty similar (~500B/2T).

http://www.statista.com/statistics/279735/global-apparel-mar...

http://www.statista.com/statistics/237749/value-of-the-globa...

Re: What's Behind the Exodus from Rent the Runway?

#49

Post by erroneousfunk » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 9:07 PM UTC

danieltillett wrote: post #42

sageabilly wrote: post #2

Wow, the CEO sounds extremely out of touch with the company culture. If your company has a Facebook group for ex-employees to come together and process their terrible experience working for you, there's a problem regardless of if you're able to admit it to yourself. [Edit] Also, what happens if I rent a dress and hate it? Suddenly I'm two days out from an event with a dress that looks terrible and that I've spent $15…

I also fail to see how this service could possibly work. Based on my observation it is not like women walk into a store and know exactly what will look good on them just by looking at some dress hanging on the rack. The more fancy the dress the more fussy the whole process. I have often wondered if a book-of-the-month type model would work with dresses. Lots of women have no real interest in following fashion, but th…

I've used it a few times and loved it (I know, this sounds like an ad. I promise I have no personal involvement or investment in the company). They have a system where you can rent an extra size of the dress for no charge, so if you're unsure, or between sizes, you can almost always get the one that will fit you best. You can also get an extra style of dress for an extra $25, along with an extra size in that one too. So you basically get four dresses. I've never had a problem finding one that worked out well, but it also helps that they have extremely detailed fit notes, lots of photos, and encourage people (I think they offer discount promotions and things) to post photos and additional reviews of the dress. There have been times where I've seen a dress and thought "yes! That will work great!" got to the reviews and some "in the wild" photos and immediately changed my mind. And vice versa!

So, yeah, I think their system does work, it just takes a little effort, and you have to ship a lot of dresses around. I've been happy with it though!

Re: What's Behind the Exodus from Rent the Runway?

#50

Post by dragonwriter » Thu, Nov 19, 2015, 9:42 PM UTC

harryh wrote: post #46

dragonwriter wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People also tend to throw out a lot clothing because they're bored with it, not because it gets worn out. "Bored" is probably not the right word; getting rid of clothes that aren't worn out is driven, AFAICT, largely by changes in fit (because people change over time) and changes in fashion; the former doesn't tend to be planned/anticipated except for children or people engaging in deliberate programs (like planned…

The depreciation issue is offset by the fact that you could get more usage out of a single outfit before it goes out of fashion if it was shared. People aren't wearing the same thing every day. Clothes sit unused in closets for weeks at a time while they are still in fashion.

> The depreciation issue is offset by the fact that you could get more usage out of a single outfit before it goes out of fashion if it was shared.

Remote sharing of clothes imposes latent constraints; being available "on demand" is a key part of the value. And the things for which not having the clothes immediately on-hand is most acceptable are the things for which personal tailoring/alterations are most likely to be desired.