Rent the Runway Adds Ski Apparel, Ath-leisure
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Rent the Runway has broadened its merchandise offerings to include skiwear and ath-leisure. The site is offering over 20 brands in both categories.
Available in sizes extra small to large, the brands that will be offered include Bogner, Spyder, Perfect Moment and Aztech Mountain, in addition to Lululemon, Terez, Fila, Champion, Mackage, P.E. Nation, Monrow, LNDR and Phat Buddha.
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Sarah Tam, chief merchant of Rent the Runway, said last fall, the company offered puffers, which performed well, and it could see by customer feedback and reviews that consumers were wearing the puffers and knits out on the slopes. “She just wants variety in her wardrobe for all aspects of her busy life — for work, a night out, weekends and vacations,” said Tam. “The active renting offers constant variety and newness that the customer can’t get through buying.”
She said it was eye-opening to study the reviews to see where shoppers were wearing these looks. “It was a white space that we saw that we weren’t offering a full selection in these places she wanted to wear our clothing to,” said Tam. She said the offering includes authentic skiwear for the slopes. There are more than 15,000 units from over 20 skiwear and ath-leisure brands on the site. “They’re definitely functional, fashion and après options,” she said.
She said skiwear started trickling on the site about three weeks ago, and now more items are being added daily, such as full ski onesies, that are coming in for ski season. So far, Tam said, the knit onesies, ski jackets and turtlenecks have been the most popular.
As far as price points, a Bogner ski jacket for a onetime rental is $95 ($550 retail), while a hoodie is $50 ($298 retail). Aztech Mountain’s turtleneck for a onetime rental is $80 ($485 retail), while ski pants are $125 ($725 retail).
Items are available via Rent the Runway’s subscription offerings Unlimited, Update and Reserve. RTW Unlimited, a $159 monthly subscription, offers members access to a continuously rotating closet with unlimited rentals from more than 650 designer brands, including Marni, Proenza Schouler, Tanya Taylor, Carven, Derek Lam and Loeffler Randall. RTR Unlimited subscribers can rent four or more items at a time and exchange and select new items as many times as they like. RTR Update, an $89 monthly subscription, includes four or more pieces delivered once a month from over 400 top brands and designers, including Tory Burch, DVF, Milly, Opening Ceremony and The Kooples. RTR Reserve, or four or eight-day rentals, starts at $30.
After several hiccups this fall, Tam said everything on the site is back to normal. “We are fulfilling all our customer promises and shipping is back to normal,” she said.
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