Global retailer French Connection has become the first major fashion brand to launch an on-demand rental service for latest-season stock in the UK. French Connection Rental will allow customers to rent individual pieces from its current collection, and unlike other brands’ rental services, will not require a subscription. The service will be powered by rental-as-a-service platform Zoa Rental, which will provide the technology and integrated operations behind the website.
French Connection Rental is initially focused on occasion-wear, holiday-wear and work-wear, with over 100 styles, as it seeks to take advantage of the rapidly-growing UK rental market. With 2022 to be the first Spring / Summer in two years without any social restrictions, events and weddings are set to fuel unprecedented demand for rental outfits.
Items are available to rent from 4 to 15 days on French Connection Rental, with prices starting from £10 for garments that retail for up to £205.
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Example of stock available to rent:
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ARABELLE EMBROIDERED DRESS SUMMER SKY Available To Hire From £40 |
ELAO VERONA CREPE SMOCK DRESS FORGET ME NOTAvailable To Hire From £20 |
BLOSSOM DELPHINE SHIRT DRESS ALUMINIUMAvailable To Hire From £21 |
The move by French Connection is indicative of the increasing importance global fashion brands are placing on sustainable and circular fashion. Several leading retailers have recently entered the rental market through partnerships with rental websites (for example Marks & Spencer scaled up its partnership with leading rental platform Hirestreet in the last few weeks). French Connection, however, is the first major brand to let its customers rent individual items from its latest collection directly from it, on-demand.
“Growth in the rental market is outstripping traditional retail by 20x, driven by consumer demand for sustainable, affordable fashion. This summer will be the biggest ever for rental in the UK” said Isabella West, CEO of Zoa Rental. “We are delighted to be supporting French Connection in the next stage of their rental journey. We first started working together via a Hirestreet partnership many years ago. Their stock has always performed very well in a rental model and launching their own-brand offer is a natural next step”.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Zoa to bring premium highstreet to the hire customer and support the ever growing appetite of hiring. We’re really excited to showcase our product to this audience and be at the forefront of this movement.” Simon Donoghue, Retail Director.
Zoa Rental has built its proprietary technology to enable retailers to offer rental services directly to their customers without having to build the whole operation from scratch. It now powers 8 different UK rental services, including Turkey’s leading rental brand, DCEY, and CLOAN, which lets consumers rent outfits from their favourite influencers.
