Rent the Runway Reports Higher-Than-Expected Revenue

Rent the Runway (New York) announced its revenue increased from $33.5 million last year in the first quarter of 2021 to $67.1 million for the first quarter of 2022 – a 100-percent increase year-over-year, according to a company press release.

Its active subscribers also rose by 82 percent by the end of the quarter, a 17 percent increase from the previous quarter. The company is aiming to keep up with its competitors by using the rescheduling of events that were supposed to happen during the pandemic as a form of advertisement for its various clothing options.

Rent the Runway says prior to the pandemic its product styles consisted mostly of office attire, and post-pandemic the company has begun to see a rise in special occasion apparel.

“Rent the Runway has never been more relevant than it is today. Whether our customers are traveling, dining out, attending events, heading back to the office, or simply hanging out with friends, they are turning to our platform for a more affordable, convenient and sustainable way to express their joy and infuse fashion variety into virtually every use case in their lives,” says CEO and Co-Founder Jennifer Hyman.

In late 2020, Rent the Runway shuttered all of its physical store locations in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Currently the retailer operates a location in New York that serves as a hub for drop-off return services and order pick-up. The company doesn’t have any plans at this time to open any physical locations.