Rental App By Rotation Puts Own Twist on Resale
LONDON — The fast-growing fashion rental app By Rotation is starting the year with another trick up its sleeve: resale.
That’s not to say that the company, founded by former financier Eshita Kabra-Davies, wants to go after the business of Vestiaire Collective, Depop, or other major resellers. By Rotation is approaching resale as a way of enhancing its philosophy of shared ownership, and engaging its growing British community with another complementary service.
More from WWD
The feature is being introduced this week for the app’s verified lenders. Verification is another new element, which was introduced as a “precursor to resale,” and was designed to offer additional privileges to the platform’s most engaged users.
Users can be verified if they are regularly active on the app, have a minimum of three reviews from renting out their fashion items and at least a four-star rating — it’s a more democratic take on Instagram’s sought-after blue ticks.
Verified lenders will then be able to rent or sell, with By Rotation offering price recommendations just like it does for rentals — usually at 70 percent off the original selling price. Users will be able to make purchase requests rather than buying straightaway, to give lenders-cum-sellers room to think about whether they want to sell, and to whom, as well as keep the conversations ongoing among the rotator community.
Community was indeed the main driving force behind the company’s decision to delve into resale, having spotted that this was the top most wanted feature in user feedback surveys for 2021.
Courtesy of By Rotation
Kabra-Davies, who rents out her entire wardrobe on the app, said she’d been approached several times by lenders who wanted to purchase one of her Gucci scarves, or limited-edition D?en dress, so she decided to take the leap.
“In the past, when we got those kinds of requests we would just put the rental price higher. Lenders would say, ‘Maybe you can list the item on Depop so I can buy it,’ but now we can offer them to buy it straight off the app,” she said, adding that users will also be able to transfer ownership once an item is purchased, so the new owner can continue renting out the item on the platform without the need for new listings.
“It’s another engagement tool, a way for us to motivate our lenders to be more active — but it won’t be a main focus, we don’t want to be another resale platform. We still very much believe in rotating between the community and the concept of shared ownership,” added Kabra-Davies.
She wants to own the peer-to-peer rental space and empower her customers first and foremost, before looking for brand partnerships or new revenue streams.
“Anything business-to-business we do would be around our data and analytics, but we’re not actively pursuing that at the moment, as we’re still focused on spreading our mission to all parts of the country, and hopefully, the world. Our core business isn’t about exclusive partnerships or keeping stock, because we don’t want to compete with lenders either. It gives mixed signals to the community: What would be the point of someone spending time to take good pictures and list their items on the app, and, all of a sudden, brands coming in undercutting their prices?” she said, explaining that brands on the app tend to list their products and manage their own profiles, just like any other regular user.
“We just allow people to list and rent out what they bought last weekend and that usually means more, and better, listings. Rixo is our most popular brand, for instance, and we have over 25 times more listings than platforms which have direct partnerships with the brand.”
Kabra-Davies said rentals are going from strength to strength.
“We thought January and February would be quiet months, but we have already surpassed all our expectations for this month,” she said, pointing to party dresses and skiing outfits as the most in-demand categories at the moment.
Courtesy of By Rotation
“By now people have their head around this new concept, and can see that it’s more economically beneficial — sustainability comes after. [It’s why] we introduced ‘By Rotation Unwrapped’ at the end of 2021, offering a year in review for customers to see how much they saved in terms of money and environmental footprint. A lot of users were sharing it widely on social media, and I think it brought us back to top of mind. Some users shared earnings of up to 8,000 pounds for the year, so people can now clearly see that you are essentially paid to have good style.”
Looking ahead, Kabra-Davies has a “pretty intense product road map” in the works to acquire new users and convert them into customers. It includes everything from new in-app features; commercial partnerships that will act us complementary add-ons to the rental services; a full schedule of social events to keep its stylish community of rotators engaged, and more physical activations in London and across the U.K., building on the success of its pop-ups in Westfield and Marylebone.
“Retail is great for brand awareness. A lot of the people who come into our pop-ups are passersby who might not be active in our usual form of customer acquisition, which is social media, the App Store, or Google ads. The other day we had a woman in her late 30s come in to rent a dress for a ball, and she then returned to attend our wellness workshop even if ours might not have been her usual crowd,” said Kabra-Davies.
“Physical activations help make our business multidimensional: people are surrounded by us and our values and concept, rather than just renting a dress for the weekend. We might not want to open a traditional physical store, but I do envision something like a meeting point or workshop space for our community.”
To push all its plans forward, the company is engaged in an investment round, with new venture capital investors soon to be revealed. Kabra-Davies said the new investment will also help accelerate the company’s international expansion ambitions, particularly in France and the U.S.
Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
