Rent the Runway to close all physical stores
Fashion subscription company Rent the Runway is to close all of its physical stores as it looks to focus on its investments on digital and drop boxes instead.
The company’s New York store is to become a permanent drop off site while stores in San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington DC will all not reopen following their closure due to lockdowns.
The company currently operates drop boxes with WeWork, Nordstrom and West Elm but now plans to increase the number of companies it works with to six.
Subscribers to Rent the Runway used the stores to drop off clothes or accessories, swap items or use a styling service.
The company has been adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic due to a decline in people needing new clothes for work or special occasions. It embarked on a cost cutting exercise when the pandemic hit in the spring and also cut its entire retail workforce.
