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After hitting a key profitability milestone last year, Rent the Runway is back in growth mode.
The rental service ended its most recent quarter with a record number of active subscribers — up 1 percent from last year — after setting in motion plans to double its inventory in 2025, the company said Thursday. Revenue in the three months ending April 30 fell 7.2 percent year-over-year, to $70 million, while net loss increased to $26 million from $22 million in the first quarter of 2024.
For the full fiscal year, Rent the Runway forecasts “double-digital growth” in active subscribers. Shares rose 12 percent Thursday afternoon.
Earlier this year, the company announced an aggressive plan to increase inventory, responding to an oft-cited point of friction among users that new or popular products are frequently out-of-stock. In conjunction with its “We Heard You” campaign, Rent the Runway increased inventory orders by 24 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2025 and has plans to ramp up inventory by 134 percent in the remainder of the year, projecting to launch more than 90 new brands.
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Customer response has been encouraging based on improved engagement, the company said. Subscriber retention is at a four-year high, co-founder and chief executive Jennifer Hyman told The Business of Fashion, while products in the first quarter have seen a 23 percent rise in share of views, with 46 percent more hearts — how users favour products to select what pieces to rent — compared to last year.
“Last year, we proved the business model and the unit economics of the model work. The industry of rental is now mainstream. Millions of women are now renting clothes every single year, and now is the time to invest again in growth,” Hyman said. “Given the model fundamentally works, we’re playing offense.”
Last year, Urban Outfitter’s rental service Nuuly eclipsed Rent the Runway to become the biggest fashion rental company in terms of active subscribers. As part of its growth plan, Rent the Runway is leaning into what makes its offering differentiated, Hyman said. Whereas the Nuuly customers favour more casual styles, the Rent the Runway shopper seeks professional and occasion-driven styles with a “playful, feminine and polished aesthetic,” as Hyman puts it.
Rent the Runway has also expanded its slate of customer features, including a styling concierge service, a personalised website interface and back-in-stock notifications.
“I have never had more conviction for the future of the company,” Hyman said.
Learn more:
How Rent the Runway Came Back From the Brink
The rental platform saw its stock soar last week after predicting it would hit a key profitability metric this year. A new marketing push and more robust inventory are the key to unlocking elusive growth, CEO Jenn Hyman tells BoF.
