The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
The author has shared a Podcast.You will need to accept and consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies by our third-party partners (including: YouTube, Instagram or Twitter), in order to view embedded content in this article and others you may visit in future.
To subscribe to the BoF Podcast, please follow this link.
The pandemic was a near-death experience for Rent the Runway, the business that introduced and popularised renting fashion on a wide scale in the United States. As consumers stopped heading to offices and events, chief executive Jennifer Hyman was left wondering: “Will my business still be relevant after Covid?” The executive had to make difficult decisions, fast, laying off and furloughing staff and cutting spending.”
As a leader, that was for sure the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to do,” Hyman told BoF’s Lauren Sherman at VOICES 2020, describing it as “the second founding moment of the company.”
Now, as retail, restaurants and workplaces slowly begin to re-open, the company is betting on a post-pandemic shift in consumer values that couples a desire for more sustainable consumption with a “hedonistic” environment of “worldwide euphoria,” Hyman said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Articles:
Inside the Closet of the Future
The Pandemic Changed the Way People Live. How Can Fashion Adapt?
Join BoF Professional for the analysis and advice you need. Get 30 days for just $1 or explore group subscriptions for your business.
