Selfridges and HURR are partnering to help embed circularity in the business with the launch of an exclusive new store-to-consumer rental service.
Earlier this year, the department store partnered with leading peer-to-peer rental platform HURR to unveil the UK’s first in-store fashion rental pop-up. This new Hurr service is part of Project Earth, a major new sustainability initiative that builds on the industry leading steps Selfridges has taken over the last 10 years to place sustainability at the heart of the business. [more information to be announced on Monday 17th August 2020].
Bringing HURR’s technology and philosophy into the bricks-and-mortar Oxford Street store Selfridges will offer its customers the opportunity to rent from a carefully curated collection of contemporary and designer pieces. The Selfridges Rental Collection will offer more than 40 brands, such as Zimmermann, Cecilie Bahnsen and Emilia Wickstead, with over 100 pieces which can be rented in store and via Selfridges.com/HURR for 4, 8, 10 or 20 days.
Selfridges and HURR are working towards a future in which circularity is both a consideration and expectation for the industry and consumers alike. HURR CEO Victoria Prew comments “the future of fashion is a rent-buy model. We can now say that for the same price as a high street dress, you can actually have the real thing by renting it”.
With the rental and resale market largely driven by Millennials and Gen Z, Sebastian Manes, Executive Buying and Merchandising Director at Selfridges comments “alongside our in store and online retail offer, this new service opens a new way for our customers to trial luxury fashion, while also encouraging complete flexibility – maximising opportunity and minimising waste.”
This demographic’s loyalty to the environment and socially responsible businesses is a significant factor in driving purchase behaviour, and to continue the shift towards a nation of more conscious consumers, brands need to go beyond ongoing sustainability initiatives to fundamentally change the way they do business day-to-day.
Prew adds “In the fight for our future the fashion sector has to be circular but, first and foremost, it has to slow its growth, forecast what shoppers actually want and cut overproduction. The Selfridges Rental Collection, combined with the HURR in-store pop-up, gives the modern day woman what she wants; a combination of both renting and buying”.
