Marks & Spencer launches first fashion rental trial

Marks & Spencer has made its first move into the fashion rental space in partnership with Hirestreet, with clothing from the retailer's current collection, including M&S X Ghost dresses, available to rent from today.

The move follows the investment by M&S's Founders Factory Joint Venture into the operator of Hirestreet, Zoa Group. The Founders Factory Joint Venture was established in 2018 and was designed to identify and accelerate emerging businesses and provide M&S with valuable insight into industry change and trends.

M&S said the partnership would allow it to "test & learn" in the rental space, which is one of fashion's fastest growing markets with the UK clothing rental market value expected to reach £2.3 billion by 2029 (versus £400 million in 2019), according to GlobalData.

The collection of M&S items on Hirestreet have a selling price of between £69 and £299 and will be available to rent from just £13 for four days.

M&S has joined Hirestreet

M&S Chief Operating Officer, Katie Bickerstaffe said: “Clothing rental is a growing market and working with Hirestreet through our Founders Factory joint venture gives us a huge opportunity to learn from the leading start-up in this space, operate in an agile way and better understand what our customers want from rental services.

“As we grow M&S clothing, we want to be more relevant more often and we know customers are increasingly interested in the circular fashion economy. Our partnership with Hirestreet means we are putting M&S clothing in front of new customers and our first rental edit doesn’t just showcase the style we have on offer, it also highlights the value and quality of clothing that is made to last.”

Isabella West, Founder and CEO, Zoa Rental and Hirestreet added: “At Zoa we’re on a mission to transform the future of fashion. M&S is one of the largest clothing retailers in the UK with a reputation for quality and well-made clothes - their move into rental is a hugely positive step forwards for the fashion industry.

“True sustainability does not exist without accessibility. Rental fashion is more than just providing temporary access to designer items, it’s about giving consumers alternatives to traditional consumption and making the best use of the resources we have.

"I’m delighted to have M&S and Founders Factory on board as we power the sharing economy of the future.”

Hirestreet was one of the trailblazers in the UK fashion rental market and was founded in 2018. In May of this year the company made its proprietary rental platform software, Zoa, available to the wider market.

Read our recent interview with Isabella West here.