My Wardrobe HQ merges with Cercle to form rental powerhouse

Fashion rental service My Wardrobe HQ (MWHQ) has today announced its merger with fashion resale and rental platform Cercle. This strategic move sees MWHQ expand its global presence and enhance its luxury offering.

By joining forces, MWHQ and Cercle are not just merging platforms, they're combining expertise, resources, and networks to "redefine luxury fashion rental and resale on a global scale". Not only does the merger strengthen MWHQ's UK presence, but it also plans to scale the B2B unit of the business. This enables brands to create their own rental and resale offerings, powered by MWHQ.

As part of the merger, Coco Baraer Panazza, Founder of Cercle, will be joining My Wardrobe HQ as CEO. Sacha Newall will transition into the role of COO to spearhead the international expansion plans, leveraging combined funding of $3.7 million across both businesses.

Coco Baraer Panazza brings invaluable insights into the luxury consumer market to the MWHQ team. Her expertise in catering to the needs of the new generation of luxury consumers will be instrumental in driving triple-digit growth and international expansion.

Coco Baraer Panazza said: "This merger marks a significant milestone for both My Wardrobe HQ and Cercle.

"Looking at the global fashion rental and resale market, there is a need for consolidation to optimise how we support brands with their circularity efforts for the industry to become more sustainable and how we offer the best service and curation to the end consumers. I am excited to join forces with the MWHQ team, as we are at a time where collaboration over competition will allow the drastic change needed in the industry and for all of us to build more impactful businesses at scale."

Sacha Newall, COO of My Wardrobe HQ, added: "We are thrilled to welcome Coco Baraer Panazza to the My Wardrobe HQ family and to announce our merger with Cercle.

"This strategic move not only strengthens our position in the fashion rental market but also allows us to better serve our ultra-high-net-worth international clientele. We are at a moment in time where for sustainable options to become a default for the wider consumer market, it makes sense for companies in the space to come together. We have welcomed Wear the Walk, Rotaro and now Cercle to the My Wardrobe HQ family and we hope to see more consolidation soon."

This merger reflects the growing resale trend. Earlier this year, Bloomberg Intelligence published a report called ‘Global Apparel the Rise of Rental, Resale and Repair’. It revealed that the high-end rental and resale market could grow five times by 2025, "significantly outpacing" the anticipated growth rate for new apparel.

What’s more, circular business models have the potential to grow to 23% of the global fashion market by 2030, driven by "rising consumer-sustainability awareness", along with inflation squeezing consumer spending power.