Rent the Runway Q3 revenue jumps, losses widen

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Dec 10, 2021

Rent the Runway announced on Thursday a third quarter revenue jump of 66 percent year-over-year, but its net loss nearly doubled.

For the third quarter ended October 31, 2021, and its first reported quarter as a public company, the clothing rental service said revenue hit $59 million, up from $35.5 million in the third quarter of 2020. Its active subscriber base increased 78 percent year-over-year, reaching 116,833 up from 65,545 at the end of the third quarter of 2020. 

Still, its net loss was $87.8 million and nearly doubled when compared to $44.3 million in the third quarter of 2020. Net Loss as a percentage of revenue was 148.8 percent, as compared to 124.8 percent in the third quarter of 2020.

Over the course of the quarter, Rent the Runway onboarded 30 new brands including Altuzarra, LaQuan Smith, Rachel Antonoff and Rotate. It also launched fit algorithm enhancements, conducted a brand awareness campaign, as well as launched at-home pickup in five major metros. 

"We are excited to share our strong third quarter 2021 results and report for the first time as a public company,” said Jennifer Hyman, CEO and co-founder of Rent the Runway. 

“We delivered significant growth across subscribers and revenue and improved our gross margins. As a leader in clothing subscription and rental with a differentiated operating platform and deep competitive advantages, we believe these metrics are clear indicators of our ongoing business re-acceleration. We are incredibly energized about the opportunity for our Closet in the Cloud and are focused on execution, growing our subscriber base and capitalizing on the major secular trends in our favor including access over ownership, the sustainability of the secondhand economy and financial value.”

Looking ahead, for the fiscal fourth quarter 2021, Rent the Runway expects revenue in the range of $62.8 million to $63.3 million and its active subscriber base to be in the range of 121K to 122K. For the full fiscal year 2021, Rent the Runway expects revenue in the range of $202 million to $202.5 million. 

Rent the Runway made its initial public offering debut in late October, opening nearly 10 percent above the initial public offering price, before falling.