Rent it Bae acquires Flyrobe, a clothing rental business

Rent it Bae has acquired Flyrobe. Both are clothing rental businesses. The deal between the two startups is part cash and part stock. The merged business is exploring partnerships with franchise stores in 30 cities across India. International expansion is expected to follow.

Flyrobe is an online platform which rents out designer apparel and accessories. Flyrobe currently has over 5,000 products, procured from over 80 designers. While the retail price of a piece of apparel can range between Rs 8000 and Rs 2,00,000, Flyrobe rents it out for between Rs 799 and Rs 30,000 for four days, sharing 50 per cent of the rent earned with the designer. Flyrobe serves customers in Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Several start-ups that began online have also set up an offline presence. In going online to offline, while the core of business remains online, offline stores act as a sales touch point and a way of brand building. A user sees 300 to 350 products in the store, trys some of them and can make an online order from the store. This also builds the consumer’s trust in the brand that in case they don’t find something in the store, they can go through a wider catalog online and directly make an order.