In the past week, rental brands have proved resilient despite price hikes and price hikes. Richemont finally shed the expensive burden that was Yoox Net-a-Porter, paving the way for Farfetch’s continued climb. Also: Victoria’s Secret tried to turn bad press into good press, and Coty had a strong second half of the year.
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Rent is having a surprisingly good time.
Buried this week by Urban Outfitters’ earnings — as the company posted more revenue than ever, but profits fell — was a bright spot for urban rental company Nulli, which broke 100,000 subscribers in the quarter.
Indeed, Nulli is doing well for City, with sales reaching nearly $19 million in the quarter and adding more than $30 million in the last six months.
At some point, when rationalization costs go down and supply chain costs go up, a segment like rent will do well. People often rent clothes when going out or having events. It’s also a room where shipping clothes back and forth is one of the biggest expenses.
But other rental services are also doing well. In June, Rent the Runway surpassed all revenue guidance, with revenue growing 100% year over year. That success came in part from last year’s revamp of its subscription model, which resulted in a nearly doubling of profit margins.
Richmont x Farfetch x YNAP
Richmont finally landed Yoox Net-a-Porter this week in a complex joint venture with Farfetch. While Richmont is happy to have YNAP and its losses on its books, Farfetch is the real winner of the deal.
As part of the agreement, all Richmont brands will begin using Farfetch’s technology to power their e-commerce offering. Farfetch has already done the same for famous luxury brands like Chanel and Brunello Cucinelli. Now, part owner (and possibly full owner) of YNAP, Farfetch has absorbed one of its main rivals and added several more lucrative e-commerce deals to its portfolio.
Victoria’s Secret is taking criticism in stride.
Victoria’s Secret hasn’t had the most positive press in the past few months. In addition to the Hulu documentary about the dove’s devastating effect on women’s body image and the relationship between its owner Lex Wexner and Jeffrey Epstein, singer Jax’s viral Tik Tok song “Victoria’s Secret” exposed the brand’s influence. on young women.
But Victoria’s Secret CEO Martin Waters says the brand welcomes the attention.
“It keeps us mentally high. And that’s a good thing,” Waters said in a press release on Thursday.
Victoria’s Secret publicly responded to Jax’s song on Instagram, agreeing with the song’s content and trying to absorb the criticism instead of channeling it. This fits with being a more progressive brand than Victoria’s Secret’s overall branding efforts.
But his reaction to the documentary was different.
“It had really, really low viewing figures. [and] The series finishes are even lower,” Watts said. “And at the end of the series, the relatively few people who made it to the end had a strong sense of the brand coming out rather than coming in.”
Koti thanks to Travel Retail.
The effect of lipstick has never been more literal. Amid high inflation and rising costs, Coty’s revenue rose 10 percent last quarter, beating analysts’ estimates and positioning the beauty company for strong and steady growth for the rest of the year.
Estee Lauder and Laurel, Coty’s biggest competitors, also had strong positions.
Coty CEO Sue Nabi attributed the company’s growth to strong sales in e-commerce and travel retail.
“I really hope that everyone sees these eight quarters of better-than-expected or earlier-than-expected results as a great achievement,” Nabi said on Thursday’s earnings call.
