The other day while waiting on my grandmother, I read an interesting article in Glamour magazine’s May 2011 issue. Inside was an article called “The Star-up Queen’s Rules for Confidence at Work.” However, it wasn’t the ladies four rules which peaked my interest, but the business their business.
Jennifer Human (30) and Jennifer Fleiss (27) were two Harvard Business School buddies who started an online business where fashionista’s around the world could rent high-end designer fashion for special events. The web site is called RENTTHERUNWAY.COM (RTR). According to the article, the two women received $1.75 million to start the site, and two years later the site boasts 750,000 members, 120 brands, and 45 employees. The clothing listed on the site are rented for around 10% of the total cost of the dress.
How does the process of renting a dress work? A fashionable young woman finds herself in a situation where she needs a great outfit for a special occasion or event, but “EEK” she has nothing to wear. A common problem fixed by logging into RTR, searching the large database of outfits/dresses, and then reserving the date the outfit will be needed. The dress will arrive in time for your event freshly cleaned. They also have insurance on the item for $5 in case you accidently spill something on the gown. Plus a backup is sent in an additional size just in case the dress is too big.
IMPORTANCE TO INTERNET PR
RTR is an online business servicing women all over the globe. How did they build their massive group of fashionistas and why did I only hear about it through a magazine?
The site has been featured in many blogs, magazines, newspapers, etc which they provide links to via their press page. Facebook, blogging, and Twitter are all tools the company actively engages. RTR’s Facebook page has 25, 822 likes and the posts on the page are of: clients raving about how much they loved their outfit, links to RTR’s latest blog, and interesting fashion news. On the Twitter page, RTR has 6,643 followers, following 363, and listed 359 times. Tweets reflect the same things as the Facebook page. Obviously Facebook is the biggest group of their clients.
The RTR blog contains the latest fashion news and what’s being seen on the runways. Although, they do have an area on their site where clients can provide video feedback to the company.
I find it interesting how the total number of followers on Facebook and Twitter are less than the amount of clients the company boasts.
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