M&S is to continue with its rental collection following an overwhelmingly positive reaction from customers to the launch of the scheme in late 2021 in partnership with Hirestreet.
With 98% of its Hirestreet customers who rented from the M&S Autumn Winter collection last year saying they would continue to rent, the retailer has gone ahead and launched a rental Spring collection and marks an even bigger collaboration with the rental platform.
The collection for Spring is made up of 40 new season womenswear pieces from M&S’s in-house brands Autograph and Per Una, as well as for the first time M&S Collection, all available to rent from Hirestreet for four days from as little as £10.
Since launching last year, the M&S team has worked with Hirestreet to test and learn clothing rental behaviours. Although the fashion rental economy is typically associated with formal dressing, 53% of Hirestreet customers rent M&S products for casual social events.
To date, M&S has proved to be the most popular brand for a ‘bundle’, with a quarter of all bundle orders containing an M&S product. The ‘bundle’ allows customers to select three different outfits for a 30-day rental period for just £50 – in order to mix up how they wear items for any occasion, showcasing the versatility and everyday style of M&S clothing.
Underpinning the partnership with Hirestreet is M&S’s commitment to building a sustainable future – driving the circular economy as part of the Plan A target to become a Scope 3 net zero business by 2040. Customers’ growing sustainability concerns is a key factor in the rental market’s growth and according to The M&S Family Matters Index Report, over a third of consumers now consider the climate crisis when purchasing clothes.
Richard Price, MD of Clothing & Home, Marks & Spencer comments: “At M&S our focus is ensuring our product is more relevant, more often for our customers’ lives – that’s not just what we offer but how. We know customers are increasingly interested in the circular economy and rental which is why we started our exciting partnership with Hirestreet last year. The feedback so far has been great with Hirestreet users discovering the everyday style & value of our clothing on the platform. We’re continuing to test & learn this Spring/Summer with a new collection which is perfect for a range of occasions – including the holidays and special events we know consumers are really looking forward to.”
Rosie Hartman, Strategy Lead, Hirestreet says: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with M&S, with the launch of the Spring collection, making this our largest ever retailer collaboration. With a reputation for stylish and quality clothing, M&S items have proved popular from the moment they launched on Hirestreet. Clothing rental is often associated with special occasions, but the popularity of M&S clothes, many of which are versatile for any occasion, demonstrates how the future of fashion rental is changing – today rental fashion is more than just providing temporary access to designer items. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the team at M&S to curate the perfect collection for the new season and can’t wait to hear the response from our customers.”
