The debate whether luxury brands should embrace a rental/consignment strategy continues

Beyond the obvious potential benefit of attracting new loyalists, rental confirms a principle of luxury fashion—that its designs are timeless because they do not follow trends and their brands appeal to a universal internal consumer aesthetic and desire. Kering, LVMH and other luxury brands and houses have ongoing sustainability and circular economy initiatives, and luxury rental sites abound such as Rent The Runway and Luxe, a Paris-based luxury rental web platform that boasts over 1,000,000 customers.

Luxury brands also have an opportunity to integrate classic luxury retail practices into the new rental/consignment platforms. In the case of Burberry, consumers whose Burberry products are accepted by The RealReal will receive a personalised invitation to shop at a US Burberry boutique accompanied by a Burberry personal advisory shopper, clearly an attempt to infuse the consignment process and platform with a “High Touch/White Glove” sensibility and its brand experience.

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