Rent It Bae Acquires Fashion Rental Startup Flyrobe, To Expand Abroad

Delhi-based startup AARK World Pvt. Ltd. that holds and administers fashion rental service Rent It Bae has procured fashion rental startup Flyrobe. The organisation has merged the two companies, and will now be working under the brand name Flyrobe.

The deal linking the two is a part-cash and part-stock. The new firm is estimated at 60 crores, Flyrobe responded in a statement.

The agreement is directed at accelerating growth and development. The company intends to grow its footprint in India and abroad to Dubai, London, and the US. This will be done through a franchise model also proposing to scale the marketplace model to the customer to customer renting.

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Credits: ET

Co-founded by three Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai alumni in September 2015, Flyrobe is being backed by Sequoia Capital, IDG Ventures (now Chiratae Ventures) and Tokyo-based GREE Ventures (now STRIVE), having secured $10 million in two rounds. In the freshest round last year, Flyrobe accumulated Rs 26 crore from existing stockholders at Rs 150 crore valuation after early-stage investment from Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Sandeep Tandon, Kunal Shah, Zishaan Hayath, Rohit Bansal, Kunal Bahl and Abhishek Jain in personal capacity.

To back this acquisition, AARK World has increased investment from its existing investor GEMS Partners, a micro VC fund in Delhi. A more massive Series A round is poised to happen. Flyrobe’s former investor STRIVE (formerly known as GREE Ventures) also continues investing in the new business.

Virtual experience in retail

Announcing the takeover, Aanchal Saini, Co-founder & CEO, Rent It Bae, and presently the CEO of Flyrobe, stated, “We are the first in India giving a wide variety of ethnic wear on rent. The aim is to increase our trail to national as well as international markets alongside searching for new business projects. With our on-going increase, we are excited to hit the Rs 100 crore point in the succeeding two years.”

She added that the company is launching virtual walls at all Flyrobe stores. Within months, the trial feature as Augmented Reality will be available on the mobile app. ‘Tryrobe’ is the name of the virtual experience.

She continued that the firm is starting virtual walls at all Flyrobe stores. Within months, the trial feature of Augmented Reality will be accessible on the mobile app. This virtual experience is termed ‘Tryrobe’.
Earlier this year, Rent It Bae began an AI-enabled fashion rental store with the opening of a virtual trial room. Implemented with virtual walls on virtual trail rooms. These make it attainable for users to try different outfits without having to wear them. The company additionally intends to combine virtual trial experience at all the brand stores. This includes Flyrobe’s apps (both ioS and android) by next semester.

To grow the business, the business plans to include an omnichannel strategy. This is because consumer interest for a multichannel shopping experience continues to rise.

Flyrobe currently aims on having one million clients in over 30 cities through its website, apps, and stores. The company proposes to inaugurate 15 owned and franchise shops in Tier I and Tier II cities in the ensuing 12 months.

The growing fashion rental space

Expanding at a CAGR of 10.6% year-on-year, the Indian fashion rental market is reaching Rs 12,000 crore, as per analyst estimations, with new businesses such as Stage 3, Liberent and Rent A Closet serving it to grow.

Flyrobe currently aims on having one million clients in over 30 cities through its website, apps, and stores. The company proposes to inaugurate 15 owned and franchise shops in Tier I and Tier II cities in the ensuing 12 months.

“With rising penetration of Internet, increasing efficiency of use of online shopping, and growing allure of millennials towards high-end fashion clothing without owning prized assets, there is a lot of growth potential in this section. Ethnic clothing and accessories on rental, especially for marriages and religious celebrations, are a big growth sector,” says Sanjay Arora, business manager of consultancy firm Wazir Advisors.

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Saumya Rastogi is an intern with SheThePeople.TV