Rent the Runway raises 60 million dollars

Fashion e-commerce, Rent the Runway, which allows consumers to rent designer apparel and accessories has raised 60 million dollars in a Series E round of funding led by Fidelity Management and Research Co. The round also includes participation from existing investors Technology Crossover Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Highland Capital Partners and Advance Publications.

Total investment in the company now stands at 190 million dollars, and this new round of financing it states will be used to “accelerate the company’s growth as it continues scaling its à la carte subscription rental products, retail stores and operational capacity.”

Rent the Runway plans to use the funding to scale its business in four key areas: the company’s original à la carte rental product, which now has 6 million members throughout the US; the Unlimited subscription business, giving women access to 40,000 dollars worth of designer apparel each year for a fixed monthly price; expansion of retail stores, currently in six cities, including San Francisco; and investing in its operations, which includes its reverse logistics platform.

Jennifer Hyman, co-founder of Rent the Runway and chief executive officer, said: “We are coming off our most successful year since the company’s inception, with the launch of our Unlimited subscription business, our partnership with Neiman Marcus and our new flagship store in New York.”

Rent the Runway was founded in 2009, and it has retail locations in Chicago, New York, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas.