Flyrobe’s growth trajectory in the fashion rental space in India

Founded in 2015, Flyrobe is a Mumbai-based fashion rental startup trying to make a name for itself in the industry.

Aanchal Saini, CEO, Flyrobe says that the startup’s journey has been different from other retail stores as it started out with an online mode and then shifted to omnichannel.

The COVID-19 pandemic, according to the CEO, affected the startup’s business as it was primarily a wedding-based company. However, the startup has bounced back, seeing organic growth in the last two years, she shares.

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The pandemic increased conversations around sustainability and mindful consumption, the CEO says. This led to people trying rental as a service for the first time in terms of fashion and thus the startup’s CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) decreased. Apart from that, the financial restraint faced by the public during the pandemic also played an important role in growing its business.

“Most of the products that we provide are one-time wear,” she says.

In terms of growth metrics, Aanchal says that earlier, the company used to focus only on the supply side of the business. “Now we have developed like a two-way street where we take from society and give back to it,” she says.

Flyrobe’s inventory consists of company-owned and marketplace inventory. Under marketplace inventory, the startup has designers who give their items out via Flyrobe and even consumers who can also sell their items to Flyrobe.

Talking about the revenue scenario at the company, she shares that the company is looking to get back to pre-COVID levels in terms of revenue numbers.

“We should easily be doing over $2 million this year because we have seen good recovery,” says Aanchal.

Lastly, in terms of new categories, Aanchal says that the startup has launched jewellery but only on the storefront. Apart from that, items for pre-wedding shoots are something that the company had launched through the pandemic.

Going forward, the company also expects to launch a maternity wear collection.