Front row clothing rental

Case Analysis Paper:

Can the sharing economy work in the luxury business?
What kind of customers should Front Row Tribe target, and what channels would be most appropriate?
How should Front Row Tribe approach expanding into European, U.S. and other international markets?
What other suggestions would you have for Front Row?
Note: Your write-ups should be around 1000-1200 words, plus exhibits.

Paper needs to be submitted via Turnitin - No plagiarism

Outside source needs to be citedThe e ESSEEC Bussinesss Caase e Coll C lecttion n 1 case centre Distributed by The Case Centre www.thecasecentre.org All rights reserved North America t +1 781 239 5884 e info.usa@thecasecentre.org Rest of the world t +44 (0)1234 750903 e info@thecasecentre.org Purchased for use by Karun Kapoor on 06-Jul-2019. Order ref F356661. You are permitted to view the material on-line and print a copy for your personal use until 6-Jul-2020. Please note that you are not permitted to reproduce or redistribute it for any other purpose. Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F356661 317-0386-1 317-0386-1 Rev: 24 October, 2017 Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F356661 Abstract: Front Row Tribe is an Italian startup which is active in the online rental service of luxury garments. The business was launched by two young girls from Milan who had a passion for fashion. The girls were Olimpia Pitacco, who had worked in Vogue’s editorial business, and Gabriela Pacini, who was previously a merchandising assistant in Gucci and Valentino. The startup, Front Row Tribe, came from an idea that people can rent some of the hottest designer pieces of the season. The intention was to make designer brands such as Missoni, Kenzo, Philipp Plein and Francesco Scognamiglio accessible to the customers. All the pieces in the website are purchased at wholesale price during fashion weeks in Milan, Paris and London, where brands come to know the concept and join Front Row Tribe’s network. Once the items are placed on the website, clients could select their favorite and subsequently place an order, paying 10%-15% of the retail price; after two days, they received the runway look in a beautiful packaging, becoming temporary owners for four days. Although the site worked at the European level, the target market was Italy, where the direct marketing campaign was concentrated. Front Row Tribe’s innovative business model opened the discussion to the potential disruptive role of the sharing economy in the luxury industry. The concept was not new in the U.S., where Rent the Runway, founded in 2009, proposed a similar online platform and experienced great success. Rent the Runway by 2015 had 5.5 million members and accounted for $1.3 billion of revenues. It also opened its first stand-alone, offline store in NYC Flatiron District. This case analyzes and more specifically, it addresses the following questions: (a) understand the key success factors in the sharing economy (b) analyze the disruptive nature of e-business in the fashion industry (c) role of state in promoting the online and digital paradigm (d) analyze the business model of FRT and its evolution in the European context (e) understand that the evolution of a startup is directly linked to the very first consumer reactions (f) understand the strategic rationale behind company choices. Keywords: Front Row Tribe; Rent the Runway; web platform; sharing economy; rental service; e-commerce; digital natives; online business model; luxury brands; operations management; logistics and delivery; Italy; direct marketing; growth strategy. Eleonora Bertola, exchange student, prepared this case under the supervision of Ashok Som, Professor of Global Strategy at ESSEC Business School, as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. ©Ashok Som 2017 2 Purchased for use by Karun Kapoor on 06-Jul-2019. Order ref F356661. You are permitted to view the material on-line and print a copy for your personal use until 6-Jul-2020. Please note that you are not permitted to reproduce or redistribute it for any other purpose. Front Row Tribe: The Sharing Economy meets the Luxury Industry 317-0386-1 Introduction The startup birth Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F356661 “Though for many years Italian fashion has had the reputation of not being necessarily progressive, there is currently a slew of fresh Made in Italy fashion startups demonstrating the contrary. Many of them choose to combine the world of fashion with that of tech; others have simply succeeded in creating fashion-forward apparel and accessories, redefining Italy’s fashion narrative”.