Rent It Bae acquires Flyrobe

Fashion rental service, Rent It Bae, owned by AARK World, has acquired its rival Mumbai based Flyrobe in a part-cash and part-stock deal. The parent company AARK World has decided to merge the two fashion rental spaces and operate under the banner of Flyrobe. The value of the two companies is somewhere around INR 60 Cr post-merger.

With this deal, the new entity Flyrobe plans to hit profitability in the upcoming 12 months and accelerate its growth and expansion. Flyrobe plans to expand its services from five offline stores and plans to add another 15 owned and franchise stores in 2020 in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. It also aims to set foot overseas into Dubai, London and the US through a franchise model.

Flyrobe is currently present in 30 stores across India through online channels and is looking for a partnership with franchise stores to expand in more regions. The company believes that the experience of local players in their market will help Flyrobe gain mass customers. Founded in 2015 by Shreya Mishra, Pranay Surana, and Tushar Saxena, Flyrobe is a fashion rental service that allows users to rent premium apparel and accessories at a fraction of the retail price. The platform also catalogues collections from designers such as Ritu Kumar, Masaba Gupta, Quirk Box, Outhouse, etc.

The company, which was previously backed by Chiratae Ventures (formerly known as IDG Ventures India) and Sequoia Capitals, claimed to have over 1,800 curators and 3500 curation applications onboard.