Attending a wedding is a unique experience, and it is so exclusive that it often causes major headaches to choose the dress. This was what inspired Ignacio Valea to launch jointythe first platform for renting party clothes among consumers.
The textile sector is the second most polluting after the oil sector, which is why more and more sustainable business models are emerging in this sector. Social networks are great creators of needs, which means that we always want to be acquiring new clothes. Jointy is a platform that wants to allow its users to continue doing so, but being sustainable, something they achieve by renting clothes.
Ignacio Valea is the CEO and founder of this project that has been underway for barely a year and that has already managed to close a financing round of 75,000 euros.
EcN: Renting clothes for events has been around forever, but in the new generations it was something that was being lost…
Ignacio Valea (IV): We identified that there was a very large amount of unused stock in girls’ and women’s wardrobes of mid-range to high-end garments. We have even seen that some garments are with the label on, because they have not been used.
On the one hand, we give clients the opportunity through the marketplace to access a large number of dresses to rent and to be able to monetize the unused garments they had at home. Whereas, on the other hand, we realized that there was a whole new generation in which there is a lot of weight, a tendency to reduce the ownership of garments and to pay for the use.
EcN: How does your platform work?
IV: We decided to make this marketplace instrumental through an Android and iOS application, which works very similar to others that already exist in the market, such as Wallapop. The garments are geolocated in the app and you can see which garments interest you most within the search area you have chosen.
It is a P2P model between individuals. People who access the app looking for a outfits for a special event, once they find it, they can chat with the person and meet at a point to pick up the garment. We have seen that when it comes to clothing, the collection point is usually the user’s home, so that the person can try it on and decide. Also, we don’t just sell clothes. We have other categories such as bags and accessories.
At first we thought that people would feel all this as a barrier, since it is not usual to invite a stranger to your house, but we have been surprised. Users prefer this collection option, because that way they can be advised by the owner of the garment.
EcN: How are payments made?
IV: We have moved the entire clothing rental process from a physical store to an app. We have achieved this thanks to offering clients everything they need to have their own business at home.
The buyer tries it on and if she likes it, she pays for it. In this way, the deposit is activated, which she can only recover when she returns the dress and the client verifies that everything is correct.
Payments are managed through the Stripe payment gateway, which is directly responsible for distributing the money. She gives 80% to the client and she sends us 20%.
EcN: How did PSD2 affect you?
IV: We had a couple of tense moments, because both Apple and Android updated their policies and informed us that we had to make a series of changes to the app in a limited time or they would remove the app from their stores. We were adapting funnels, options, etc.
EcN: What marketing strategy did you use to break the chicken and egg dilemma?
IV: The first thing is to identify what is the most difficult part to capture. In the case of marketplaces, it is usually the offer. Usually the hardest part is incentivized and we did it to get the product uploaded. Another of the strategies that we implemented in the marketing area to make ourselves known were agreements with 20 Spanish designers at Madrid Fashion Week.
A mistake that is often made is to think that the more product the better, but this is not the case. The important thing is that the product is centralized in geographical areas and categories. Our launch campaign focused mainly on these areas.
Our marketing strategy for all this has been divided. In the case of supply we have focused on direct sales. While in the demand part it has been more about ADS and affiliation.
EcN: How many vendors do you have?
IV: We have 1,000 vendors.
We are a niche marketplace, but in other countries they are doing so well that they have grown to introduce everyday clothing and subscriptions.
EcN: What do you plan for the future?
IV: Now we are preparing to launch in Barcelona and Valencia. However, we are considering other long-term projects such as shipping management.