Rent the Runway has promoted its chief commercial officer Paige Thomas to CEO, effective Monday, according to Retail Dive. She succeeds Teri Bariquit, who had been serving as interim CEO since co-founder Jennifer Hyman's departure in May, and also becomes president and a member of the board of directors, according to WWD.
Paige Thomas joined Rent the Runway in June as chief commercial officer. She had previously spent a decade at Nordstrom, including five years at Rack, before holding the roles of chief merchandising and product innovation officer at Signet Jewelers, then president and CEO of Saks Off 5th. She has, according to WWD, more than 30 years of experience in retail.
Teri Bariquit becomes non-executive chair of the board, replacing Dhiren Fonseca, who is stepping down as executive chairman but remains a director. She told WWD she was « super excited to pass the baton » to Paige Thomas and wanted to let her « continue forward the strategy ».
Improving results
Rent the Runway's total revenue reached $97.7 million in the second quarter, up nearly 21% year over year, according to Retail Dive. Gross margin stood at 36.1%, while net loss fell by more than 50% to $12.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA totalled $12.6 million, compared with $3.6 million a year earlier, WWD notes. The number of active subscribers, however, declined by nearly 4%, to 140,826.
Investors, including Story3 Capital Partners, Nexus Capital Management and Aranda Principal Strategies, granted the company a $10 million term loan, in addition to the refinancing completed last year. Teri Bariquit said the company had concentrated its resources on its core rental offering and « began building a 2027 plan centered on transforming the business ».
Strategic refocusing
Rent the Runway is pulling back from several pilot projects, including its online marketplace and on-site advertising, and is dropping a planned B2B dry-cleaning service, according to WWD. Teri Bariquit explained that the company wants to position itself as « a premium fashion service platform », pointing to « real opportunity from a revenue perspective, whether it's subscription rental, reserve rental, or whether it's selling, resale ».
In her statement, Paige Thomas said she would focus on listening to the customer and on fashion, while executing « with operational excellence ». She said her approach « is not a new direction — it's an acceleration of the strong foundation the team has built ».
Four years ago, during Paige Thomas's tenure at Saks, the off-price business had also partnered with Rent the Runway to sell previously rented designer items through the Saks Off 5th website, which was shut down earlier this year as part of the Saks Global bankruptcy. Nordstrom Rack, for its part, has been selling Rent the Runway clothing since 2020.
