Today we’d like to introduce you to Kati Kanerva.
Hi Kati, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
We moved to LA from Finland 4.5 years go. Soon after, I realized the lack of the places where you can easily sell the clothes you don’t wear anymore. We used to sell our preloved clothing in rent-a-rack stores in Helsinki. My friend took the concept to Australia four years ago and it’s been a huge success there. She encouraged me to open up one in LA. I had worked in TV industry for the past ten years and I was ready to try something new. Also knowing the environmental effects of fashion, especially fast fashion, we wanted to offer a place where people can easily sell their clothes.
So, many different factors took us to the path of opening reDress.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Opening the store middle of the pandemic was not ideal but worth the risk. As far as we know we are the first rent-a-rack store in the US and it’s always scary to start something new. Luckily people have been taken the new concept very well and we’ve been lucky to have such a support from the locals. This whole journey has been a learning experience but a good one.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
“Rent a rack” is a concept from Scandinavia and means that anyone can rent a rack from our shop and sell their preloved clothing with us. Vendors can bring maximum 50 pieces at once + five accessories (shoes or bags). We have an online platform where vendors can reserve a rack, price their items and track their sales in real-time. Once they sell something, they can replace sold item with a new one. We provide everything: coat hangers, hang tags and security tags. It’s a great way to recycle the clothes you don’t wear anymore whilst making some extra money.
In average our vendors make over $600 in two weeks but the best sellers have made over $3k. If you have good stuff and you price them reasonably you can make good sales.
Pricing:
- Renting a rack is $ 189 for two weeks + we take 15% commission
Contact Info:
- Website: www.redressco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redress.la/?hl=en
Image Credits
Cara MCFarlane
