Over the past decade, countless startups have entered the rental and resale sector — many with circularity-themed names like Rotaro, By Rotation, Cercle or The Circle. More recently, the industry has been consolidating, hoping to bring various, otherwise fragmented, circular services under one roof and drive profitability, which has proven more elusive for rental than resale.
British company MyWardrobe HQ this week announced its third acquisition in as many years, snapping up luxury handbag rental platform Cocoon, which previously counted Kering among its minority stakeholders (the group divested Cocoon earlier this year, separate to the merger with MyWardrobe HQ). Together, the merged companies now represent 170,000 engaged users and over £10 million in managed inventory, they say, with partnerships spanning Harrods, Burberry, Giambattista Valli and Emilia Wickstead.
Ahead of their new chapter under the Cocoon moniker, Vogue Business sits down with MyWardrobe HQ CEO Coco Baraer Panazza and Cocoon founder Matt Heiman, the latter of whom will stay on as chair of the board.
Vogue: MyWardrobeHQ has been on something of an acquisition spree over the last few years. Can you walk me through the strategy and why you pursued each merger?
Coco: Our first acquisition in 2023 was Rotaro, a fashion rental platform that had a younger audience and a more curated, high contemporary inventory. Then, in 2024, we merged with Cercle, the company I founded, which was built on the promise of making circularity as exciting as buying new, and creating a luxury experience that could compete on curation and convenience. We thought Cocoon was extremely interesting as the leading player in luxury handbag rental. The team brings really deep luxury handbag and repair knowledge, as well as expertise in subscription models. Then, MyWardrobe HQ itself brings multi-category retail partnerships, logistics capabilities and a data-driven operation.
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Photo: Mark Arrigo
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