The company will launch a new online subscription service today called Nicole Miller Reserved. It will be operated by CasStle, the service that works with such brands as Vince, Diane von Furstenberg, Rebecca Taylor, Banana Republic and Gwynnie Bee on their rental businesses.
Nicole Miller Reserved will be located on the nicolemiller.com web site.
Nicole Miller Reserved will provide members with unlimited access to a broad assortment of contemporary women’s apparel for one flat monthly fee. Subscribers pay $110 a month and can receive three items of Nicole Miller Collection clothing at a time to wear for as long as they choose. The service includes free shipping, unlimited exchanges and returns, and complimentary dry cleaning. Subscribers have the option to purchase the pieces at a discount.
“Nicole Miller Reserved is an exciting additional channel for us to reach a new customer who is interested in exploring on-trend apparel options at an accessible price point,” said Elissa Bromer, president of Nicole Miller Collection and chief brand officer. “We believe subscription subscription services will increasingly become an important driver for future growth of the brand.”
She said about 90 percent of the apparel line is offered for rental, along with some exclusives.
Asked if this wasn’t a challenging time to launch a rental business, Bromer said they started the conversation prior to COVID-19. “We felt that launching a new subscription service would tap into a new customer and would allow us to offer a product assortment that would drive incremental revenue,” she said.
She said she has been leading the transformation of the lifestyle brand, and they felt the rental business would also advance the awareness of the label. Further, she feels that it gives Nicole Miller a new consumer, and especially a younger one, who can be adopted into a buying customer. She believes that event-driven dressing will come back in 2021, and this rental service could service customers’ needs for weddings and other special events.
“I’m energized by the progress that we’re making at Nicole Miller and I’ve been really focused on developing a strategy and key alliances to really transform the business and build back a new customer. We’ve made some bold moves, and I’m not saying it’s not a bold move to do it, but standing still is not an option,” she said.
Every month, the customer will be able to see new product to rent. The rental service is focused on the apparel brand, but not Nicole Miller’s multiple licensees.
Christine Hunsicker, founder and chief executive officer of CaaStle, said, “Rental subscription services are a powerful value proposition for both the consumer and retailer as it enables current customers to engage more deeply with the brand in a safe and compelling way, while also attracting new digital native customers.
“Innovative brands like Nicole Miller understand this and are patterning with CaaStle to offer a trusted, fully managed service that meets the modern consumer where she is and delivers a more profitable reoccurring revenue stream,” Hunsicker added.
A retailer running on the CaaStle platform controls its brand and owns consumer relationships, while CaaStle operates the service in a fully managed way, including all proprietary technology and logistics.