Dive Brief:
- Following co-founder Jennifer Hyman’s exit, former Nordstrom Chief Merchandising Officer Teri Bariquit has officially taken over as Rent the Runway’s interim CEO. She led her first earnings call for the company on Wednesday.
- The company named Nordstrom veteran Paige Thomas as its chief commercial officer, and Dave Loretta as its interim CFO. Loretta previously spent over a decade at Nordstrom, including as president and CFO of Nordstrom Bank.
- The executive announcements come amid the company reporting its Q1 earnings, where revenue grew over 29% year over year to nearly $90 million, per a press release.
Dive Insight:
A slate of new executives at Rent the Runway all have ties to a certain department store.
Bariquit’s appointment was previously announced in May. She has nearly four decades of industry experience, entirely at Nordstrom.
A 25-year retail veteran, CCO Thomas joined the company on Monday. She most recently served as chief merchant and product innovation officer at Signet Jewelers where she led merchandising strategy, global sourcing and product innovation. Prior to that, she worked as president and CEO of Saks Off 5th, and also spent over 10 years at Nordstrom, with five years leading and scaling Nordstrom Rack as its general merchandise manager.
Interim CFO Loretta will start on Monday. He most recently served as CFO of The Honest Company. Prior to that, he spent six years as chief financial officer of Duluth Trading Company, where he led finance and accounting, along with inventory planning and investor relations. Loretta’s work at Nordstrom also included serving as corporate vice president and treasurer.
The company’s former CFO, Sid Thacker, resigned from the company on May 18, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. His last day at Rent the Runway was Wednesday.
The company is currently conducting a search for a permanent CEO and CFO.
Meanwhile, in Q1 the company’s active subscribers increased 5.8% year over year to nearly 155,700. Average active subscribers increased over 12%. Net loss narrowed to nearly $19 million, compared to $26 million in the year-ago quarter.
For the apparel rental company, 2026 is all about discovery, Bariquit said, specifically pointing to AI tools which will help “deliver the closet of our customer’s dreams with more choice and more flexibility.”
This spring, the company launched a personalized carousel across its platform, where customers can discover products similar to recent favorites and obtain a “for you” feed designed around their style. It also improved imagery across its platform and began internal testing of outfit generation, which is expected to roll out in the coming months.
The company has also made a number of advancements in its strategic initiatives, including making tech investments in its newly launched B2B dry cleaning service, which it believes can be a stand-alone revenue stream.
“We're seeing net new opportunities across the business that give me confidence in what lies ahead,” Bariquit said. “And we are building for the future, working to deepen discovery through AI, expanding into exciting new categories and strengthening the relationships we have with both our customers and our brand partners.”
