The Cairo-based online fashion rental platform La Reina has raised a six-figure (USD) ‘seed investment’ from 500 Startups, Algebra Ventures, and some other angel investors, it announced in a statement without disclosing the exact amount of the round was not disclosed. La Reina had previously raised $1 million in a funding round led by Algebra Ventures in 2018.

The startup has also announced the launch of its fashion subscription service ‘The Box’ for women. The service that apparently has been available for a few months at least, enables customers to receive a box every week with 2-3 new or used (but dry cleaned and sanitized) day-to-day clothing items for a fixed monthly fee.

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The subscribers that sign up for the basic tier pay EGP 699 ($45) every month for receiving 2 used items every week. Those using the second tier which is priced at EGP 1,499 ($95) per month receive 2-3 new items every week. The subscribers of both the tiers receive new boxes upon returning the old ones. La Reina also charges a delivery fee of EGP 19 on every delivery ($1.2).

According to the statement, the members can select the clothes on La Reina app or website based on their preferences and style. The startup said that it has partnered with different fast fashion brands including Zara, Massimo Dutti, Mango, Stradivarius to provide its members with the latest collection of these brands.

La Reina had started in 2016 with dress rentals with some dresses in its collection being as expensive as EGP 360,000 or $22,800 (retail price). So what it was trying to do with rentals is make these dresses accessible to a very large segment of users who wouldn’t have been able to afford them otherwise. The Box, however, it seems, is going after a different segment. It is trying to democratize the idea of renting day-to-day clothes (for women) providing them an alternative to purchasing them.

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Ghada Eltanawy, the co-founder and CEO of La Reina in a statement explaining why they launched The Box, said, “We wanted to create something that can help women in the corporate sector who are always on busy schedules. [We’ve done that] by offering them subscription-based services where they can receive a weekly box of joy and fashion delivered to their doorstep. We created The Box to offer practical shopping solutions for women who lead busy lives but are also keen on looking their absolute best every single day. We want our members to become versatile in how they dress up while also encouraging them to create a very minimal wardrobe.”

“Such an approach stresses on the importance of fashion sustainability, The Box helps decrease the fashion footprint by 85% with each subscriber making it a game-changer that shapes the future of fashion and how we consume it,” she added. 

La Reina in a statement said that it has over 100,000 users without sharing further details about the number. Sharif El-Badawi, the Managing Partner for 500 Startups (500 Falcons), said, “[Even] though Covid-19 has triggered seismic shifts in shopping behavior, we are impressed with how Ghada and her team have worked hard to quickly pivot its strategy to cope with this new era and keep the fashion clothing accessible to its customers. We are excited to support La Reina as they continue expanding their product offerings and forge ahead as pioneers in this fashion rental space.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry