If you've ever bought kids' clothes, whether for your own child or a niece or nephew, you know that your purchase has a pretty limited lifespan. Kids grow out of their clothes fast, and those sweet $60 baby Air Jordans might only be worn a handful of times, at most.
But a Chicago startup wants to remove some of that pain by selling kids clothes--and buying them back from you--once your child has outgrown them.
Runchkins, a startup that launched earlier this year, sends parents a box of stylish, hand-picked clothes for their child. Parents keep what they want, send back what they don't--only paying for the clothes they like. Its business model is similar to Trunk Club or Mac & Mia, but with one major difference: It will buy your used clothes back.
"Kids grow up quickly, they always have and they always will," said Runchkins CEO Jeff Cheng. "And because of that, they grow out of their clothes quickly."
Runchkins takes back gently used clothes, usually offering between 10% and 20% of the purchase price, Cheng said. The refund comes in the form of store credit, where a parent can buy more clothes for their child, or use it towards their next kid. The idea is to create a marketplace where Runchkins is selling both new and gently used clothes. "We’re creating 'Nordstrom' to create our 'Nordstrom Rack' later," Cheng said.
"We’re creating 'Nordstrom' to create our 'Nordstrom Rack' later."
Runchkins is entering a clothing resale ecommerce space already occupied by companies like ThredUP, a San Francisco company that’s raised more than $130 million in funding, and Tradesy, which has raised more than $70 million. Threadflip, another SF-based consignment competitor, shut down in January.
The buyback also has another major benefit for Runchkins: returning customers, Cheng says. E-commerce startups typically find it easy to attract customers once with sales and promotions, but getting customers to return again and again can be a challenge. Runchkins has a built-in incentive for customers to continue using its service.
Cheng said eventually he expects the resale part of Runchkins to become 50% of the business.
Runchkins also offers gifting, so if you're headed to a baby shower or buying clothes for a relative you can take a style quiz and get pointers from stylists who can help find the best outfit. The parents who receive the gift can sell it back to Runchkins for store credit, Cheng said.
The startup has a total of 11 employees and has been bootstrapped up until now, but the company is planning to raise a seed round, Cheng said. Eventually, Runchkins expects to expand its model beyond clothes, potentially offering services like a book buyback program.
Image via Runchkins
