You can now rent your holiday clothes

Photo credit: Cynthia del Río / Unsplash

You know that old adage about walking a mile in someone else’s shoes? Well, now you can do that literally – walk in his shoes, and then judge him on a five-star rating system.

The idea, says first-time entrepreneur Shimpei Watanabe, is that you won’t need to lug so much luggage on your trip. Instead, you’ll use his new startup, Locarry, to rent stuff from people once you arrive.

Dresses, trousers, T-shirts, hiking boots, backpacks, beach towels, cameras, pushchairs, yoga mats – these are among the things users are sharing in exchange for a fee.

A quick trip to China sparked the concept for the service. Japan-based Watanabe decided to pack a suitcase instead of a light bag because he brought along a bunch of workout clothes.

“When I met my friend in China, my friend said you didn’t have to bring them, I could’ve lent them to you,” he says.

While a service for borrowing apparel isn’t a new idea – see Rent The Runway, now a US$800 million business – it’s so far been confined to sites loaning out their own items. Locarry looks like the first to let absolutely anyone share their stuff.

Side jobbers

Watanabe quit his associate job at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in late 2017, and flipped the switch on his startup’s site earlier this month.

When he was mulling over startup ideas, home-sharer Airbnb, Japanese flea-market app Mercari, and Singapore-based marketplace Carousell were his inspirations. He eventually decided to mash up the marketplace model with a sharing service, focusing on the idea of how convenient it would be for travelers to carry a lot less while on vacation.

The CEO sees how Locarry could create “side jobs” for some lenders or even create full-time jobs for users in developing countries who can cater to a busy tourist industry. In such places, he estimates a lender could make US$600 to $700 per month.

Think of it like Airbnb – except anybody can try to earn some cash from it, not just rich and middle-class folks who own several properties.

Shimpei Watanabe. Photo credit: Locarry

Being such a new startup – Watanabe kept referring to his startup’s age in the number of days it’s been online – there are no data points he can report. But he’s encouraged by the uptake in Locarry’s first week.

Making bank