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A brand new umbrella-sharing startup is increasing in New York Town — and says it is going to do for umbrellas what Citi Motorbike did for bicycles.
Rentbrella, an app that was once first introduced in Brazil in 2018, is putting in place automat-like kiosks stocked with 100 umbrellas each and every around the Large Apple — and leases are loose for the primary 24 hours.
Underneath the Citi Motorbike-like device, New Yorkers use Rentbrella’s telephone app to scan codes that let them to release and go back umbrellas at other kiosks — a carrier aimed toward commuters who in finding themselves in a pinch and don’t wish to shell out $10 or $15 for a bodega parasol, consistent with co-founder Freddy Marcos.
“Our fashion could be very easy” Marcos advised The Put up. “They take an umbrella, they pass house, then the next day to come they go back it.”
If shoppers don’t go back the umbrella inside of 24 hours, they’re charged $2 for the second one day and some other $2 for the 3rd day. In the event that they nonetheless haven’t returned the umbrella after 4 days, they’re charged $16 and will stay the umbrella endlessly.
Rentbrella isn’t the primary umbrella sharing startup to go into the hurricane.
In 2016, an organization referred to as BrellaBox went on Shark Tank to waft the speculation of renting high-end umbrellas at a charge of $1.50 for the primary 12 hours— an concept that businessman and host Kevin O’Leary pushed aside as “possibly the worst thought I’ve ever heard.”
And in 2017, a Chinese language startup referred to as E Umbrella misplaced the majority of its 300,000 umbrellas inside of every week of its release. In contrast to Rentbrella, E Umbrella didn’t have kiosks to retailer the umbrellas and didn’t price customers a rate in the event that they failed to go back leases.
“We’re very other from E Umbrella,” Marcos insisted.
Since Rentbrella positioned its first machines in New York this October, about 98 % of consumers have returned their umbrellas inside of 24 hours, consistent with Marcos. The corporate these days has 3,500 umbrellas in 35 kiosks throughout New york and Brooklyn with plans to get to 100 stations early subsequent yr, the founder stated.
Since occasional $2 charges don’t translate right into a deluge of money, Rentbrella plans to become profitable by means of promoting ads at the umbrellas.
It’s a fashion that Marcos stated has labored in São Paulo, the place the corporate has just about 400 stations and is popping a benefit thank you in large part to commercials from a medical health insurance corporate referred to as Unimed.
Rentbrella doesn’t have any sponsors in New York but however plans to start out promoting advert house when it reaches 100 stations, consistent with Marcos. And whilst the stations are these days most commonly concentrated in New york place of work and home towers, the founder stated he would like to in the end position them in subway stations around the 5 boroughs.
Rentbrella says it these days has partnerships with actual property firms together with WeWork, Braun Control, Moinian Team, Tishman Speyer, Beacon Capital, Chetrit Team, Meringoff Homes and Feldman Realty Team.
Rentbrella plans to release in London in early 2022 and want to extend to different towns in the USA and Europe, Marcos stated. The corporate is investment the growth with about $7 million from backers positioned most commonly in Brazil, together with circle of relatives places of work and challenge capital finances, consistent with the founder.
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