Renoon: Reinventing Shopping for Sustainable Fashion

Renoon is a tech startup focused on improving transparency in sustainability claims within the fashion industry. Initially, it operated as a B2B2C platform, helping consumers navigate fragmented and hard-to-verify sustainability information. Users could personalize their sustainability preferences, and Renoon would recommend products accordingly, earning a 15% commission on sales. Despite creating consumer value, Renoon struggled to generate sufficient revenue to sustain profitability. The commission-based model was unreliable due to delayed, variable, and partial payments from sellers, while operational costs continued to rise with the app's growth and international expansion plans.

With this teaching case, students are invited to explore alternative business models to enhance commercial viability. Two primary options are considered: transforming Renoon into a media company providing high-quality content on sustainability and fashion or becoming a reseller directly selling clothes on its platform to earn margins from sales. Students are also encouraged to propose other innovative solutions, detailing their ideas using the Business Model Canvas framework. The teaching note will reveal the business direction that was eventually chosen by Renoon.