Lokki raises 4 million euros to make renting a simpler experience than buying
The startup Lokki is bringing sports equipment rental to a wider public, and has just closed a seed round of 4 million euros with the fund Racine² operated by Serena and Makesense. The startup is also surrounding itself with well-known business angels: Guillaume Rouby (CMO of Back Market), Kerala Venture, Wind Capital, Paulin Dementhon (co-founder of Drivy), Arthur Waller (CEO of Pennylane) and Pierre Emmanuel Bercegeay (CEO of OuiHelp).
Founded in 2019 in Grenoble by Raphaël Masbou, Benoit Prigent and Jérémy Masbou, Lokki is the SaaS solution for professional sports equipment renters (bike, ski and water sports renters) who want to create and grow their rental business.
Lokki contributes to the durability and growth of local, accessible, low-carbon leisure by offering an online experience without compromise for consumers and renters alike (booking, stock management, payment, deposit, contract and so on).
With more than 500,000 rentals handled through its 800 local partners, Lokki is helping rental hold its own against buying.
Equipment rental, a societal trend
For 3 years, Lokki has worked to support a new mode of consumption that is more responsible, local and fair. In 2021 alone, 17 million French people rented sports equipment.
Retail outlets and retailers are betting on rental to better meet their customers' expectations while offering new services. Many chains have launched a rental offering over the past two years.
Lokki makes this societal movement possible by bringing solutions suited to the needs of sports equipment renters, while letting them offer their customers a quality experience.
"Rental is a complex business, different from selling! Lokki offers tools that are easy to deploy so you can launch your rental service and generate decarbonised revenue. 60% of the outlets equipped with Lokki are new to renting. The icing on the cake is that the rental business proves profitable quickly." Raphaël Masbou, CEO of Lokki.
A strong ambition: bringing leisure rental to a wider public
With this round, Lokki continues its aim of bringing a more responsible mode of consumption to a wider public by helping every type of retail outlet build a rental business.
The startup, which specialises in outdoor equipment rental, wants to make rental part of everyday French life by tackling every leisure sector: sport, DIY and events.
Lokki will double its teams by the end of 2023 to become the rental reflex in France and Europe.
A mission-driven company
To that end, Lokki is becoming a mission-driven company and commits to meeting impact indicators. Its purpose: to accelerate the roll-out of circular, local business models that respect planetary limits.
Consumers want to consume less, but better. The startup aims to encourage citizens to shift their behaviour towards use rather than ownership. By way of example, the average time a drill is used over its whole life is 12 minutes. Rental supports this move towards more responsible consumption.
"Consumers are looking for new ways of consuming that are cheaper and more respectful of planetary limits. After the rise of second-hand, rental is coming into its own. That is why today we are happy to support Lokki in its growth in order to bring rental to a wider public." Léa Zaslavsky, author of "Entreprendre pour le bien commun" and founder of Makesense
About Lokki
Simple, all-in-one software, Lokki supports sports equipment renters in launching and simplifying their business. The startup has set itself the mission of bringing rental to as many people as possible in order to accelerate the roll-out of circular business models. Founded in 2019 in Grenoble, Lokki now employs 18 people and supports 800 retail outlets in France. In 2021, Lokki completed a pre-seed round of 350,000 € with Seed4Soft and SuperCapital.
About Racine 2
Racine2 is MGEN's investment fund, operated by makesense and Serena. With 80 million euros, it supports innovative and ambitious companies that generate a positive impact on society and its environment. The investments, 80% of them in France, are built around 4 axes: physical activity and sport, sustainable ways of living, education for all, and the preservation of the environment and of health.