There is no doubt that since the advent of Covid-19 life has changed for all businesses, and the lingerie manufacturers and retailers whose raison d’être is to provide an intimate, highly personal and expertly fitted product (often in an intimate one-to-one environment), could be forgiven for thinking that they are amongst the hardest hit. So, what will the future hold? This is of course uncharted territory for all of us and the answer to that question does not come easily. One thing though is for sure – life for lingerie businesses will not be the same again.
As UK lingerie retailers approached the end of their first month of trade after the national lockdown, business consultant Helen Masters, of Pudding Lingerie Consultancy, took to the streets (and of course to Zoom) to find out how lingerie, swimwear, nightwear and hosiery brands and retailers are adapting in order to survive, and hopefully thrive, post Covid-19. Helen interviewed a range of British intimate apparel brands and retailers thereby discovering what the new normal might look like for the lingerie world, and over the course of the week Underlines will share the key survey* findings (click here to read part one, part two and part three of this four-part feature).
In their words
The international lingerie brand
“The UK market post Covid is challenging for all: retailers have to make changes, and we all have to improve/reinforce communication with our customers, plus social distancing is changing our methods of fitting and selling for the foreseeable future. How well we all adapt to this change will define those who manage to stay strong. As a high end global lingerie brand that has traditionally been sold in face to face stores, we have made a conscious decision to embrace the new normal – ensuring we have an even stronger online focus, with excellent imagery with detailed shots and back end support for our stockists, and at the same time working with our retailers who are struggling with cashflow – we see it as a partnership and we know if retailers don’t buy, they won’t sell so we need to find a way through this by talking.
All businesses are struggling to a lesser or greater extent and we all need to focus on ways of adapting and strengthening our strong points and often that is our knowledge of our customers. Strong communication is now a must – be that websites, social media, or just making calls and texts in a bespoke manner like a personal shopper would. Boutiques need to have permanent collections on websites so that customers can browse at home then call and buy personally. The boutique owner’s role is now even more personal than before and the role of the website is not impersonal – but a tool to greater sales and a starting point of a lingerie conversation and a business’s service. At the same time, brands need to support their retailers – we are all in this together.” Gwendolen Bridge, Lise Charmel
The indie lingerie brand
“The initial impact of Covid-19 was closed doors – retailers who I reached out to not replying or simply saying ‘no’ – all understandably. But there’s nothing like a closed door to keep me going. I focussed on developing my offering for consumers directly via my website and perfecting my up and coming collection including my bridal Trousseau collection which will go live, along with my fully transactional website, any day. I have also as a result had some positive signs form my retail partners so all in all I am optimistic post Lockdown.” Lucy Jones, Lucy Jones Lingerie
The indie nightwear brand
“The early months of 2020 saw new business relationships blooming, with both current and new stockists and my loyal customer base loving my new collections. Then Covid-19 hit.
I’ve always applied a flexible approach to my business, with wholesale, drop ship & direct to client orders so with wholesale orders non-existent, I concentrated on offering drop shipping and website orders; and giving both retailers and consumers an even better deal – knowing that even though that presented me a financial challenge, it would hopefully pay off longer term. Thinking that this may be the time when loungewear that could be worn in furlough as needed, I quickly designed and produced my new Everyday Essential collection – Anais. To my delight, that paid off with a lot of interest from retailers and my loyal customers and increased new orders and I’m pleased to say this is becoming a growth period for my brand.” Claire Emma Harris, Emma Harris Lingerie
Deakin & Blue
The indie swimwear brand
“It’s been a really interesting time for us and we’re definitely feeling the benefit of local production (we manufacture everything in East London) and small production runs which allow us to be lean and agile, responding to demand. We’re also 95% B2C so were not impacted by retailers cancelling huge wholesale orders in the way that a number of our competitors were.
Initially we found it didn’t feel quite right to be talking about swimwear back in March when the crisis escalated in the UK and many of our customers and followers were worried about their families, their financial situations and their future plans. And, of course, trips to the local pool or holidays were looking increasingly unlikely. However, as hope returned, we found that planning for a brighter future was a meaningful and inspiring way to re-engage with customers and so we launched our SS20 collection in Mid-April (some 2 months later than initially planned) with a pledge of 10% of all profits going to the NHS.
In early May we recognised that we had spare development and production capacity in our team, and that face masks were quickly becoming a high demand item that our customers would need as they returned to the ‘new normal’ post lockdown. And so, we refocused our efforts on developing a face mask that was aligned with our brand values. The masks feature our hero Liberty London prints, and are sustainable, reusable (machine washable), versatile and comfortable. They’ve been hugely popular since we launched them in Mid-May.
Other than that, in the post-Covid world we are of course taking all due care across our operations – our customer services teams are working remotely and our warehouse teams are using social distancing in the warehouse so that we can still safely pack and dispatch orders to customers.” Rosie Cook, Deakin & Blue Swimwear
The indie hosiery brand
“Staying nimble and resilient have been key traits to transcending this difficult period for me. My initial offering, skin tone tights, were less in demand as people were forced to stay indoors, so I had to quickly pivot. I’ve now diversified into an area that I had never considered before: face coverings. Within a few weeks, I had a new product launched.” Kumutha Ramanathan, Brown Skin Essentials
Brown Skin Essentials
The bricks & mortar store
“I was initially shocked at the severity of this virus, then after 2 weeks I contacted all customers on the database to offer them a ‘virtual’ shopping experience on a Tuesday. This continued until I opened the doors on the 17th June. Customer feedback is all very positive from those both in store and through the ‘virtual’ fitting experience. They are all happy with the sanitisation in store and that for now we only operate on an appointment basis, so they have the boudoir to themselves for 50 minutes.” Carmela Ricciardi-Powers, La Belle Boudoir
“We have managed to adapt by offering fittings by appointment only, allowing only 2 customers in the shop at any one time. All garments are steamed and put away for 24 hours after each customer. This has proven to be a lot of extra work to keep on top of but necessary. Our Fit by Sight service means we can keep our distance, wearing masks and ensuring hand sanitiser is used pre, during and after each fitting. Customers have been really positive – they actually love the personal aspect of having the shop closed while they are fitted and just happy that they have somewhere to go while the larger department stores have closed their fitting rooms. We have had positive feedback on our Zoom virtual fittings; these have customers across the UK.” Alma Brayley, Coco-Boo Lingerie
“There isn’t much change for me regarding numbers of people allowed in the boutique, but I have found hygiene and making the customer feel safe in the boutique is key. We do wear masks and have hand sanitiser available on entry. During a fitting we would wear gloves and a face mask and fit the bra at arms’ length & after the customer has left, we wipe down all surfaces and handles. I have also done a couple of virtual fittings over Zoom.” Jenna Barnes, Raine and Bea
The online retailer
“We have had to move our operations to work from home, but as we are a small company we have adapted really well and have continued to offers our customers’ deliveries, easy returns and ongoing customer support online and over the phone. Our customer service team have always been on hand to help customers with their bra fitting over the phone, chat online or by email. This hasn’t changed since we launched in 2015. Work hasn’t really stopped for us!” Gemma Iles, Knicker Locker
“As an online store Covid-19 hasn’t impacted us, as we have been able to stay ‘open’. All our packing is done in house, but we are extra vigilant with our process, making sure our packing area is disinfected and packing with gloved hands etc. At the beginning of lock down we posted items once a week, but that has been eased off now that we are more or less going back to normal. We’ve actually had an increase in sales of our soft bras and lounge collections. With everyone working from home, there’s been a desire to be as comfortable as possible!” Annabelle Mu’azu, Beautifully Undressed
Lucy May Lingerie
The own brand manufacturer/retailer
“My boutique is now open by appointment only as it is a small boutique so minimises risk if I have only one customer in at any one time. However, I am offering consultation ‘guidance’ via the phone/email. I have always offered a bra fitting service over the phone and this has increased, plus I have been pleasantly surprised at the number of online messages I have received to ask for advice before purchase. To date online sales have increased and I’ve had no returns.” Natalie Moseley, Lucy May Lingerie
The home studio consultant
“I run my business on an appointment basis and since opening up my diary again I have been quite full with bookings. My clients have always had private appointments and their feedback post Covid is that they prefer to come to a private studio rather than going into high street shops and like the uninterrupted personal appointment service. I also introduced video lingerie consultations, this is a video call where the current bra fit is reviewed, and the client is advised of incorrect fitting issues and the recommended changes needed to their size. I do not sell lingerie on the call. There is a small fee, redeemable against purchases if/when the client books in for an appointment.
Maintaining a social media presence during covid has led to new leads coming in once lockdown was lifted, so for me business as usual has continued in terms of presence and I believe this has been key into my diary currently being full.” Justine Oldfield, SoS Lingerie
*Survey carried out across UK online retailers, bricks and mortar retailers and manufacturers during July 2020 – specific results remain anonymous in line with requests for anonymity from some participants.
