La Senza sets sights on selling hydra lift bra

La Senza, the country's leading lingerie retailer, has set its sights on selling more bras to increase its share of that key part of its business, president Laurence Lewin says.

Indeed, bras are as integral to a lingerie store as French fries are to McDonald's fast food outlets, Mr. Lewin said yesterday.

"We considered ourselves to be deficient in the core bra market," he told a session of the annual Retail Conference of Canada annual meeting. "There are still a lot of people who like to buy their bras in department stores. We wanted to take sales from the department stores."

This year, La Senza is intent on grabbing those bra sales by stepping up product innovation, launching new styles, putting more bras into the stores and even setting up separate "bra lounges" in its larger outlets.

As Mr. Lewin put it: "We have, no pun intended, exposed ourselves to higher inventories." That's at a time when most retailers are reducing their overall merchandise levels so as not to risk being stuck with unsold goods.

La Senza enjoys almost 24 per cent of the total lingerie market in Canada but only 9.8 per cent of the country's bra market, according to figures presented by Mr. Lewin.

The chain has grown from a single store in Ottawa in 1990 to 425 outlets worldwide, including 203 lingerie shops and 69 La Senza Girl outlets.

Later this year, La Senza plans to open its first U.S. store, taking on that country's lingerie powerhouse, Victoria's Secret.

But right now, bras are on Mr. Lewin's mind. In an interview, he said that over the next four years he wants to double the company's bra sales in Canada to about 20 per cent of the market, which he estimated at about $800-million.

In the past, La Senza has focused more on nighties, panties and other goods.

"We have to devote more space and more marketing to the bra market, which remains the absolute core of the lingerie business," Mr. Lewin said.

One of his priorities has been to increase bra space in the stores. About 25 stores have a separate "bra lounge," and 75 stores will boast these boutiques by the end of the year, he said.

And new product launches are essential, tapping into new bra engineering to build excitement and lure customers, he said. In this vein, the chain two weeks ago rolled out the "hydra lift bra" with liquid padding, which he called a "revolution in extreme cleavage technology."

Amid a heavy advertising campaign, the hydra lift is selling phenomenally well, even though -- at $39 -- it's one of the priciest bras at La Senza, he said.

Still, it may take more than fancy new engineering to pump up sales.

Joanne Balles, who was in the audience, said that she buys her bras at department stores. She said she was in a La Senza store recently and found that the staff were well informed about the products but didn't help her with the fit.

Ms. Balles, a managing director of retail design consultant Perennial Inc., suggested La Senza do more consumer research to find out what customers really want -- and need -- in a bra.

"If you ask consumers what is most important in a bra, they'll say fit," she said. "Then they'll say they want to look like a sex goddess."

Mr. Lewin said the company does train its staff in bra fittings. He said that a woman who recently complained of pains to her doctor was told to have her bra size measured. The patient went to a La Senza store, where the salesperson measured her as a size 36B, rather than her usual 34B. The woman bought the larger size bra, and "her aches and pains went immediately," Mr. Lewin said.

About The Author:

Kathy Cole is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.bra-n-bras.com. A tasteful look at the bra industry, products and manufacturers.