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LO8- Evaluation and critical engagement 

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LO8- Evaluation and critical engagement 

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Monday 31st July
Formal presentation 7th August

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Friday 4th August by 4pm

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3 sets: All mean NO

1. 1 lingerie set, sexy and lacy, roughly  £55

2. 1 casual set, one of lounge's basic comfy sets roughly £45

3. 1 tank top and boxers, borderline pyjamas £55

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Will include :

All 3 underwear sets

Rape alarm

Cup condoms

Strip to test drinks for spiking drugs

Tutorial to set up family member or chosen person to be an emergency contact

Personalised pyjamas

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Soho Farmhouse as the location to include the following:

Self defence classes

Life coach sessions

Yoga and wellbeing session

Healthy lunches with themed decor and photo opportunities

Female team building

Make your own cocktail evening, promoting safe drinking

Cinema with rosé wine to watch ...

Rape Crisis charity to come in and speak

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Wednesday 16th August by 4pm

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To begin with the donations would be made to rape crisis however as the campaign develops other sexual abuse charities would be welcome to participate.

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Podcast would begin with interviewing my sister and theoretically the influencers on the trip would be interviewed however this is not applicable if they wouldn't feel comfortable.

As well as influencers taking part in podcast, rape crisis workers and volunteers would also be included.

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https://lounge.com/pages/our-story

Lounge are a lingerie brand that were born in 2015, where a couple named Mel and Dan decided to bring comfort made sexy to the world and with that the classic Lounge set was born.

The core values of the brand are the following: make bold moves, positive disruption and celebrate the sexy.

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Our Story | Empowering Loungers Worldwide

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Since launching in 2015, Lounge has been on an incredible journey. Empowering Loungers worldwide and redefining beauty standards. This is our story!

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Mya Dewhurst FMP - Lounge Underwear No means No campaign

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Hello everyone, I am conducting some research for my final major project/dissertation and would really appreciate your participation. Please accept this as a trigger warning for SA ⚠️ as the following questionnaire mentions words around this subject. I am collecting the following data for researc…

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Interview with both founders of lounge underwear- December 2020 

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Interview with both founders of lounge underwear- December 2020 

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The pair "combined old school work ethic with modern marketing techniques to grow a fast growing e-commerce brand and generate booming sales."

Dan - "we are running on about 350% growth year on year."

Mel - "Community is at the core of our brand. We have 2.5m followers on Instagram alone – we call them our ‘female family’. Growing through the social media landscape, our community is at the core of all the decisions we make. We can listen to their feedback and react almost immediately as a brand."

Dan - "we have grown organically and have never had any outside investment"

Dan - "all our marketing is digital first and I think we will still go digital first. We do what you call modern marketing: social media, paid ads and influencer marketing. That is still the key focus."

Mel - "The goal is to be not carbon neutral, but carbon negative. That’s a big challenge. It’s a big focus for us now and we can make it happen a lot quicker than the older brands. We can pivot. "

Mel - "sticking to the values of the business you are trying to build and not getting distracted."

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Founded in 2016, Solihull-based Lounge Underwear is an online retailer of underwear, swimwear and comfort clothing. The business founders are combining an old-school work ethic with modern marketing techniques to build a fast-growing e-commerce brand and generate booming sales.

Lounge Underwear feature at number five on this years' edition of The Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 league table, which ranks Britain's 100 private companies with the fastest-growing sales over their latest three years.

We spoke with co-founders Daniel Marsden, CEO and Melanie Marsden, Chief Brand Officer.
Can you tell me about the journey your business has been on over the past 12 months?

Dan: As a company we're coming up to our fifth birthday in March and have seen unprecedented growth over the last four years. When COVID-19 hit in March, it was the start of a fresh financial year for us. Even though it's a horrible situation, for a company like ours, solely online, it's like a perfect storm. You've got everyone at home on their phones shopping. So we are running at about 350% growth year on year.

We finished last year just short of £14m turnover and we are looking at north of £40m this year. So to scale everything up - from staff and operations - just to get that amount of goods out the door, it's a completely different game, because the company is three times the size.

Mel: We've had huge growth in our headcount and are now up to about 80 people. We've recruited just over 25 office staff in this period. Our warehouse recruitment has peaked as well. To have recruited that many new 'Loungers' into the team during a pandemic, when working from home, has been a real achievement.

Have you had to adapt your business strategy in recent months?

Dan: Because we have grown so fast each year as it is, we were already planning at the end of the last financial year, stock-wise, for a lot of growth. That meant we already had a lot of manufactured goods on the sea coming in, so that was a blessing in disguise.

Mel: From a brand point of view, it was a case of the creative team looking at how we could adapt our social schedule - in terms of pulling people into our 'Lounge world'. Because everyone's going to be at home, everyone's going to be wanting more comfort than ever before. So it was the perfect way to change the way we spoke to our community and pull them into our website.

Community is at the core of our brand. We have 2.5m followers on Instagram alone - we call them our 'female family'. Growing through the social media landscape, our community is at the core of all the decisions we make. We can listen to their feedback and react almost immediately as a brand.

Is there anything that didn't go so well this year?

Dan: You get more problems on the warehouse and distribution side because people there still have to come into the warehouse to work. And implementing safe working and social distancing is more of a challenge.

Mel: There are some decisions you can't undo. We had a swimwear collection launching in July and we were in the middle of a pandemic where our core audience in the UK were not going on their holidays any more. So it's things like that where we had to adapt our approach to the launch.
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As your business has grown rapidly, where have you seen the biggest growing pains?

Dan: In terms of funding, the company is built on really good foundations. We work with relatively healthy margins and we are direct to consumer, so get a larger portion of the pie. We have grown organically and never had any outside investment. Our cashflow has been OK and operationally it's all been OK - we have scaled really well and brought good people in.

But finding really good people is probably the biggest issue. If you go back 18 months or a year, it was harder than it is now. If you are looking for people with experience in marketing - paid, social, SEO, and in data, front-end development, back-end development... The tech guys are the hardest - super hard to find.

Is there any advice you could give to others as they look to scale in a similar way?

Dan: In terms of recruitment, this is where the real value of building a culture within the business comes in. For younger people, I don't think it's about how much they will be paid. It's more, what's the package? What's the lifestyle? What's the culture? They are looking for so much more than just money. As clichéd as it sounds, our culture is so family orientated in regards the staff - everyone is really close, good friends. That's part of what people are looking for - it's a fulfilment feeling, rather than just getting paid. That's one massive negative to people working from home - because you can't create that same culture, the same bonds as when everyone is in-house.

What do you see as the main opportunity for your business' growth?

Dan: All our marketing is 'digital first' and I think we will still go digital first. We do what you would call modern marketing: social media, paid ads and influencer marketing. That's still the key focus.

One exciting thing about Lounge is that there are very few competitors in our space at the moment. All the massive underwear brands are either going downhill or starting to - because they are archaic, not cool anymore; old-fashioned brands with old-fashioned values. There are only a few cool ones coming up, and they are based in the US.

Mel: We are in position as a young brand to be able to adapt and change our offering quite quickly. If we were older and had bigger collection lines, it would be harder to adapt to new environmentally-conscious customers, for example. We've been having a conversation about sustainability for the last 12 to 18 months. It's a huge conversation - covering everything - our product offering, the fabrics we are using and where those fabrics are sourced from. The goal is to be not carbon neutral, but carbon negative. That's a big challenge. It's a big focus for us now and we can make it happen a lot quicker than the older brands. We can pivot.

What do you see as being the main barrier to your business' growth over the coming 12 months?

Mel: People would be our biggest challenge: due to the rate of scaling up, being able to recruit those technical-specific roles that are needed now in the business. And the rate of scale in terms of our office space. Unlike some companies, we are planning for office space growth.

Dan: Technology as well. This e-commerce space is so new that not all the technology is there to keep up with demand. Our peaks are so high, the technology can struggle to keep up with all the sales orders. Probably in 10 years' time we will have one complete solution that does everything, but at the moment you have bolt-on on top of bolt-on to make it all work.

We always try to mitigate the problems we face. At the start of COVID-19 when manufacturing shut down in China, to mitigate the risk we partnered with other suppliers in different countries so we don't have all our eggs in one basket.

What international expansion plans do you have?

Dan: We have eight localised stores - localised websites - for the UK, Australia, the US, Europe as a whole and also for France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. We have seen huge growth in Europe over the last 12 months. Some days our sales are 1,000% up. We have really started to push in France and Germany and seen massive growth. At the start of the year the UK probably accounted for about 45% of sales, but that's now down to 30% because the other countries are growing so fast. We're seeing growth across all territories, and that's why we are such a fast-growing company.

The company is run for growth, not like a lifestyle brand. We want to be the biggest underwear brand in the world. And you have got to break the US to stand a chance of that, so the US will undoubtedly be the main focus for us over the next couple of years.

What advice could you share for other business leaders?

Dan: Work hard and don't stop. Be persistent and consistent and work harder than everyone else. There's no golden key for how you're going to crack it.

Mel: There is something about having an old-school work ethic. And about authenticity - sticking to the values of the business you are trying to build and not getting distracted.

More articles like this

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Lounge Underwear: Scaling a successful fashion e-commerce

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Hear from disruptive e-commerce business, Lounge Underwear, on how to achieve high growth in a rapidly changing environment.

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Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2021: Retail & Ecommerce

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Reinventing how we shop, online and off.

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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/export-advice/exporting-case-study-lounge-underwear/

"using social media influencers in its target terrorise has helped lounge underwear to quadruple it's website visitors."

They sell only through their website direct to consumer

They have battled the need for their consumers to try on the underwear before making a purchase with their digital fitting room on their website.

"Its is about targeting the right people and building up the trust globally though paid social media." Dan

Their five top tips for global expansion :

1. Use a bank that comfortably handles different currencies

2. Find LOCAL influencers

3. Be choosy with couriers

4. Your goods must be memorable

5. If at first you don't succeed, keep trying

Power of personalisation - something they have mastered:

The website has predicitve search

Wish list option

Hint hint button so users can send the link to an item they would like

All of the above tailor the consumer experience and will encourage repeated purchases with the consumer.

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Using social media influencers in target territories has helped Lounge Underwear to quadruple its website visitors

Having a strong online presence has helped Lounge Underwear, the brainchild of Dan Marsden and Melanie Paradise, to post sales of £5.6m this year with strong earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. The company, which focuses on comfortable yet sexy underwear, loungewear and swimwear, sells only through its website, directly to customers around the world. It now has four online stores, selling to the UK, EU, US and Australia, and all its products are shipped from its warehouse headquarters in Solihull.

"We've overcome the main hurdle to shopping for underwear online, which is the lack of physical interaction with the product," Mr Marsden says. "People generally want to try on underwear before they buy, but our new digital Fitting Room helps people find their perfect size before ordering."

It asks customers a number of questions about their preferred underwear fit, current sizing and the brands they wear, and then is able to suggest the most suitable product for each customer. "Since we added this new feature, the conversion rate for visitors to our website from browsing to buying has quadrupled, so we know it has made a difference," Mr Marsden says.

Building a worldwide brand

Lounge Underwear's strong and unique online presence has led to growth in worldwide sales. The company only started three years ago, but has had to move four times to accommodate larger numbers of staff, and its latest site has almost 37,000sq ft of warehouse space.

It has financed its expansion organically, meaning that the founders retain control of the business. One strategy that has boosted Lounge Underwear's global expansion has been utilising regional expertise by using influencers in the countries where its products are sold. "It's about targeting the right people and building up trust globally through paid social media," Mr Marsden says.

"We do this ourselves in-house because we have the expertise here." This is part of the reason why the company chose HSBC for its banking: its ability to handle a range of currencies and banking overseas in various territories. Mr Marsden says that HSBC's offering of a dedicated relationship manager has also helped. "He's at the end of the phone when we need him and that gives me confidence. We were with another bank before and we moved. We used to spend a lot of time in queues and it was hard to speak to someone when we wanted to. Being linked up with [relationship manager] Daniel Williams has made a difference."

Credit: Kin Ho

Power of personalisation

Maintaining a personal touch when you are a global brand can be challenging, but Lounge Underwear's online capabilities have ensured it is mastering this balancing act.

Its website now has predictive search, a wish-list function and a "hint hint" button, so users can email a link to an item that they would like. All this allows Lounge Underwear to gather data about its customers, further personalising their shopping experience and offering room for more growth.

"The company is growing fast, and I think that will continue," Mr Marsden says. "The key is persevering and working hard. I don't think anything we are doing is rocket science. It's about giving customers the great products they want, marketing well, and ensuring products get to customers wherever they are."

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How to be a global brand with a personal touch

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Using social media influencers in target territories has helped Lounge Underwear to quadruple its website visitors Having a strong online presence has helped Lounge Underwear, the brainchild of Dan Marsden and Melanie Paradise, to post sales of £5.6m this year with strong earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

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Case study from 2022- comparing lounge to VS and exploring lounge's marketing and campaigns

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Case study from 2022- comparing lounge to VS and exploring lounge's marketing and campaigns

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Lounge have a far more interactive social media presence

Lounge's dominance on tiktok signifies their presence on modern social media platforms and their knowledge regarding how to reach young audiences using influencers

As well as using social media influencers micro and macro they were even able to partner with ex Victoria secret models, this helped massively to boost their campaign engagement.

“This is a story of two halves. So you’ve got those business foundations and then you’ve got Mel’s side, the brand, and community, and the female empowerment side. But admittedly in the early days, it was about building a solid business, which in turn allowed Mel to build this amazing female community.” - Dan / co founder of lounge

The couple began gifting to micro influencers with products to promote on their social media platforms and as this was a huge success it naturally leaded into partnerships with bigger macro influencers. Whilst this grew, the co founders were able to partner with biog influencers like Victoria secret models while maintaining a great relationship with the smaller influencers in order to reach a variety of audiences.

People before product mentality, it was so important for lounge as a business to create authentic connections with influencers they wanted to work with. Mel and Dan say they built lounge backwards creating the perfect marketing strategy.

The brand have been good at driving traffic and monitoring this traffic through the use of discount codes and affiliate links providing the brand with relevant information needed to evaluate campaign performance.

"Lounge Underwear have distinct values as a brand which defines their excellence in the e-commerce marketplace and demonstrates their creative drive to adapt and deliver the best quality products. Being eco-friendly and ethical is one of their strong values that they built a thriving campaign upon."

Lounge pride themselves on being "slow fashion" encouraging customers to consider their carbon footprint

They continue the sustainability mindset beyond the purchase with the reccomendation of hand washing the garments or washing them on a cooler setting.

"with good morals and a transparency with their audience that presents a genuine and organic approach to fashion."

For black friday promotions, Lounge underwear used TikTok's ad format "spark ads" to promote on black friday.

"The campaign provided targeted, objective-winning success and generated an over 72% increase in complete payment events. It also reduced Lounge Underwear’s add to cart cost-per-acquisition by a whopping 73%, proving how popular its underwear and mantra was with the community. "

Lounge did unfortunately have a campaign that missed the mark however their social media savvy team came back with a light hearted joke that took away the embarrassment, showing again that Lounge understand their consumer and how to relate to them.

"Lounge Underwear’s strategy is successful because they don’t solely focus on sales. Instead the brand places creating an inclusive community at the core of its strategy, ensuring influencer partnerships are authentic and long-lasting connections, not unreliable and artificial one offs." "When influencers are truly passionate about the brand, it nurtures and encourages an engaged audience".- important to use in FMP.

Their recipe for success consists of :

Knowing their audience

Influencer Marketing Program.

A strong community focus (#femalefamily and ‘Loungers,’) putting audience needs at the forefront.

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Lounge Underwear grew rapidly in popularity, they were able to partner with ex Victoria's Secret models. This in turn boosts the audience discovering their platform and brand, as well as highlighting their campaigns.

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Breast cancer awareness campaign November 2022 

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Breast cancer awareness campaign November 2022 

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the results of the breast cancer awarness campaign lounge hold have become increasingly higher ever year:

The 2022 campaign takes Lounge’s total donations to £610k which has been raised through campaigning since 2019. As part of a long-term initiative Lounge has been raising funds for the last four years, with each breaking records:

2019 – £23,616

2020 – £105,176

2021 – £133,419

2022 – £350,661

Lounge donate to a few breast cancer charities as a pledge for this campaign, they donate to Coppafeel, breast-cancer now, future dreams, black women rising, trekstock, and make seconds count.

As part of this campaign, lounge release a limited run of pink lingerie sets in support of cancer and women's charities. £272,235 were made for the charities from sales of these sets, a further £30,850 was raised through optional donations lounge customers opted for.

"The Boob Box" - Throughout October, in aid of breast cancer awareness Lounge has toured UK universities in their custom-made “Boob Box” giving out free sets of underwear and information to help raise awareness and donations and ultimately contribute to the fight against breast cancer! This year the brand went bigger and better, giving away over 35,000 sets to university students.

"Check your breasts "- As part of the campaign Lounge has released life-saving advice in association with CoppaFeel!. About 1 in 7 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime – Lounge’s check your breast video gives expert guidance on ways to check your breasts for early signs of cancer.

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In a record-breaking year the lingerie brand have raised over £350,661 in 2022
In a record-breaking year Lounge have raised ahuge £350,661during their 2022 Feel Your Breast campaign.

The 'Feel Your Breast' campaign aims to raise awareness of the early signs of breast cancer and raises donations for various cancer charities.

The 2022 campaign takes Lounge's total donations to£610kwhich has been raised through campaigning since 2019. As part of a long-term initiative Lounge has been raising funds for the last four years, with each breaking records:
#FeelYourBreast 2022
Lounge are donating to several cancer and women's charities as part of their 2022 campaign including CoppaFeel, Breast Cancer Now, Future Dreams, Black Women Rising, Trekstock and Make 2nds Count.

As part of the FeelYourBreast campaign, the brand has run several major activities to raise donations and awareness:
#FeelYourBreast Sets
Lounge released a limited run of pink lingerie sets in support of cancer and women's charities. Donations raised from sets totalled £272,235

At checkout, Lounge customers raised a further £30,850 through optional donations.
The Boob Box
Throughout October, in aid of breast cancer awareness Lounge has toured UK universities in their custom-made "Boob Box" giving out free sets of underwear and information to help raise awareness and donations and ultimately contribute to the fight against breast cancer! This year the brand went bigger and better, giving away over 35,000 sets to university students.

Donations from The Boob Box uni tour amount to £47,576 so far with one stop at De Montfort University still left to make on the 10th and 11th of November.
Check your breasts
As part of the campaign Lounge has released life-saving advice in association with CoppaFeel!. About 1 in 7 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime - Lounge's check your breast video gives expert guidance on ways to check your breasts for early signs of cancer.

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Lounge Underwear raises over £610k for Breast Cancer Awareness with 'Feel Your Breast' campaign - A1 Retail Magazine

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In a record-breaking year the lingerie brand have raised over £350,661 in [...]

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Chosen Charity - Rape crisis - LOTS OF STATISTICS

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Chosen Charity - Rape crisis - LOTS OF STATISTICS

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Rape crisis are my chosen charity for this campaign as I believe they would be a good choice for lounge, they are not a start up and have a well established platform with 39 rape crisis centres. They say together we aim to educate, influencer and make change.

The charity have recently been refreshed in 2018 with funding support from the home office.

"RCNSS accreditation demonstrates quality and specialism in every aspect of a specialist Rape Crisis Centre’s service provision, including Independent Sexual Violence Advocacy (ISVA) services, emotional support and therapeutic services."

1 in 4 women are abused, 1 in 6 children are abused, 1 in 18 men are abused

The highest amount of cases recorded within a 12 month period was recorded in September 2022 with 70,633 rapes. Only 2,616 perpetrators were charged.

Only 1 in 100 rapes recorded by police in 2021 resulted in a charge that same year, let alone any chance of conviction.

1 in 2 rapes against women are by their partner or ex partners, 98% of adults prosecuted for sexual abuse are men and 5 in 6 cases are carried out by someone the victim already knew.

40% of survivors (male and female) do not report their assault due to "embarrassment", 38% of survivors state they don't think that the police can help, 34% said they think it could be humiliating to report it.

6.5 million women in the UK have been raped or sexually assaulted since the age of 16.

1 in 2 survivors of rape have had it happen to them more than once

"A sexual violence pandemic"

There are high chances that at least 1 woman you knmow

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Rape Crisis England & Wales is the charity working to end sexual violence and abuse. Find out more about us and our work.

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Title page

Table of contents

Introduction and background

Customer persona

Competitor analysis

History of campaigns

Situational analysis - swot / tows and pestle

The problem SA and the solution - collab with the charity

Proposed strategy (idea) and the objective / strategy overview

7 P's

Marketing concepts

Financials and KPI's

Conclusion

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By 2025, the UK underwear market revenue is forecasted to reach over six billion U.S. dollars.

Today, underwear and lingerie is not only used for function, but also for fashion and for personal expression.

The leading womens underwear brands in the UK are M&S, Primark, and Asda.

Brexit, commencing early 2020, was forecasted to impact several industries and international trade within the UK. Even throughout all of this, imports and exports of underwear products in the United Kingdom stayed relatively constant

As for of womens underwear and lingerie imports, bras represent the largest product category brought to the UK.

On average, women have a weekly expenditure of 1.2 British pounds, whereas men have 0.6 British pounds, and children even less. This disparity only increases with increasing gross income.

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Market overview

Underwear today is segmented by product purpose. One such example is womens, girls', mens and boys' underwear products. In recent years, the sales value of underwear in all product categories decreased. In 2019, manufacturers sales of mens and boys' underwear products totalled 442 thousand British pounds, down from approximately 3.17 million British pounds in 2012. Some mens underwear brands manufactured in the UK are Halcyon Blue, and British Boxers. Similarly, womens and girls' underwear products had a sales value of 368 thousand British pounds in 2018, down from approximately 80.4 million British pounds in 2013. The leading womens underwear brands in the UK are M&S, Primark, and Asda.

Intimate apparel trade in the UK

Brexit, commencing early 2020, was forecasted to impact several industries and international trade within the UK. Even throughout all of this, imports and exports of underwear products in the United Kingdom stayed relatively constant. Mens and boys' underwear imports to the UK totalled approximately 235 million British pounds, with inner EU trade consisting of nearly 40 percent of that figure. The womens underwear and lingerie market is different than mens as it contains other intimate items such as bras. As for of womens underwear and lingerie imports, bras represent the largest product category brought to the UK.

Consumer trends

Underwear and other intimate apparel such as bras are seen as a necessity in the day-to-day lives amongst British consumers. Women, who may need to wear more than one undergarment at once, typically consume more than their male counterparts. On average, women have a weekly expenditure of 1.2 British pounds, whereas men have 0.6 British pounds, and children even less. This disparity only increases with increasing gross income.

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Discover all statistics and data on Underwear and lingerie in the UK now on statista.com!

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In 2022, the underwear market in the UK was estimated to be worth about 5.3 billion U.S. dollars, which was forecast to rise to almost 6.8 billion by 2027. The main driver in the market has been revenue generated through sales of women's underwear.

The same goes for women’s underwear. Overall, the import value of women’s undergarments for various categories was considerably greater than that for men. All categories of women’s intimate apparel included, the UK imported over 340 million British pounds worth of underwear in 2020, with bras being the highest valued item of all.

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Underwear market revenue in the UK | Statista

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In 2022, the underwear market in the UK was estimated to be worth about 5.3 billion U.S.

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Despite a return to events, demand for comfort is still strong, with retailers increasing their investment in sports bras by 9% and bralettes by 4% YoY. Push-up bras have experienced a two-year decline, down 15% YoY and 25% vs. 2020. (use this in the report and say Lounge focus on comfgy made sexy)

A trend noted for several years now, lingerie styles have evolved away from the bust-boosting bra styles popularized in the 90s to reflect modern consumers' lifestyles centered on comfort and functionality. COVID-19 contributed further to the decline of the push-up bra. With sleepwear, activewear and loungewear’s emergence as the darlings of pandemic dressing, lingerie that straddled these categories became the MVPs. Even in a post-lockdown age, these trends continue to thrive. Across both mass market brands and pure play active retailers, investment in sports bras has grown 9% YoY and 20% vs. 2020. Comfort remains an underlying factor in this product’s success, with non-restrictive attributes driving sell outs. Buoyed by cult brands SKIMS and Gymshark, seamless sports bras have been prominent in 2022's buys, equalling 53% and 48% of sports bras at boohoo and PrettyLittleThing respectively.

As a category synonymous with sex appeal, major lingerie brands have rewritten their narratives to represent a broader audience. There's been a striking shift away from advertising geared towards cis straight men to products designed with comfort in mind, more gender diversity and inclusive sizes. As barriers break down across fashion, the lingerie sector has been one of the fastest adapting categories. In addition to Victoria's Secret’s extremely public image makeover, the brand also increased the proportion of styles stocked in fringe sizes like 2XS and 2XL and introduced options in a 3XL.

Underwear is no exception. Its reliance on cotton, which is at a ten-year high, has led to products made with 100% cotton components hiking 10% in the US, and 22% in the UK, YoY (inflation, use in PESTLE)

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Underwear makes up 4% of womenswear products currently retailing online across the US and UK markets combined. While this may seem small, on a global scale, lingerie is expected to reach in 2027, making that 4% worth owning.

Few categories have seen such significant shifts over time as lingerie. The pandemic accelerated the already-popular comfort dressing movement, propelling soft cup silhouettes into the spotlight. Consumer demand for inclusivity in sizes and shades has been met by viral DTC brands like Parade and SKIMS, forcing legacy players to finally up their game or fade into obscurity.

To trade in this space, retailers need to champion sustainability and diversity, as well as be elastic with prices to react to a volatile market currently feeling the squeeze of inflation. Luckily, EDITED has the tools to help you achieve all this and more.
Get in touch now to take the guesswork out of planning, pricing and phasing assortments for your category using the power of EDITED's SaaS connected Cloud Commerce Platform.
Key Takeaways

Despite a return to events, demand for comfort is still strong, with retailers increasing their investment in sports bras by 9% and bralettes by 4% YoY. Push-up bras have experienced a two-year decline, down 15% YoY and 25% vs. 2020.

It's paramount that retailers embed diversity in all aspects of their business and not just as a box-ticking exercise. Darker shades of nude underwear now equal 56% of skin-tone underwear in the US, up from 42% a year ago. However, the UK is lacking with lighter beige hues accounting for 72% of nude products.

In terms of body diversity, big brands have made a greater effort to be more inclusive of fringe sizes such as 2XS, 2XL and 3XL. Yet, core sizes XS-XL remain the most catered-to, while men's plus size underwear remains a relatively untapped space.

To address sustainability, retailers have invested in period pants which have skyrocketed 273% YoY. The number of recycled bras in stock has surged 266% YoY, though only 15% are described as "100% recycled" for either the whole garment or components, which could suggest potential greenwashing if blended with other fibers that aren't as responsible.

With cotton prices inflating, products described with 100% cotton components have risen 10% in the US, and 22% in the UK, YoY. Breaking down by style level reveals opportunities to adjust pricing for thongs, which are currently underpriced and experiencing the highest number of sell outs at $25.

Image via Savage x Fenty

Comfort's reign continues

A trend noted for several years now, lingerie styles have evolved away from the bust-boosting bra styles popularized in the 90s to reflect modern consumers' lifestyles centered on comfort and functionality. COVID-19 contributed further to the decline of the push-up bra. With , activewear and loungewear 's emergence as the darlings of pandemic dressing, lingerie that straddled these categories became the MVPs.

Even in a post-lockdown age, these trends continue to thrive. Across both mass market brands and pure play active retailers, investment in sports bras has grown 9% YoY and 20% vs. 2020. Comfort remains an underlying factor in this product's success, with non-restrictive attributes driving sell outs. Buoyed by cult brands SKIMS and Gymshark, seamless sports bras have been prominent in 2022's buys, equalling 53% and 48% of sports bras at boohoo and PrettyLittleThing respectively.
Images via Gymshark, Lululemon and PrettyLittleThing
Further reading: What's Shaping The Sports Bra Market?

Not only limited to activewear, consumer's penchant for comfort continues to shape key bra silhouettes. Serving both the comfort and sexy dressing trend, retailers are backing bralettes for both inner and outer wear. Since 2020, wireless styles have increased 24% and 4% YoY. While softer shapes take over, push-ups have been pushed down. They have declined 15% YoY and 25% compared to 2020, further proof comfort and functionality are winning right now.

This softer approach is also evident in shapewear. The impact of COVID has seen this category evolve from an occasion to a lifestyle item with core assortments now made up of high-waist briefs, bike short silhouettes and bodysuits. Fashion's cultural reset has led to retailers phasing out describing shapewear properties as "slimming," a term attached to only 9% of stocked items vs. 12% a year ago. Instead, the terminology has been repositioned around "smoothing," "firming," and "sculpting" qualities, emphasizing seamless styles with "comfort" a descriptor on 29% and 27% of products in the US and UK, respectively.

Further reading: The Retailer's Guide To Succeeding In Shapewear

This doesn't mean the end of flirty and seductive silhouettes. Black lace and sexy cut-out sets were among the top performing styles on Valentine's Day.
Are you an EDITED Customer? Log in to get exclusive access to the report Valentine's 2022 - What Sold?
Send nudes...in every shade

More retailers are waking up to "nude" referencing a vast range of shades, setting a new precedent for inclusivity across skin tones. Several digitally native brands have entered the playing field with diversity baked into their brand ethos. SKIMS offers nine neutral hues, while Heist has developed seven shades of nude, covering over 1,000 unique skin tones. To compete, US brands have seen a more significant shift towards stocking underwear inclusive of darker nudes. Shades on the spectrum of brown are most dominant, making up 56% of underwear, up from 42% a year ago.

However, the UK market tells a different story. Despite brands like Simply Be and Marks & Spencer designing underwear in various flesh-toned shades, the majority of tones in this market is still geared towards lighter bisque hues, equalling 72% of products. This signifies that there is still work to be done to make intimates more inclusive of skin tones.
EDITED pinpoints the shades retailers are investing in by using retail analytics and image recognition technology. Reach out to see this function in action.
Sustainable solutions

Given the state of the environment, sustainability can no longer be ignored by retailers. With underwear worn daily and an essential in all consumers' wardrobes, it's a category that requires a serious eco overhaul due to the disposable nature of cheap underwear, excessive dyes and the use of petroleum-based fabrics.

As an environmentally-friendly alternative to single-use sanitary products, the menstrual underwear market has continued to garner attention and gain momentum. Period pants in stock have seen a 273% increase compared to 2021, with styles introduced at Victoria's Secret PINK, J.Crew, Next and Marks & Spencer.
Images via Marks & Spencer, Victoria's Secret PINK and THINX at ASOS
Similar to the wider market, recycled materials continue to make up the bulk of sustainably-described underwear products in stock. Bras described as recycled have swelled 266% YoY, with brands like Aerie, Monki and Gap growing their investment. Of the recycled products available, 70%-79% recycled content is the most common, with 30% of styles falling here. Just 15% of styles feature "100% recycled" in their description for either the whole garment or particular components, as noted at Tezenis, For Love & Lemons x Victoria's Secret and Free People.

Using recycled materials isn't the only measure of a product or company's sustainability efforts and shouldn't be seen as the bare minimum. Retailers need to be tackling the environmental crisis from multiple angles - not just their products' care and composition label, but also extending to the emissions within their value chain, what happens to their products at the end of their lifespan and the welfare of their garment workers.

Size does matter

As a category synonymous with sex appeal, major lingerie brands have rewritten their narratives to represent a broader audience. There's been a striking shift away from advertising geared towards cis straight men to products designed with comfort in mind, more gender diversity and inclusive sizes. As barriers break down across fashion, the lingerie sector has been one of the fastest adapting categories. In addition to Victoria's Secret's extremely public image makeover, the brand also increased the proportion of styles stocked in fringe sizes like 2XS and 2XL and introduced options in a 3XL.

Image via Victoria's Secret

Similarly, Gap US and Monki UK have included more underwear options in a 2XL vs. last year. Despite these efforts, all these brands are still focusing on serving core sizes like XS-XL. Retailers unsure about the payoff of inclusive sizing only need to look at Savage X Fenty and SKIMS. These labels have an equal distribution across sizes, allowing customers to purchase the same products regardless of body shape. Recently, Savage X Fenty secured $125mn in funding to expand to brick-and-mortar, while SKIMS doubled its valuation to $3.2bn.

While diverse body shapes have been somewhat embraced in women's underwear campaigns, they are noticeably lacking for men. Despite the average US male having a 40-42 inch waist (usually an XL in underwear, though it may vary depending on brands), retailers continue to prioritize casting lean and muscular male models. Once again, Savage X Fenty has disrupted this space, including plus size male models in its runway shows and product campaigns to accompany its menswear range, where all underwear styles are available between XS and 3XL.

Further reading: How Inclusive & Sustainable Is Underwear?

Prices have inflated

Due to ongoing supply chain bottlenecks impacting raw materials and shipping costs, all categories have faced various inflation levels. Underwear is no exception. Its reliance on cotton, which is at a ten-year high, has led to products made with 100% cotton components hiking 10% in the US, and 22% in the UK, YoY. Alongside the aforementioned growing demand for comfort styles and sustainable innovation, retailers are going to need to make smarter price adjustments to align with these market shifts.

In the US market, 16% of bikini cuts and 15% of briefs and thongs in stock over the past three months were priced under $5. Yet, all three of these styles have seen higher sell out percentages at deeper price points, a clear example of unnecessary margin erosion.

Instead, briefs are most successful selling between $15-$20, as noted with NA-KD's high-waist lace panties at $16.95. For thongs, the pricing sweet spot can be elevated up to $25, as per SKIMS offering thongs between $20-$22, while H&M justifies a $24.99 price point with seamless multipacks. The same proportion of boy short styles has sold between $5-$10 and $40-$45. To elevate prices, retailers can capitalize on comfort's command by investing in premium materials like Pointelle and Modal.

Meanwhile, men's underwear has also felt the impact of inflation, with the average full price of individual boxers rising 9% YoY to £8.25. This is also reflected in the US, with prices climbing 5% to $20.31.

At retailer level, Bershka (UK) inflated the price of its three-pack boxers by £3 to £17.99 since 2021 despite having the same 76%/77% cotton composition. Abercrombie & Fitch occupies the exit spot in the US after introducing a new 12-pack offering last August at $118. Meanwhile, UNIQLO has kept its pricing architecture the same for the past three years, positioned tightly between £5.90/$9.90-£9.90/$14.90.

Further reading: Retail Solutions For Perfecting Underwear Pricing

Multiple product styles at various price points and so many factors to consider make lingerie a tricky area to unpack. EDITED can help simplify this category, giving you the power to make the best decisions for your brand using real-time data.
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The Lingerie Market Explained In 8 Charts

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Few categories have seen such significant shifts over time as lingerie. The pandemic accelerated the already-popular comfort dressing movement, propelling soft cup silhouettes into the spotlight. Consumer demand for inclusivity in sizes and shades has been met by viral DTC brands like Parade and SKIMS, forcing legacy players to finally up their game or fade into obscurity.

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key words typed by consumer's when looking for underwear - edited

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key words typed by consumer's when looking for underwear - edited

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60% female and 40% male consumers

Main age range is 25-34

Top country driving traffic is UK

Average visit duration 2.57

44.8% bounce rate

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Lounge underwear competition - similar web

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Lounge underwear competition - similar web

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Gooseberry intimates

bouxavenue

yandy.com

hunkemoller

victoria secret

asos

sexy shoes

pourmoi

blushing lingerie

spicey lingerie

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Intro -> Issue sexual assault -> rape crisis -> needs a brand sponsor -> lounge story, why good partner, courageous, marketing for good -> then my idea ->

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Despite no significant change in the prevalence of sexual assault experienced by adults aged 16 to 59 years in the last year (2.7%) compared with the year ending March 2020 (2.2%), there has been a significant increase since the year ending March 2014 (1.5%), which aligns with trends seen in police recorded crime.

The volume of sexual offences recorded by the police has been increasing over the last decade although the numbers remain well below the number of victims estimated by the survey; the latest figures for the year ending March 2022 show an increase of 31%, to 193,566 police recorded offences, compared with the previous year.

Data from organisations supporting sexual assault victims can provide a snapshot of the demands on these services, with data from Victim Support showing an increase in demand in recent years.

Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 23 March 2023, ONS website, article, Sexual offences victim characteristics, England and Wales: year ending March 2022

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Sexual offences in England and Wales overview - Office for National Statistics

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Data on sexual offences from the year ending March 2022 Crime Survey for England and Wales, police recorded crime, and victim services.

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The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) year ending March 2022 showed that a significantly higher proportion of adults aged 16 to 19 years and 20 to 24 years (11.3% and 8.8%, respectively) were victims of sexual assault in the last year compared with those in other age groups (Figure 3).

source :  Crime Survey for England and Wales from the Office for National Statistics

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source : Data Hub from the Home Office

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Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales from the Office for National Statistics

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Rape Crisis England & Wales (@rapecrisisew) | TikTok

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Rape Crisis England & Wales (@rapecrisisew) on TikTok | 4.2K Likes. 502 Followers. Promoting understanding of sexual violence & abuse. Speaking up for survivors.Watch the latest video from Rape Crisis England & Wales (@rapecrisisew).

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The husband-and-wife team Daniel, 31, and Melanie Marsden, 30, started this underwear retailer at their kitchen table in Kidderminster in 2015. Now it's reporting sales of £68.5 million in the year to June — helped by its 3.4 million followers on Instagram

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The husband-and-wife team Daniel, 31, and Melanie Marsden, 30, started this underwear retailer at their kitchen table in Kidderminster in 2015. Now it's reporting sales of £68.5 million in the year to June — helped by its 3.4 million followers on Instagram

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The Times - June 2023

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Their influencers are usually young women with a following of between 44k-2.5m, this will increase Lounges brand visibility/awareness amongst their target segment, women aged 18–30, Info.Ise tells us “In terms of gender demographics, 68% of Instagrammers are female and 59% of internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 use Instagram”. It makes sense for Lounge to push their business through Instagram as their advertising will be most assessable via this platform.

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Lounge is an online Lingerie retail company that founded in 2016 designed to make comfort sexy. The brand quickly became very popular, being recognised on fast track 100 as one-to-watch in 2019, then achieving 5th on fast track 100, 2020, a massive achievement.

Lounge has a prominent social media presence, having multiple Instagram accounts and, a large female family of influencers makes them hard to miss. CEO Dan told BDO, "All our marketing is digital-first, and I think we will still go digital-first. We do what you would call modern marketing: social media, paid ads, and influencer marketing. That is still the key focus.". Lounge will use lifestyle and fashion influencers because their followings are made up of the companies target audience, making sure they reach the right people to boost sales.

Their influencers are usually young women with a following of between 44k-2.5m, this will increase Lounges brand visibility/awareness amongst their target segment, women aged 18-30, Info.Ise tells us "In terms of gender demographics, 68% of Instagrammers are female and 59% of internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 use Instagram". It makes sense for Lounge to push their business through Instagram as their advertising will be most assessable via this platform.

Lounges Instagram contains their female family photos (another benefit of using influencer marketing). A database of followers is also featured on their page, providing free marketing/content. Their followers are often posting and tagging Lounge, offering Lounge the photo free of charge while creating awareness of the brand.

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Lounge is an online Lingerie retail company that founded in 2016 designed to make comfort sexy. The brand quickly became very popular, being recognised on fast track 100 as one-to-watch in 2019, then...

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Rupinder has always been fascinated about the power of our human mind, the motivation, beliefs and thoughts that drive our actions and behaviours. This inspired Rupinder to study BA (Hons) Psychology & Educational Development 20 years ago. Followed by a MSc in Human Resource Management & Business and has led to an 18-year career in the field of HR, leadership training, coaching and mentoring.

Rupinder founded Asian Women MEAN Business, an online and in person sisterhood that is inspiring, championing and connecting women because she felt starved of the inspiration & community that she was looking for and you know how the saying goes “sometimes you have to create what you want to be a part of!”. So she created AWMB

Web: https://www.asianwomenmeanbusiness.com/

Podcast: Asian Women MEAN Business
https://www.jatinderpalaha.com/best-life-coaches-mentors/

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27 Best Life Coaches, Consultants and Mentors In The UK Who Make a Difference | Jatinder Palaha - Digital Business Coach, Consultant, Author

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In this post in no particular order, I share a biased list of people who I consider to be amongst the best life coaches and mentors in the UK.

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Transformational Teacher, Akashic Records Reader, Reiki Master and AC Accredited Coach.

Aloise is the host of the Dharma Life Podcast, and the Creator of the Dharma Life Academy. She is a global speaker and soul purpose coach.

Aloise says her job is to help you break free of old belief systems and thought patterns, that are holding you back and helping people uncover their Dharma and create personal abundance and lives they deserve …

Her speciality is helping women unlock their greatest potential, creating their dream life in alignment with their soul.

Website: https://aloise.life/

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27 Best Life Coaches, Consultants and Mentors In The UK Who Make a Difference | Jatinder Palaha - Digital Business Coach, Consultant, Author

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In this post in no particular order, I share a biased list of people who I consider to be amongst the best life coaches and mentors in the UK.

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Have you heard of lounge underwear ad their breast cancer campaign? what did you think of it?

Have you ever shopped at Lounge? What did you buy?

Have you heard of Rape Crisis and if so do you know what they do?

Who are your favourite influencers?