La Senza

La Senza Corporation is a Canadian fashion retailer that sells women's lingerie and intimate apparel. The La Senza brand is currently owned by Regent which operates and owns La Senza stores in Canada and the United States and uses a franchise model for the operation of stores outside Canada and the United States.[5]

La Senza Corporation
Private
IndustryClothing
Founded1990 (1990)
FounderLawrence Lewin[1]
Irving Teitelbaum[2]
HeadquartersColumbus, Ohio, United States[3]
Number of locations
126 company-owned
203 franchised
(January 2017)[4]
ProductsLingerie
OwnerRegent, L.P.
Websitelasenza.com

History

La Senza was founded in Canada by Lawrence Lewin and Irving Teitelbaum, who opened the company's first store in 1990. In October 2006, La Senza was purchased by L Brands of Columbus, Ohio for $710 million CAD in cash.[6][7][8] At its peak in 2010, there were over 800 La Senza stores worldwide, with over 320 locations in Canada.[6][9][10][11][12] By 2013, La Senza closed over two-thirds of its Canadian locations, including redundant and spin-off stores.[13] Reasons for the brand's decline included discontinuing products that Canadians preferred, such as PJs, and the rising popularity of Victoria's Secret and Pink stores, which currently serve as the main focus for L Brands in Canada. Stuart Burgdoerfer, vice-president and CFO of L Brands, said of La Senza: “There are signs of optimism there, but we are not at all accepting of the current result that we have.”[13] By January 2017, there were 329 La Senza stores worldwide, including 122 in Canada and four in the United States.[4]

As of 2019, La Senza employed over 2,000 associates globally and currently operates 130 company-owned stores in the United States and Canada and an additional 187 stores via its international franchise partners spanning 36 countries across the Middle East, Northern Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and South East Asia.

In January 2019, L Brands sold the La Senza business to Regent, a Beverly Hills-based private equity firm controlled by investor Michael Reinstein.[14]

Products

La Senza's products focus on lingerie and nightwear but also include loungewear, daywear, and accessories. The concept is similar to that of Victoria's Secret, which is owned by La Senza’s previous parent company, L Brands corporation.

Operating structure

From 2000 to 2006, La Senza was sold by L Brands in January 2019 to Regent and now operates as an independent company.[14]

United States

In 2016, several La Senza stores opened in the United States on an experimental basis.[15] Two are located in L Brands' hometown Columbus, Ohio, at Easton Town Center and Polaris Fashion Place. One is located in Orland Park, Illinois, and another in Merrillville, Indiana. La Senza also briefly operated in the United states from 2000 to 2006.

Franchise

La Senza UK

Businessman Theo Paphitis bought the United Kingdom and Ireland franchise, called La Senza UK, and began expanding it, eventually with sub-franchises in other parts of the European Union. In July 2006, Paphitis sold the company to private equity company Lion Capital, for a reported £100m.[16] Paphitis left the board and is no longer a shareholder,[17] and in the Spring of 2011 set up the new lingerie firm Boux Avenue.[18]

On 23 December 2011, La Senza UK filed for administration citing "trading conditions" as one of the conditions for closure. The company stated that it had 2,600 UK staff at 146 stores and 18 concessions, and announced plans to close 80 stores.[19]

On 9 January 2012, Kuwait based international retail franchise operator Alshaya announced it had reached agreement to take control of much of the ongoing La Senza business in the UK. Under an agreement with KPMG, administrators to La Senza UK, Alshaya UK Limited acquired exclusive franchise rights for the La Senza brand in the UK for an undisclosed sum. Alshaya said it would retain 60 stores, securing around 1,100 jobs while ensuring the continuation of a strong and popular brand on the UK high street.[20] The deal and subsequent plans for the business, which included new product collections and store redesigns, represented a planned investment of around £100m in the UK retail sector over the next two years by Alshaya.[21][22] Difficult trading conditions however continued and by June 2014 administrators were once again appointed to the struggling UK sector of the La Senza business. By this time the group was under the ownership of Marnixheath, which was operating 55 stores in the UK, employing 752 people.[23]

L Brands later acquired all of the assets and intellectual property of the UK business.

Production

La Senza manufactures some of its products near Kancheepuram in South India.[24] La Senza operates out of malls in India as well.[25]

Clothing lines and labels
Defunct

La Senza owned and operated other labels, including La Senza Girl clothing stores for teenagers as well as clothing for younger children, La Senza Express stores for bras and panties, and La Senza Spirit for activewear.

Lola and Coco

In 2008, La Senza launched Lola and Coco by La Senza, aimed at high school and university students, much like Pink by Victoria's Secret.[26]

Robin Antin

In 2008, the creator of The Pussycat Dolls, Robin Antin, was asked to design a Pussycat Doll-inspired lingerie collection for the La Senza brand. The collection uses fabrics imported from Italy and Spain.[27]

Models and celebrity endorsements

Similar to Victoria's Secret, La Senza uses high-profile fashion models to endorse their product. Models such as Ginta Lapina, Lauren Gold, Petra Němcová, Isabeli Fontana, Bianca Balti, Yamila Díaz, Doutzen Kroes, Daniela Pestova, Sophie Anderton, Rebecca Romijn, Caroline Winberg, Emma Heming, Jessica Stam, Maria Sokolovski, and Niclyn Rendall have been featured in an array of campaigns.[28]

References
  1. "Lingerie retailer La Senza making no secret of its expansion plans". CBC.
  2. "Lingerie retailer La Senza making no secret of its expansion plans". CBC.
  3. "L Brands (LB) vs. Francesca's (FRAN) Financial Contrast". Ledger Gazette. 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2018-02-02. It operates in the retail brands, which include Victoria’s Secret, PINK, Bath & Body Works and La Senza. La Senza is a specialty retailer of women’s intimate apparel. It sells its La Senza products at over 120 La Senza stores in Canada.
  4. "Proxy Statement for the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and 2016 Annual Report" (PDF). www.lb.com. L Brands. May 18, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  5. Moin, David (20 October 2011). "Wexner Wary of Overseas, Sees Limited Sales of $20B". Women's Wear Daily (WWD). Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  6. "Limited Brands buys La Senza". The Globe and Mail. Montreal. 2006-11-15. Retrieved 2018-02-02. As part of the deal, Mr. Teitelbaum and vice-chairman Stephen Gross will remain in their respective positions, together with Laurence Lewin, president and chief operating officer who co-founded La Senza in 1990.
  7. "La Senza takes on Beauty! - Lingerie leader to launch Victoria's Secret Beauty in its Canadian stores". Newswire. Montreal. 2006-10-15. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  8. "Limited Tries La Senza on For Size". New York Times. 16 November 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  9. "La Senza - About". La Senza. Archived from the original on 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  10. "La Senza Head Dies". Canadian Jewish News. Montreal. 2008-11-27. Retrieved 2018-02-02. Laurence Lewin, the president and co-founder of the La Senza lingerie chain who appeared as a judge on CBC TV’s Dragon’s Den in 2006, died Nov. 12 after battling lung cancer.
  11. "Dragon attack: Laurence Lewin, La Senza". Profit Guide. 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2018-02-02. In 1990, while working for apparel retailer Suzy Shier in Montreal, accountant-turned-computer programmer Laurence Lewin co-founded La Senza, a lingerie retailer that today boasts more than 700 stores around the world.
  12. "Deaths". Montreal Gazette. 2008-11-13. Archived from the original on 2014-01-23. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  13. Shaw, Hollie (26 February 2013). "Will Canada's La Senza survive next to more productive, 'sophisticated' U.S. sister Victoria's Secret?". Financial Post (Retail & Marketing). Toronto, Canada. Postmedia Network Inc. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  14. https://www.wsj.com/articles/l-brands-sells-la-senza-lingerie-to-private-equity-firm-11544715322
  15. Tim Feran. "L Brands' La Senza to open at Easton, Polaris". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2017-01-03. Martin Waters, president of international operations at the Columbus-based retailer, announced in February that five La Senza stores would open in the United States as part of an experiment to see how customers react to the Canadian chain.
  16. "La Senza sold to Lion Capital". fashionunited.co.uk. 2006-07-13. Retrieved 2006-07-13.
  17. "Theo-Paphitis-considers-La-Senza-rescue.html". 2011-12-18. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
  18. "dragon-takes-the-plunge-into-lingerie-2296348.html". The Independent. London. 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
  19. "La Senza to enter administration in UK". BBC News. 2011-12-23.
  20. Dunkley, Dan (2012-02-06). "Rescue deals come back into fashion". Financial News. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  21. "Blacks Leisure sold for £20m while La Senza finds buyer". BBC News. 2012-01-09.
  22. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-01-17. Retrieved 2012-01-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. "La Senza lingerie chain in UK goes back to administration". The UK News. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  24. Bhalla, Nita (22 May 2012). "These Indian village women know Victoria's secret". Daily News and Analysis. Chennai. Retrieved Jan 2, 2015.
  25. "Deepika Padukone at La Senza's event". Times of India. Mumbai. 26 January 2012. Retrieved Jan 2, 2015.
  26. http://www.drapersonline.com/news/la-senza-to-unveil-leisurewear/834144.article
  27. "Pussycats on the Prowl at La Senza!". Reuters. 2008-08-28.
  28. http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/models/search/?sub=suchwort_suche&suchtyp=kriterien_suche&suchwort_suche_suchbegriff=%20La%20Senza&advanced_search=1&search_in=array&search_in_select[]=advertisements&start=12 Archived 2012-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
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