This could be a moment for some sombre thoughts.
In the last few weeks in the UK a number of small to medium size wholesale lingerie businesses have bit the dust and no doubt many retailers are hanging on by their finger tips if they have so far survived this recession.
This week news broke that Intimas, the company behind brands such as Charnos and Lepel among others, has gone into administration with 200 jobs threatened here in the UK.
Now for those who don’t follow this sort of stuff – administration means that the company could still survive. A specialist firm or firms will have moved in to see if or how they can save the business. But if a big company such as Intimas does follow some of the earlier victims of the recession then the longer term impact on the lingerie buying public cannot be ignored.
Some might say that the lingerie industry is over crowded with far too many designers, manufacturers and retailers, especially after the last few years when so many new brands and companies have emerged. However, as you might expect, I am not one of those people!
The volume and diversity of our lingerie businesses results in wonderful choice for those who buy lingerie. As businesses go under and products disappear choice will decrease and while in the very long term new businesses will spring up and give you choice again, it may be your favourite brand, designer or shop that has gone for ever.
So the money may be tight but this a call to all you lingerie lovers to support your favourite brand, designer or shop where ever you are and who ever they are. This is not a plea specific to our lingerie shop which is still growing nicely, and long may it continue to do so, despite the recession. But it is a plea on behalf of the lingerie industry as a whole. If you want to have choice and diversity in lingerie then spend a little money on it now – after all there are some great offers about.
More TLP reads on the lingerie business and the recession:
Gill Fernandez – Ever So Sexy
A background in finance and sales but a deep desire to do something more feminine brought Gill into the world of lingerie when she decided to form her own company Crysalis Ltd which trades on line under the name www.ever-so-sexy.com and specialises in the glamorous, pretty and down right sexy stuff..
Lisa Williams – Playful Promises
