Tracy Lewis, chief executive officer of the Eveden Group, plans to give a global spin to the British bra company with the acquisition of bankrupt Huit Diffusion, an upscale French brand specializing in average-size bras and swimwear. Eveden, a privately owned maker of moderate and better-price full-figure and full-busted bras, was created in 1993 after a management buyout of The Sterling Group and its Fantasie corsetry brand.
Lewis, a former marketing and sales executive at Marks & Spencer, joined Eveden in 2003 as marketing director and was named ceo in 2006. The company’s annual revenues grew to 70 million pounds, or $104.6 million in 2009, from two million pounds, or $2.98 million in 1993. The 2001 acquisition of U.S. full-figure bra brand Goddess, as well as the introduction of three diffusion brands — Freya, Elomi and Fauve — has helped boost sales and double global distribution to 50 countries. Eveden products are sold at 1,300 points of sale in the U.S., and Huit is available at 200 stores, mainly boutiques.
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Lewis said the company is investing 1 million euros, about $1.5 million, in the brand this year, and will expand swimwear assortments in both the Freya and Huit collections. Huit, which according to industry estimates generated wholesale sales of around $44 million in 2008, cited poor sales and a weakened cash flow after its acquisition of the 66-year-old French bra brand Barbara in 2009. Huit filed the equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in France in February.
WWD: How did Eveden grow its business in the U.K and internationally?
Tracy Lewis: We really believe that to be able to talk about the product you have to wear it. Fantasie was a well-known corsetry brand from the 1920s [corsetiere to the Queen of England], and we quickly discovered there was a need for full-busted bras. So we developed the Fantasie brand to become the premium full-busted bra brand in the U.K. with Freya, which evolved from the Goddess brand. The Goddess acquisition allowed us to enter the full-figure market and expand into the U.S. market. We had an export business in Europe, but it was very small. We developed it in the early 2000s, as well as swimwear, which is very important in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, where they were just becoming aware of full-busted products.
WWD: What are the details of the Huit deal?
T.L.: Huit was a real attraction for us because it offered no cannibalization or crossover with our brands. We can now fit women from an A cup to a K cup. Huit went into the equivalent of bankruptcy in France on Feb. 4, 2010. The procedure in France is quite complex if you want to make an acquisition. You have to be given a judgment, because it’s an asset purchase not a share deal. We acquired the stock, the Huit brand, the trademarks and the factory in Rennes, France. It was challenging because we had to convince the French unions that we were the right purchasers and financially stable. We had to promise to keep the brand French, and that we would invest in the business, which we did with 1 million euros. The terms of investment were significantly higher because we had to purchase spring and autumn inventories out of Tunisia.
WWD: Why did Huit have financial problems?
T.L.: The company was very spring-summer-oriented because of the swimwear. From a cash flow perspective it’s a very first-quarter intense business, spending all of the cash to buy raw materials and make product so you have a big spike in business. Huit acquired Barbara in March 2009, which was in bankruptcy. Taking on the extra demand of the Barbara brand became quite challenging for Huit in the end. We decided not to buy it.
WWD: What about retail expansion?
T.L.: Eveden currently has five full-price stores in the U.K., called Leia, and one factory outlet, as well as 17 Leia London shops in Israel. There is one Huit boutique and a factory outlet in France, and a partnership Huit store in Singapore. We have no definite plans to do open additional [Huit] stores yet, but it is certainly a consideration for the future. Our priority is rebuilding the wholesale business and regaining customer confidence in the Huit brand.
WWD: What are the plans for Huit in the U.S.?
TL: Our first priority is to support the existing Huit loyal customer base with better service and reliability of supply. As we secure that we would like to extend our reach of the brand through premium department stores and boutiques. There is clearly a market for premium fashion lingerie and swimwear that has a unique edge to it and we believe that Huit fulfils this. With our knowledge of the U.S. market we intend to tailor the offerings towards this consumer by widening the choice of great basics and offering them across both lingerie and swim year-round with regular additions of ‘must have’ fashion drops to inject excitement and choice.
WWD: Are there plans for Asia?
TL: There is a big opportunity in Asia for Huit…Clearly, the Eveden portfolio with its specialty fuller bust and fuller fit is not geared towards the body shape of women in more eastern countries. However, the sizing, brand essence and fashionability of Huit very much fits with the consumer in many of these growing markets. It is certainly an area that we intend to explore fully and ensure that we expand the reach of the brand into some of these markets.