After a three-year hiatus from the U.S. market, the French Lou bra brand will make a comeback at the Feb. 7 to 9 Lingerie Americas trade show in New York.
The relaunch of the brand, which specializes in classic, European styles ranging from highly embellished to sleek and seamless, is a joint venture by Montreal-based BL Intimates and VF Intimates L.P., a subsidiary of VF Corp.
Alan Ginsberg, BL Intimates’ managing director, said the timing is right to reintroduce the 60-year-old bra that is the “third-best-selling brand in France.”
Ginsberg added, “We are well positioned to run a company like this and a smaller brand like this that will become stronger in North America. A lot of errors were made in the [original U.S. launch in the early Nineties]. But now Lou will be a wider-appealing line than in the past. It will be important to do a core program, which will help maintain continuation at retail and we will eventually plan to make it replenishable.
Ginsberg noted that there also will be several fashion groups embellished with European lace and embroideries. Silhouettes will be smoother and rounder, and sizes will be extended to D and E cups.
Acquired by VF in 1992, the Lou name was created by a husband-and-wife team Lucienne and Andre Faller, both world-class skiers who met on the slopes in Grenoble, France.
Lou’s target consumer is similar to the brand’s creator: over 25, practical, price-conscious, willing to pay for quality products and enjoying a “joie de vivre,” Ginsberg said.
Bras will retail for $70 to $100, and panties at $25 to $85. Distribution is initially aimed at upscale boutiques and a select number of major department and specialty stores. Ginsberg said a sales force has been organized in Canada and the U.S.: four independent sales representatives in Canada and six reps in the U.S. who have showrooms and will travel across the country. Design and merchandising will be conducted in Canada, and Vanity Fair Intimates will oversee marketing and distribution.
A first-year wholesale sales projection was not available, but the brand should generate sales of $10 million to $12 million, according to industry estimates. The Lou launch for next fall will be supported by point-of-sale materials and a marketing and advertising campaign at trade shows and regional publications with the tag line “You are YOU in Lou.”