Etam has chosen Miami for its first freestanding U.S. boutique, selecting a fast-growing city — and an opening date coinciding with peak swimwear season.
The 3,000-square-foot unit, now under construction, is slated to bow in mid-July at the Dadeland Mall, across from Sephora and Lululemon, and in the vicinity of Zara, Victoria’s Secret and Intimissimi.
The French innerwear giant — which entered America last April via shop-in-shops in 10 Nordstrom locations, Nordstrom’s e-commerce and Etam’s own online store — intends to open and operate three freestanding boutiques as “proof of concept” before expanding further Stateside, said Etam Lingerie‘s chairman Laurent Milchior, the grandson of one of the founders of the 107-year-old firm.
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It is actively scouting locations in Florida, Texas and New York, and aims to open two more locations before the end of the year.
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“We want to bring our Frenchness, but we have to do it the American way,” Milchior said in an exclusive interview at Etam’s headquarters in Paris.
To wit: He is building a small team with retail, digital and marketing expertise in the U.S., led by general manager Kelly Wood, whose résumé includes stints at Gap, Third Love, Williams-Sonoma and Maiden Home.
“There’s a specific way of marketing things to the American consumer,” he stressed, drawing an analogy to the wine industry. Many American consumers order by grape variety, such as chardonnay, whereas French producers emphasize origin, with Bordeaux and Burgundy the two principal growing regions.
Milchior noted the lead time to open stores in the U.S. is considerably longer than in France, where only four to six weeks are required. What’s more, “store construction is much more expensive than it is in Europe, it’s double the price,” the executive marveled. “We only want to open in prime locations.”
However, he is convinced there is space for “alternative” innerwear brands in America, where the likes of Skims and Aerie have grabbed market share as leader Victoria’s Secret restructures and charts a new direction.
Known for its stretch lace, mix-and-match sets and affordable pricing in its core European market, Etam logged 70 percent sell-through in its first two weeks at Nordstrom locations, but has experienced some hiccups in fulfillment since it does not yet have warehouse facilities in the U.S.
Like other retailers, Etam is also coming up against inflation and recessionary pressures, causing most average consumers to put the brakes on discretionary spending.
To smooth its supply chain in America, it plans to forge synergies with Mexico, where Etam recently signed a joint venture with Diltex to distribute in department stores and freestanding units, of which two are up and running and five more are planned.
Yet Milchior said American customers recognize the strong price-quality ratio in Etam’s products, its know-how in terms of fit and comfort, and its colorful and elegant fashion offering, less in-your-face than some of its American competitors.
They also appreciate Etam’s corporate social responsibility credentials, with about 70 percent of its offering eco-conceived in organic or recycled fibers.
“For an educated American customer, this is very important,” Milchior said. “If you compare us to the other lingerie brands, we’re much more advanced on this topic…. We’re the greenest lingerie brand in the mass segment.”
Etam operates 860 stores in more than 55 countries, in addition to global e-commerce. The Etam Group also markets the Undiz, Livy, Ysé and Maison 123 brands.
At home, Etam boasts an 11 percent share of the French lingerie market.
To enhance its appeal in the U.S. market, Etam added extra sizes to appeal to the widest possible audience. Starting this fall, select bras will range from 30A to 42G, and select bottoms will range from XXS to 3XL.
In the medium-term, the brand plans to explore some product collaborations, while also drawing links to Etam’s French activities, which include a swimwear focused cruise fashion show, which unfurled in Saint-Tropez last month.
An annual blowout fashion show during Paris Fashion Week ranks as another of its boldest marketing statements.
The Miami store will be the seventh unit in the world to reflect a new “cozy yet modern” design concept, whose elements include pale wood, concrete, pink tones, neon lights, and brass details.
Etam enters the U.S. market with a wealth of retail expertise, omnichannel selling tools and high-tech razzmatazz, including connected fitting rooms.
Etam touts its French origins and style, and savoir-faire thanks to 60 bra specialists based in Lille, some boasting 40 years of experience. The brand was a pioneer in run-resistant lingerie.
Etam started out as a hosiery business, opening its first store in Berlin in 1916. The privately held firm is controlled by the Milchior, Tarica and Lindemann families.