www.InfoFashion.de

BODY LOOK with bodytex
International Trade Fair for Body, Beach- and Legwear
(22–24 July 2005)

9th Body-, Beach- & Legwear Innovations Forum
on 21 July in Leipzig

“Look better, feel better”: Intimacy’s recipe for success

Statement from buyer Tanya Reynolds and sales and marketing manager Kristin Smith at US speciality retailer Intimacy with stores in New York and Atlanta on their three secrets to success.

The first Intimacy store was opened by Susan and David Nethero in 1992 at Phipps Plaza, Atlanta’s premier upscale mall. Nowadays Intimacy stocks the biggest selection of European lingerie in the south-east USA and last year opened a second branch on New York’s Madison Avenue.

Tanya Reynolds and Kristin Smith, two of Intimacy’s executives, reveal the secrets behind the company’s success:

In search of the niche

“Over the past 20 years, advice on bra fitting has become a rarity in American stores,” explains Tanya Reynolds. “Consequently, US consumers don’t know enough about how to tell their cup size from factors determining fit and comfort, not to mention breast tissue or bra care. As a result, the importance of bras in general and their fit in particular is often underestimated.”

Intimacy made use of the expertise of June Kenton, corsetiere to H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and proprietor of a Rigby & Peller store in London, and began specialising in the niche of bra fitting. This specialisation is backed up by the following findings of a survey carried out among more than 500 women:

Intimacy’s unique selling point is that it alters each customer’s appearance, how her body feels – and even how she feels inside. This promise plays a very important role with Intimacy’s customers and is the second key to success.

Attracting new customers and strengthening customer loyalty

To attract new customers, fitting specialists Intimacy concentrate on radio and TV advertising along with PR activities. In radio commercials, one of the broadcaster’s employees relates her very own personal fitting problems, how they were solved by Intimacy, and the positive impact this had on her sense of inner beauty. The response generated by these adverts was so enormous that the test campaign originally planned for 12 weeks is now already in its third year.

Yet despite the success of the radio campaign after just six months, Intimacy had still only reached 18% of its target group, the 1.4 million women in Atlanta aged between 25 and 54. The aim was and remains to communicate how unique Intimacy is to every single woman living in the area. Therefore, the company then turned to TV advertising with commercials that succinctly put across the message: “An ‘experience’ at Intimacy will change your life – the way you look and feel!” The advertising campaign was seen by 90% of Intimacy’s target group and turnover rose by 44%, while for the first time the number of new customers exceeded existing ones. By the way, neither the radio nor TV commercials mention any specific brands!

When the Madison Avenue store was opened, Intimacy sent a mailing to editors offering them a free fitting and a fashionable set of lingerie. The invitation was taken up by a hundred editors, and Intimacy subsequently enjoyed masses of free publicity in local and national magazines, items on radio programmes and even an appearance on the legendary Oprah Winfrey Show!

To strengthen customer loyalty, every year 10–12 direct mail and telephone campaigns are conducted using a customer database containing 55,000 addresses, telephone numbers and purchasing histories. But rather than blanket campaigns, these sales drives are structured depending on the type of merchandise, new products and how much customers are willing to spend. Moreover, Intimacy’s telephone personnel don’t rush things: each sales call lasts anything up to half an hour.

The success of Intimacy’s approach is demonstrated by the figures. In 2004, year-on-year growth was 180 per cent and turnover reached $3.6 million. Some 55 per cent of all bras sold were DD cup or larger (16 per cent were G cup or larger), while 45% were accounted for by bras up to D cup.

Press contact:

Ruth Justen
Tel: +49 (0)341 678 8195
Fax: +49 (0)341 678 8182
Email: Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist gegen Spambots geschützt! JavaScript muss aktiviert werden, damit sie angezeigt werden kann.

The BODY LOOK website: http://www.body-look.de
The bodytex website: http://www.body-tex.com
The Leipzig Fair’s website: http://www.leipziger-messe.de

21 July 2005