Honey Birdette seeks new London store sites

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 4, 2021

Playboy-owned Honey Birdette, the upscale lingerie label, is targeting more UK stores with a focus on London. Label founder Eloise Monaghan wants to secure two new London sites in the next 12 months, doubling its presence in the city, after UK sales almost doubled in 2020.

The company agreed to be bought by PLBY Group earlier this year in a deal valued at $333 million (£247.5 million).

Monaghan told the Evening Standard that “after the last 18 months, customers want to be able to walk into a store and connect with a real person, to ask questions, and enjoy the whole sensory experience that we have to offer”.

She’s also looking in other countries for potential new sites with Monaco, Amsterdam and Paris on her shopping list.

Lingerie has been a relatively successful category during lockdowns as consumers have sought to treat themselves, although sales at many brands still fell in the face of the unprecedented conditions. But with the sector also expected to bounce back quickly, Playboy’s swoop on the Honey Birdette label this summer wasn’t a shock.

Only a few weeks ago, Reuters also reported rumours that US private equity firm Carlyle is revisiting plans to sell Dutch lingerie chain Hunkemoller after cancelling them due to the pandemic. And it said that the value could top €1 billion, that figure having been influenced by the price agreed for Honey Birdette.

That chain is much larger than its smaller peer with 850 sores globally compared to Honey’s 60. Its sales fell 14% last year but a quick recovery is forecast this year as its wholesale operation grows.