| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Dorval, Quebec |
| Number of locations | 252 company-owned stores; 463 franchised stores(January 2011)[1] |
| Products | Lingerie |
| Parent | Limited Brands |
| Website | www.lasenza.com |
La Senza Corporation is a Canadian fashion retailer based in Dorval, Quebec, Canada,[2] which sells lingerie and intimate apparel. The La Senza brand is currently owned by Limited Brands.
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Since its first store opened in 1990, the company has grown to include more than 300 stores in Canada.[3] A further 487 stores under the La Senza brand operate in 45 other countries worldwide via licensing, franchise, and cooperation agreements.[4] La Senza is wholly owned by Limited Brands of Columbus, Ohio.
La Senza's products focus on lingerie and nightwear but also include loungewear, daywear, and accessories. The concept is similar to that of Victoria's Secret, which is also owned by the Limited Brands corporation.
Businessman Theo Paphitis bought the United Kingdom and Ireland franchise, called La Senza UK, and began expanding it, eventually with sub-franchises in parts of the European Union. In July 2006 Paphitis sold the company to private equity company Lion Capital, for a reported £100m.[5]. Paphitis left the board and is no longer a shareholder. [6]. In the Spring of 2011 Theo Paphitis set up his new lingerie firm Boux Avenue. [7]
On 23 December 2011 La Senza UK filed for administration citing "trading conditions" as one of the conditions for closure. The company stated that it presently had 2,600 UK staff at 146 stores and 18 concessions. Administrators will be appointed within 10 days in accordance with the Insolvency Act 1986. It has announced plans to close 80 stores.[8]
Similar to most fashion brands, La Senza owns and operates other labels, including La Senza Girl clothing stores for teenagers as well as clothing for younger children, La Senza Express stores for bras and panties, and La Senza Spirit for activewear.
La Senza has recently launched a line called Lola and Coco by La Senza that is aimed at high school and university students, much like Pink by Victoria's Secret. Beauty by Victoria's Secret was available but was discontinued 1 March 2010 in favour of La Senza Beauty.
In 2008, the creator of The Pussycat Dolls, Robin Antin, was asked to design a Pussycat Doll-inspired lingerie collection for the La Senza brand. The collection uses luxurious fabrics imported from Italy and Spain. The line ranges from girly and flirtatious to sexy and glamorous intimate apparel. Antin says, "The words for me on this collection are flirtatious, fashion, and fun!"[9]
Similar to Victoria's Secret, La Senza uses high profiled fashion models to endorse their product. Models such as Lauren Gold, Petra Němcová, Isabeli Fontana, Bianca Balti, Yamila Díaz, Doutzen Kroes, Daniela Pestova, Sophie Anderton, Rebecca Romijn, Caroline Winberg, Emma Heming, Jessica Stam, Maria Sokolovski, and Niclyn Rendall have been featured in an array of campaigns.[10] La Senza does not limit their advertising to high fashion models and often uses high profile celebrities to endorse their brand. Previous celebrities to endorse the brand include Dancing on Ice's Tess Daly, Ex Hollyoaks actress, Gemma Atkinson, and legendary English soccer player Gary Lineker's wife and commercial print model, Danielle Lineker.[11]
In 2008, La Senza has provoked controversy after launching La Senza Girl, which is aimed towards 5-12 year old girls. Parents and critics claim that the line sexualizes children, despite the fact the line was designed to offer young girls "coverage" before they are ready for a training bra.
David Davies, Conservative MP for Monmouth, Wales UK, claimed La Senza was "willing to make profits at the expense of public morality but yet we allow things like porn, because that is OK". "If you sexualise children at a young age, they tend to have children at a young age, often in unstable circumstances where they are unable to take care of the child in a responsible way." [12]
La Senza released a statement denying that they were sexualising children and that their intentions were to create fun and colourful underwear for children.
In 2006, the company faced a major law suit with major competitor Victoria's Secret. La Senza launched the ITEC bra, which claimed to be "the world's most technologically advanced bra" because its one-piece design eliminates tags and seams. After the launch of the ITEC, Victoria's Secret sued for patent infringement claiming the ITEC was a knock off of their popular bra, the IPEX. Despite the controversy, the La Senza shares were up US$10 from 2005 and its profits more than doubled from the previous quarter.[13]
In 2003, Eva Herzigová sued La Senza for a breach of contract. La Senza refused to pay her for a catalogue photo shoot because the company did not like her appearance.[14] Herzigova had cut her hair short and lost a substantial amount of weight, which were not the conditions in which they booked her. Herzigova sued La Senza for £20,000 because she felt that she fulfilled her part of their agreement and claimed her new look didn't prevent her from obtaining modeling work.[15]
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