Lingerie chain La Senza calls in restructuring experts

Struggling lingerie chain La Senza has become the latest retailer to call in restructuring experts, but Andy Street, managing director of department store chain John Lewis, is optimistic that this Christmas will not be as bad as many think.

A number of high street retailers are battling for survival, with shoe chain Barratts Priceless calling in administrators last week.

La Senza, which is owned by private equity firm Lion Capital, has appointed KPMG to advise on its restructuring options, including administration or a company voluntary agreement.

However, Street said Christmas could turn out better for many retailers than expected. “The high street performance is not nearly as bad as some commentators would have us believe,” he told the Guardian.”

While sales at John Lewis were flat in November, they improved in the run-up to Christmas and the department store enjoyed a record performance last week, and is on track to beat that this week. Online sales are 25% higher than last year. Although consumers were clearly feeling the pinch, many households were prioritising Christmas spending, said Street.

“This reflects that John Lews is outperforming the market but it also reflects other retailers as well,” he said. “Even in a tough year customers really want to protect spending at Christmas. They almost sacrifice other things in order to spend at Christmas. I think a number of retailers are going to come forward with pretty good numbers for December.”

However, this did not alter the fact that next year would be tough. “We know that consumer spending is still going to be tight, so we will probably be going back to the negative or flat numbers overall that we’ve seen through the autumn.”

The next rent day, when shops’ quarterly rents fall due, is on Christmas Day, but pundits believe many struggling retailers will hold out until late January, to assess their performance in the post-Christmas sales.

There may be another wave of business failures then if Street’s optimistic predictions for the festive season do not come true.

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Lingerie and Other Aphrodisiacs

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, who’s going on five months pregnant, has been enjoying the domestic turn her life has taken. “I just want to stay in with my boyfriend and watch TV and cook. It’s amazing. It’s like being at a spa retreat—eating healthy, not drinking, resting,” she told Style.com last night. (Her new cravings, she added, are fresh-squeezed orange juice and smoked salmon.)

On this night, though, Restoin-Roitfeld was out, launching her new capsule collection for Kiki de Montparnasse. A red corselet and red thong of her design were on prominent display in the brand’s Soho store, which had set the mood with white orchids and candles ringed with rose petals. Models swished through in negligees, including a black lace kimono that Restoin-Roitfeld’s mom, Carine, declared her favorite. “I think [lingerie] is one of the more difficult things to do, because it needs to be sexy and not vulgar—this is a fine line,” offered the grandmother-to-be.

Michelle Harper, circulating in a pearly slip from the collection, was feeling (in both senses of the word) a pair of red panties with a big, loopy bow in the back. Her take: “This is outerwear!” Richard Chai and Tom Sachs made the rounds, too, as did Alana Zimmer, who revealed she’s shooting The Row’s pre-fall lookbook later in the week.

Leigh Lezark had installed herself near an attractive spread of figs, raw almonds, and chocolate truffles. “Delicious,” Lezark reported—but, she said, not having the intended aphrodisiac effect. Oysters might do the trick, she mused. “But I also hear that oysters can give you hepatitis.” On the topic of personal habits, Lezark added, “Ladies always need to wear underwear. We’re in New York City. It grosses me out not to.”

— Darrell Hartman

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