Agent Provocateur Lingerie Sales Rocket As Rumours Of A Cheaper Range Are …

Naughty knickers are still on our shopping lists despite the recession, if sales figures from Agent Provocateur are anything to go by.

The high-end lingerie specialist has reported sharply higher sales and profits for the year to March 26, according to a report in The Times.

Agent Provocateur reported its underlying profits rose by 24% to £4.1 million in the year to March 26, after sales rose by 18% to £31.4 million.

The company said its performance had continued in the first eight months of this year. Sales were up 21% in total, with like-for-like sales up 6%. Online sales are up 35%.

Some of the good news was a result of the opening of a number of boutiques in Madrid, Rome and Amsterdam.

Garry Hogarth, the chief executive of the 3i-owned retailer, told the The Times Agent Provocateur would open new stores in Melbourne and Sydney next year after finding strong online demand from Australia.

A new diffusion range, produced in collaboration with the Spanish actress Penelope Cruz and her sister Monica, will eventually sell more bras, knickers and suspenders, was also predicted to sell more than the rest of the business.

The less-expensive range, which will be sold through Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols in the UK, was proposed by Monica Cruz, who was the face of the autumn-winter marketing campaign this year. Averaging £40 per purchase – half the price of the original Agent Provocateur goods – the L’Agent range will go on sale next August.

Agent Provocateur was originally founded by Joe Corre, son of Malcolm McClaren and Vivienne Westwood. He left the company in 2007 after a deal was brokered for it to be handed to private equity backed owners.

Nick Hood, Company Watch’s business analyst, told the Huffington Post UK there could be concerns on the horizon for Agent Provocateur’s parent company.

“Agent Provocateur’s results prove that sex can be added to food and drink as staple elements of life in recession-hit Britain. The growth in sales and operating profits are underpinning a number of exciting developments, with the launch of a mid-market brand and the move to exploit the strong online interest from Australia,” he said.

“But dig a little deeper and a more worrying financial picture emerges. There is nothing wrong with the financial profile of the brand’s main operating company, but the position of Agent Provocateur’s parent company is much more stressed.

“This company (SPV – Pearl (AP) Group Limited – which was used by 3i to buy the brand) scores a rock bottom health rating of zero out of 100, reflecting a negative net asset position, debts of £105m, an interest bill of some £13m a year and an annual loss of £15m.

“This is a typical private equity structure, which will pose no threat provided trading remains healthy and on an upward curve. But unfortunately, the retail sector is littered with the casualties from similar ownership models which ran into difficulties.”

La Senza failed at the end of 2011 after it ran into troubles with its private-equity backed owner. Businessman Theo Paphitis bought the United Kingdom and Ireland arm of the Canadian business, and began expanding it, eventually with sub-franchises in parts of the European Union.

Then in July 2006 Paphitis sold the company to private equity company Lion Capital, for a reported £100m. On 23 December 2011, La Senza UK filed for administration citing “trading conditions” as one of the conditions for closure.

Happily, 9 January 2012, Kuwait-based international retail franchise operator Alshaya announced it had reached agreement to take control of much of the ongoing La Senza business in the UK.

Under an agreement La Senza UK’s administrators KPMG, Alshaya UK acquired exclusive franchise rights for the La Senza brand in the UK for an undisclosed sum, retaining 60 stores, securing around 1,100 jobs.

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Kent-based Mist return stronger, better | Lingerie Football League slide show …

An arts student with an eye for fashion, Melissa Bernasconi knows a certain look can bring beauty and style.

But looks can be deceiving, especially when you strap on a helmet, don shoulder pads, apply eye black and carry an attitude.

The Enumclaw woman – who studies fashion marketing at The Art Institute of Seattle – moonlights as a gritty second-year running back and safety for the Lingerie Football League’s Kent-based Seattle Mist.

Tackle football is rugged business, but something the 23-year-old Bernasconi embraces. For Bernasconi, it’s a blend of action, impact and grace – a sometimes savage game in which art is put in motion.

“I love it. It’s insane,” said Bernasconi, an Enumclaw High graduate who played fastpitch softball on scholarship at Green River Community College. “When you get on the field, it is all emotion, adrenaline. It happens so fast and it’s so much fun. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

The Mist are back, proclaiming to be even better as they prepare for a four-game regular-season slate that opens in April.

The team assembled for an impromptu media gathering at the ShoWare Center last Friday, a precursor to the Mist’s preseason matchup ­– the inaugural Pacific Cup ­– against the B.C. Angels, the recently crowned champions of the maiden season of lingerie football north of the border.

Kickoff for the “border war” is 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15 at the ShoWare.

The retooled Mist includes two players – Christine Moore and Jessica Hopkins – who recently played for the Angels in LFL Canada.

Moore, a Seattle fitness trainer who plays linebacker and tight end, is looking forward to facing her former teammates, but holds no animosity toward B.C.

Moore says she is content, belonging to a deeper, stronger, faster team capable of running the table.

“This team is really close, and we’ve put in a lot of work,” she said. “We’re all on the same page.”

The Mist, an original league franchise that has yet to reach the coveted playoffs, has high expectations.

“We’re going to win it all. That’s our expectation every year,” said fourth-year coach Chris Michaelson. “We’re so deep. They’ve been in the system now for four years … so most of them have been grasping the concepts a lot better now.”

The LFL has improved as a product in four years, Michaelson observed, in terms of the caliber and the number of athletes. Coaching throughout the league also has improved, he said.

Playing mistake free is the key to winning a 32-minute game.

“If you make a mistake, it’s hard to recover,” the coach said.

Laurel Creel, of Wasilla, Alaska, returns at quarterback for the Mist. She threw for 294 yards and seven touchdowns last season. One of her main targets is Hopkins, of Ferndale, the team captain who caught 12 passes for five TDs last season.

Shea Norton, of Bonney Lake, returns for her third season at tight end and defensive end. The Sumner High graduate battled through a torn quadricep last season, but is back in top shape and eager to get started.

“Everyone is healthy,” she said. “We have five phenomenal rookies, and a class of 12 returning.”

Bernasconi says it’s the best Mist team yet.

“We’re a close family. Everything is upbeat and positive.”

About the Lingerie Football League

The league began in 2009, and in 2013 features 12 teams from Seattle, Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Green Bay, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Omaha and Philadelphia competing for a chance to play in the Aug. 31 Lingerie Bowl X. The season kicks off March 30.

The league features scantily clad women playing seven-on-seven tackle football on a 50-yard field. Each offense features a quarterback, center, two running backs and three receivers. There is no punting or field goals. Teams must throw at least two passes every four downs.

Players, who are not paid, wear helmets with clear face shields, shoulder pads, sports bras, tight shorts, elbow and knee pads.

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Mist schedule

The Kent-based Seattle Mist plays two home games at the ShoWare Center and two road games during the 2013 season. Seattle also plays an exhibition game Saturday, Dec. 15 also at the ShoWare. The league earlier this year shifted its previous fall-winter schedule played from 2009-2011 to a spring-summer schedule in 2013.

Games:

• Saturday, Dec. 15, Pacific Cup exhibition, B.C. Angels at Seattle Mist, 8 p.m.

• Saturday, April 6, Green Bay Chill at Seattle Mist, 8 p.m.

• Saturday, May 4, Seattle Mist at LA Temptation, 8 p.m.

• Saturday, July 6, Minnesota Valkryie at Seattle Mist, 8 p.m.

• Saturday, July 20, Seattle Mist at Las Vegas Sin, 8 p.m.

Tickets: www.showarecenter.com, 253-856-6999, $15-$85

Broadcast info – aired in HD at LFLUS.com

 

Contact Kent Reporter Regional Editor Mark Klaas at mklaas@kentreporter.com or 253-872-6600, ext. 27-5050.

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