INTRODUCING LA PERLA
STRATEGIC FOCUS SHIFTED TO CHINA
BRAND INTELLIGENCE | BY INDIGEST
2022 JANUARY ISSUE
COURTESY OF : INHEdaily.cn
WRITER : CRYSTAL
Looking back at a century of underwear history, from the breathless whalebone corset, to the Victoria’s Secret Angel who swept the world in the millennium, to the current popular size-free comfort underwear. Not only the changes in the underwear design industry, but also the development trend of the global consumer market can be seen from it.
01
Surprise new series released
Underwear, stockings, lace pajamas… Italy, which is rich in luxury goods, also gave birth to the high-end underwear brand La Perla. Because of the art of underwear, women are elegant from the inside out,
and they are very popular.
Compared with the American brands, such as Victoria’s Secret, La Perla is not so obvious, it is more mature and charming. From the perspective of design aesthetics, tailoring craftsmanship, emotional stories and other dimensions, La Perla’s underwear is superior, and is known as the “Rolls Royce” of underwear.
La Perla, which has always taken the elegant and luxurious route, has recently released a new series-“Comfort Zone”. Surprisingly, the design of the new series has suddenly become very young.
The tights, corsets, tank tops and high-waisted briefs with the word La Perla broke the previous style. The brand also emphasized that this series is made of Lycra and green cotton, which is very comfortable. It is reported that the price of the new series ranges from US$175 to US$295.
02
The ever-changing underwear market
There are actually several reasons behind La Perla’s sudden transformation. The 2019 financial report shows that La Perla’s overall revenue fell by 19.2%, and the net loss was as high as 89 million euros.
The huge loss is not only affected by the development of the global economic environment,
but also because of the dramatic changes in the underwear market in recent years.
Shaping underwear curve overtaking
The fashion search platform Lyst said in a 2019 survey: In 2018-2019, the number of online searches for tights increased by 93%, proving that functional underwear is getting more and more attention .
In September 2019, American star Kim Kardashian launched SKIMS, a shaping underwear brand, which is precisely this market. SKIMS completed sales of 2 million US dollars within a few minutes after its launch.
At the same time, Lyst also said that after the appearance of the SKIMS brand, the search volume for tight clothing increased by 45%. According to reports, Skims, in addition to the celebrity effect of the Jinkadai family, also shows that shaping underwear does cater to consumers’ preferences.
Immediately after that, in just a few months, SKIMS has accumulated more than
one million fans on Instagram.
Diversified aesthetics become mainstream
Victoria’s Secret loves the concept of “slimness is beauty,” which is no longer in line with the current consumer environment and aesthetics. Supermodel Bella Hadid, who has been on the Victoria’s Secret show for three consecutive years, openly stated that she wears Fenty designed by Rihanna, and she is feeling the sexy of her underwear even more inspiring women’s power than other underwear shows.
Bella’s attitude also shows that the current women’s pursuit of underwear is not what it used to be. Compared with underwear embellished with lace and gemstones, current underwear brands are more willing to show diversity in color, size, and comfort .
The brand Savage X Fenty founded by Rihanna is also very popular. You can find models of various shapes on the official IG, so that everyone’s impression of underwear is no longer limited to perfect measurements.
Brands are actively responding to diversified aesthetics, and underwear is no longer a design demand for sexy and perfect curves. On the contrary, underwear that more closely fits the lines of women’s bodies and shows the beauty of women’s bodies has become the mainstream.
03
4 big steps in La Perla's transformation
Adjust the product line several times
In the past, La Perla’s product line included products such as evening dresses, high heels and perfumes, but the number was not large. In order to develop, La Perla first entered ready-to-wear clothing in 2016.
It not only extended its business to men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, but also spent a lot of money
to develop various series such as perfumes, glasses and children’s wear.
The restructuring plan after the investment has not been effective. By 2018, La Perla’s operating
loss reached 91.3 million euros.
As a result, La Perla began to subtract, refocusing on core businesses such as underwear and swimwear, closing the menswear department, and cutting non-core businesses such as shoes, handbags,
and ready-to-wear.
Value women
La Perla, who is well aware of the importance of millennial customers, specially hired anthropologists in 2019 to learn more about the psychology of female consumer groups. Subsequently, the subsidiary La Perla Beauty was established and began to launch perfume, make-up and skin care products to stimulate business growth.
Strategic focus shifted to China
In 2016, La Perla set its sights on the Greater China market. In order to attract consumers from mainland China, La Perla spent a lot of money to invite well-known models such as Liu Wen and Kendall Jenner to endorse them. In 2017, La Perla’s first big show in Asia was chosen in Macau, China.
After the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, due to the forced lockdown of the US, Europe, Middle East and Africa markets, La Perla’s strategic focus once again returned to Asia and began to open several new stores in China.
Transforming lifestyle
In order to respond to market changes and seek breakthroughs and growth, La Perla positioned
the brand as a “lifestyle luxury.”
Lifestyle is a very popular business concept in the brand market. In the apparel industry, many brands have already transformed into this way of operating. For example, LV began to sell smart watches,
Gucci opened its own hotel and so on.
For La Perla, it is officially transformed into a lifestyle brand, and one of the important points is to integrate ready-to-wear into the design of underwear. It can also be said as: the new trend of wearing underwear. Let underwear not only be a piece of underwear, but a piece of clothing
that can be matched with clothing.
When releasing the new series “Comfort Zone”, the brand stated that the purpose of the new series is to allow underwear to transition into the entire wardrobe of consumers and become a piece of clothing that allows you to get in and out.
Note: All the pictures in this article are from La Perla’s official and personal Weibo
Courtesy from Fashion Industry Broadcast at YouTube
LA PERLA – HISTORY OF LINGERIE – DESIGNER GUIDES TO FASHION | Jul 2, 2020 |8:16
Courtesy of AJ TheCat at YouTube
LA PERLA Spring Summer 2002 Milan – Up-scaled – Enhanced