 | |
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Leamington Spa, United Kingdom |
| Products | Lingerie, swimwear, nightwear, clothing |
| Website | www.bravissimo.com www.bravissimo.com/us |
Bravissimo is a lingerie retailer that provides lingerie in D-L cup sizes and swimwear in a D-K cup range. [1] It has 26 stores [2] across the UK and one in the US, and also sells via mail order, online and via a US website. [3] The company are based in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, and currently employ over 400 people. [4]
Founder Sarah Tremellen MBE [5] began as a freelance TV and radio researcher for the BBC, quitting after eight months at the age of 25 to have a baby. Whilst pregnant, Tremellen found it difficult to find a good choice of bras that would fit her when she went up to a G Cup. [6]
In 1995 after giving birth, Tremellen and her friend Hannah Griffiths tried to do something about it. They decided to take an eight-week business course which culminated in presenting a business plan to their local bank manager. Their presentation won them a £10,000 bank loan to help them start Bravissimo. [7]
Working in the living room of Tremellen's Twickenham flat, they produced a mail-order catalogue that included all the best bras they could find, and created a mailing list of around 75 people - mostly friends and family. Tremellen then telephoned several women's magazines and newspapers, and within a month achieved coverage in the Daily Mail, bringing in 1,000 requests for a catalogue. [8]
In 1996 they were able to move out of Tremellen's Twickenham flat and 12 months later Tremellen and her husband Mike bought Hannah Griffiths out of the business. [5] In November 1999, Bravissimo opened its first shop in Ealing which remains one of the 16 stores nationwide they currently operate. [8] The next year Mike Tremellen left his job at Tetley to become the business operations director. [5]
In 2001 Bravissimo relocated to their current headquarters in Leamington Spa. [6]
In 2017, Bravissimo launched its US website and began looking for its first US shop site. In the same year sales grew by 2% to £50.2 million, but pre-tax profit decreased to £2.2 million from £3.3 million a year earlier, partly owing to spending on new shops. [9]
Bravissimo sold a clothing range for a number of years, at one point employing the brand name Pepperberry, but the range was discontinued in 2021. [10]
In December 2020, Leanne Cahill, the managing director of Bravissimo, was elevated to chief executive. [11] [12]
Bravissimo has been in The Sunday Times "100 Best Companies to work for" list for since 2007, when they came 19th; [13] in 2018 they were awarded 13th place. [14] The list rates a company's performance on eight key factors which takes into account things such as pay, leadership, social impact and personal growth. [15] They were awarded 99th, 26th, [16] 24th [17] and 8th place respectively between 2008 - 2011. [18] In 2011 Bravissimo was nominated for the Multiple Retailer of the Year award at the UK Lingerie Awards. [18]
Sarah Tremellen was awarded an MBE in 2009 in the New Year’s Honours List for services to entrepreneurship. [5] In 2017, Bravissimo won 'best multi-product E-tailer' at the Underlines Stars Awards. [19] At the UK Lingerie Awards in 2018, Bravissimo won "Customer Service Provider of the Year", [20] and Sarah Tremellen was awarded the UKLA Lifetime Achievement Award. [21]
Cambridge is a town in the Waipa District of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. Situated 24 kilometres (15 mi) southeast of Hamilton, on the banks of the Waikato River, Cambridge is known as "The Town of Trees & Champions". The town has a population of 21,800, making it the largest town in the Waipa District, and the third largest urban area in the Waikato.
The United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom which aims to promote good practice and raise standards in literacy. It was founded in 1963 as the United Kingdom Reading Association, but changed its name in 2003. Wiley-Blackwell publishes a journal entitled Journal of Research in Reading on behalf of the UKLA.
The history of bras is closely tied to the social status of women, the evolution of fashion, and shifting views of the female body over time.
Ultimo was a Glasgow-headquartered designer lingerie brand, majority owned by Sri Lanka–based lingerie group MAS Holdings. It was founded in 1996 by Michelle Mone, via her company MJM International Ltd., with her then-husband Michael. In 2013, after their marriage collapsed, Ultimo was transferred to joint venture company Ultimo Brands International Ltd, an equal partnership between Michelle Mone and MAS Holdings. In November 2014, Mone sold the majority of her stake to MAS Holdings. In August 2015, Mone resigned from the boards of MJM International Ltd and Ultimo Brands International Ltd.
Olga Erteszek was a Polish-American undergarment designer and lingerie company owner. She was famous for her nightgowns with full, flowing skirt width and generous sweep.
Peach John Co., Ltd. is a Japanese mail-order retailer of lingerie and women's apparel targeted at women in their teens and 20s.
Nosy Crow is an independent children's publisher, based in London. The company was founded in 2010 by Kate Wilson, formerly MD of Macmillan Children’s Books and Group MD of Scholastic UK Ltd, Adrian Soar, formerly Book Publishing CEO of Macmillan Publishers, and Camilla Reid, formerly Editorial Director of Campbell Books. In 2020, the company was named Independent Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards. As of 2021, Nosy Crow is the UK's 11th largest children's publisher, according to Nielsen BookScan data.
Lance Timothy Powell is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, played by Mickey Poppins. The character debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 5 July 2000 and departed on 26 August 2003. Poppins had previously worked with the show's producer Paul Marquess and he created Lance especially for the actor. He was introduced with the returning characters of Leanne Powell and Bev McLoughlin to work in Bev's Bar as Marquess felt Brookside needed a "good bar with some great staff".
The UK Lingerie Awards are held annually in the United Kingdom to present awards to key individuals from the British lingerie industry, including designers and retailers. The awards are organized by the lingerie industry magazine Lingerie Insight.
Curvy Kate is a lingerie brand specialising in D – K cup Bras and Swimwear. They are currently based in Uxbridge, London. Curvy Kate lingerie is designed for the curvy woman and for small back sizes through to plus size bras with back bands from a 28" – 44". They officially launched in July 2009 at the Harrogate Lingerie Show.
Bare Necessities is an American lingerie, swimwear, and loungewear online retailer which was established in 1998 in Avenel, New Jersey. The company claims to be the second largest online retailer in the industry next to Victoria's Secret with over $66 million in revenues.
Bluebella is a British lingerie company founded in 2005 by Emily Bendell, with operations in the UK, US, Australia, France and Italy. It is headquartered in London, England.
Karolina Zofia Laskowska is a British fashion designer. She won the New Designer of the Year award at the 2014 UK Lingerie Awards.
Kiss Me Deadly is a British lingerie brand established in London in 2006 by Catherine Clavering. The brand won the "UK's Favourite British Designer" award at the 2012 UK Lingerie Awards.
Cake Maternity is an Australia-based maternity clothing brand, which specialises in nursing bras and other maternity products. Their products are designed to provide femininity like in mainstream lingerie and other clothing items, with the function required in maternity related products.
MENG is a luxury lifestyle label based in London. Founded by Meng Zhang in 2012., the company creates ready to wear, homeware and accessories with art prints. The collections are based on these prints which are hand-drawn in London, the fabric is printed and all garments are made in the UK.
Nubian Skin is a London-based English lingerie and hosiery brand launched in 2014 by Ade Hassan, specializing in "nude" undergarments for women of colour.
Adetola Kunle-Hassan,, known as Ade Hassan, is a British businesswoman who founded Nubian Skin in 2014.
Nisha Katona, MBE is a British restaurateur and TV personality. The daughter of two doctors, she is the founder of Mowgli Street Food restaurants and the Mowgli Trust charity, a food writer and television presenter. She was a child protection barrister for 20 years.
Natasha Farrant is a British children's author. In 2020, she won the Costa Book Award for Children's Book for Voyage of the Sparrowhawk.
