MAIN COMPETITORS- BOUX AVENUE

Part of the Theo Paphitis Retail Group and a relatively new entrant on the UK market, Boux Avenue is a United Kingdom based chain of lingerie stores that first open its doors in 2011 in Glasgow . They describe themselves as the “ultimate shopping destination, from sexy and sultry lingerie sets to must-have everyday essentials”, offering swimwear and nightwear apparel as well. (website)

The brand caters to a broad range of customers as the founder stated in an interview with blogger Lucia Grace: “We have to have a wide, broad appeal, not age driven, mental state driven. You could be sixteen or sixty it’s about how you feel “. Their selling point is that they make products which aim to make any woman feel stylish, confident and supported at affordable prices. Hence, they stated their body-inclusive approach very clearly since the beginning through the 2012 A/W campaign featuring size 16 Robin Lawley. Trying to make everyone feel welcomed at Boux Avenue, the brand offers bra sizes ranging from 28-40, A-G cup and nightwear in sizes 6-18.

Their in-store customer services are similar to those of Victoria’s Secret: bra fitting experts (“personalised concierge service with expert bra fittings”), gift-wrapping and lingerie displayed in drawers according to size. Apart from that, they are also trying to improve the in-store experiences by adding innovative ideas like different light settings in the fitting rooms to mimic different times of the (day, dusk and night).

Since its opening in 2011, the brand has expanded its business through 29 new store openings in the UK, and managed to close a few wholesale deals with ASOS, Very, Lipsy, Littlewoods, Zalando and Nordstrom more recently, outlining their international ambitions. Moreover, they also operate through a franchise model, allowing for additional overseas expansion.

Even though like-for-like sales increased 7% in the year ended April 2017 and total UK sales saw an 11.2% growth, continually decreasing high street and shopping centres footfall caused a 2.8% tumble in comparable sales for the 6 weeks period ended 24 December 2017. (Mintel)
According to the brands strategic report (for the year ended 31 March 2018) their e-commerce business saw a 19% rise in like-for-like sales and overall comparable sales fell 3%.

In terms of online presence, Boux Avenue has the smallest YouTube reach, namely 1,079 subscribers probably because of a low posting frequency rate, with videos promoting their campaigns or collaborations, for example with English reality TV personality Lucy Mecklenburgh. 

Their latest #BouxEverAfter Christmas campaign uses a “life in pink” theme to bring the perfectly feminine Boux universe to life with their new collection, while having influential feminine figures to talk about their favourite things to do around Christmas time. 

In contrast to their YouTube channel, they are more active on Instagram, posting multiple times a day and using giveaways as a strategy to increase their following and engage audience. The visuals encompass their overall brand identity and attitude as they post images of the brand ambassadors, which are real women instead of supermodels like the Victoria’s Secret angels. One online strategy I find to be clever is that their captions usually end with “Love Miss B x”, through which they manage to create a stronger link to their customers.

The store layout is also inspired by a Victorian boudoir style, but in contrast to the Victoria’s Secret shops, Boux Avenue has a contemporary stylish twist with a soft minimalist feel to it and the use of white instead of black tends to brighten and widen up the store space.

SWOT ANALYSIS

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Besides from being an award winning company (UK retailer of the year 2013&2014) and showing constant financial growth, Boux Avenue has a lot of attributes like affordable prices and an inclusive approach in order to make all women feel welcome. They also have a strong online presence and follower engagement. In spite of all this and the complimentary in-store services they offer, Boux Avenue lacks brand awareness compared to its competitors. In order to eliminate this weakness the brand could invest in celebrity-endorsement strategies or online influencer collaborations and create billboards or even TV adverts. Additionally, the brand could also invest in improving their website design to match the in-store aesthetic and create a mobile app to keep up with competition. Besides from fierce competition Boux Avenue has to deal with low-levels of customer loyalty as they are a relatively new brand on the market and international brands like Victoria’s Secret who launched in the UK at approximately the same time already held high brand awareness and loyalty levels.