Could you please tell us a little bit more about your brand and what it symbolizes?
Agent Provocateur was founded by Joe Corre and Serena Rees in 1994 opening its first boutique in Soho, London. Since that time Agent Provocateur has become an iconic globally recognized brand breaking new ground with every collection and rightfully earning its place as a benchmark brand in the world of lingerie. It is a brand that is confident, sensual and irreverent. It is known for its craftsmanship, its fit, its appreciation and use of beautiful fabrics and its playfulness. Agent Provocateur’s unique brand image is renowned for being provocative and yet always leaves something to the imagination. Agent Provocateur celebrates and empowers women.
Are you looking for new business opportunities?
We are always looking for new opportunities to expand and improve our business. We are opening new stores in London, Melbourne, Sydney, Montreal, Hamburg and Kuwait and have plans for many more in 2013. Besides lingerie, we have also branched into beauty, sunglasses, homeware, footwear and accessories over the years and are always looking into new products and collaborations, so the opportunities are endless.
What are your expansion strategies?
Opening concession boutiques in the best department stores when expanding into new countries is a good way to introduce our brand to new territories. It helps expose the brand to the target customer and to familiarize them with the product. The concessions are usually followed by the opening of a stand-alone boutique in the same territory to capitalize on the new exposure. We also work with a network of franchisee partners in many countries. There are many as yet untapped territories for us at the moment including India, China and South-East Asia, and we are excited about what the future can bring.
What is your typical way of advertising?
We have always relied on our PR, marketing and advertising campaigns for brand awareness rather than a traditional media plan. Our seasonal advertising campaigns are infamous and achieve regular media exposure through PR and marketing activities. With online advertising, we work with affiliate websites for banner ads and targeted customer profiles.
What do you think of pop-ups?
There has been a pop-up craze over the past few years which seems to have slowed down a bit, but I think it’s a fun way of bringing Agent Provocateur to new locations efficiently. We will have a pop-up store in Lane Crawford, Hong Kong, at the end of the year.
