La Senza Information
La Senza Corporation is a Canadian fashion retailer based in Dorval, Quebec, Canada,[1] which sells lingerie and intimate apparel. The La Senza brand is currently owned by Limited Brands.
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History
Since its first store opened in 1990, the company has grown to include more than 300 stores in Canada.[2] A further 487 stores under the La Senza brand operate in 45 other countries worldwide via licensing, franchise, and cooperation agreements.[3] La Senza is wholly owned by Limited Brands of Columbus, Ohio.
La Senza's products focus on tasteful lingerie and nightwear but also include loungewear, daywear, and accessories. The concept is similar to Victoria's Secret, which is also owned by the Limited Brands corporation.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland (with sub-franchises in parts of the European Union), La Senza stores have been separately owned since July 2006 by Lion Capital, a private equity company. Theo Paphitis is on the board of the La Senza U.K. business, and retains a minority shareholding in that company.
Labels
Similar to most fashion brands, La Senza owns and operates other labels, including La Senza Girl clothing stores for teenagers as well a clothing for younger children, La Senza Express stores for bras and panties, and La Senza Spirit for activewear.
Lola and Coco
La Senza has recently launched a line called Lola and Coco by La Senza that is aimed at high school and university students, much like Pink by Victoria's Secret. Beauty by Victoria's Secret was available but was discontinued 1 March 2010 in favour of La Senza Beauty.
Robin Antin
In 2008, the creator of The Pussycat Dolls, Robin Antin, was asked to design a Pussycat Doll-inspired lingerie collection for the La Senza brand. The collection uses luxurious fabrics imported from Italy and Spain. The line ranges from girly and flirtatious to sexy and glamorous intimate apparel. Antin says, "The words for me on this collection are flirtatious, fashion, and fun!"[4]
Advertising
Similar to Victoria's Secret, La Senza uses high profiled fashion models to endorse their product. Models such as Lauren Gold, Petra Němcová, Isabeli Fontana, Bianca Balti, Yamila Díaz, Doutzen Kroes, Daniela Pestova, Sophie Anderton, Rebecca Romijn, Caroline Winberg, Emma Heming, Jessica Stam, and Niclyn Rendall have been featured in array of campaigns.[5] La Senza does not limit their advertising to high fashion models and often uses high profile celebrities to endorse their brand. Previous celebrities to endorse the brand include Dancing on Ice's Tess Daly, Ex Hollyoaks actress, Gemma Atkinson, and legendary English soccer player Gary Lineker's wife and commercial print model, Danielle Lineker.[6]
Controversy
La Senza Girl
In 2008, La Senza has provoked controversy after launching La Senza Girl, which is aimed towards 5-12 year old girls. Parents and critics claim that the line sexualizes children, despite the fact the line was designed to offer young girls "coverage" before they are ready for a training bra.
David Davies, Conservative MP for Monmouth, Wales UK, claimed La Senza was "willing to make profits at the expense of public morality. We currently have the highest level of teenage pregnancy in the whole of Europe and the last thing we need is to encourage further sexual experimentation in young children."[7]
La Senza released a statement refuting that they didn't intend to sexualize children and that their intentions are to create fun and colourful underwear for children.
ITEC
In 2006, the company faced a major law suit with major competitor Victoria's Secret. La Senza launched the ITEC bra, which claimed to be "the world's most technologically advanced bra" because its one-piece design eliminates tags and seams. After the launch of the ITEC, Victoria's Secret sued for copyright infringement claiming the ITEC was a knock off of their popular bra, the IPEX. Despite the controversy, the La Senza shares were up US$10 from 2005 and its profits more than doubled from the previous quarter.[8]
Eva Herzigova
In 2003, Eva Herzigova sued La Senza for a breach of contract. La Senza refused to pay her for a catalogue photo shoot because the company did not like her appearance.[9] Herzigova had cut her hair short and lost a substantial amount of weight, which were not the conditions in which they booked her. Herzigova sued La Senza for £20,000 because she felt that she fulfilled her part of their agreement and claimed her new look didn't prevent her from obtaining modelling work.[10]
References
- ^ "Contact Us." La Senza. Retrieved on December 4, 2010. "La Senza Corporation Attn: Online Store Customer Service 1608, Boulevard St-Régis Dorval, Quebec, Canada H9P 1H6."
- ^ La Senza - About
- ^ La Senza - Limited Brands
- ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS98441+28-Aug-2008+MW20080828
- ^ http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/models/search/?sub=suchwort_suche&suchtyp=kriterien_suche&suchwort_suche_suchbegriff=%20La%20Senza&advanced_search=1&search_in=array&search_in_select[]=advertisements&start=12
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1035634/Linekers-lingerie-lovely-Garys-model-girlfriend-unveiled-stunning-new-face-La-Senza.html
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-549729/Should-La-Senza-target-girls-underwear-like-this.html
- ^ http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2006/05/31/senza-wed.html
- ^ http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20139880,00.html
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-176112/Evas-bad-hair-day.html
External links
| Montreal portal | |
| Companies portal | |
| Fashion portal |
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Categories: Clothing retailers of Canada | Lingerie brands | Limited Brands brands | Companies based in Montreal
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