When the subject of textile is brought up, looks grow sombre, voices become whispers as if standing aside of a cancer-infected person. And yet, inspiring successes do exist. In 1996, Etam created the 123 Lingerie brand and new growth ensued. What was the winning combination which opened the gates to success? This new brand brought novel benefits: comfort and pleasure. It exploited a new disruption in client's habits towards lingerie. It took advantage of technological disruptions in textile materials.
The first novel benefit that Etam brought is comfort when buying. Any woman will tell you that a bra is difficult to choose. It must be perfectly adjusted to be comfortable all day long. When our story begins, buying undergarments was no simple matter in most stores. The client struggled while trying the bra in changing rooms of insufficient number. Often not having found the right size, she had to dress up, go back to the aisles, wait for a changing room to become available and retry. Added to this was the nearby wailing infant and husband wandering aimlessly in the mall. Losing all patience, the woman would leave with an unsatisfactory garment. Christine Plazanet, who was at the time the head of this new activity, comments that "We put ourselves in the shoes of our clients. We understood that a successful trial of clothes was the requirement for a satisfying purchase. We have created a new concept of shops centered on trying clothes." The clients have access to spacious changing rooms. Vendors stay close in order to bring articles from the aisles while clients try them on. When a client doesn't find a fit, vendors bring the right article with the right size. This way the client is sure to buy a perfect fit. Rapidly this concept is adopted by clients. In store guest books, clients praise the level of service.
The second novel benefit that Etam added next is pleasure. Delighted by these new stores, clients ask for innovation in products. Christine Plazanet explains: "We have decided to take a leap forward towards the pleasure of our clients. Pleasure is first expressed through personal well-being. We have conceived "second skin" lingerie products. They are comfortable, soft when touched, and invisible under the clothes. Pleasure is also felt through the satisfaction of seduction. We have created a seduction range of products with an elegant or sexy style. By playing on forms and colours, we have gone faster and farther than our competitors.”
This product renewal rests on a disruption in the client's behavior. In the 70s, women emancipate. It was an era of utmost feminism. They abandoned the bra and put their sweaters on bare skin. They boycotted traditional underclothing since it appeared to be an obstacle to their freedom. But it is only a phase in which taboos drop. In the 90s, they dare take care of themselves. They aspire to well-being. They often attend care centers for massages or thalassotherapy. They want to expose their bodies. The big brands of Haute Couture understood this. Looking to revive a sluggish market, they launched "chic porno". Sexy clothes like the thong, once reserved to prostitutes, proliferate. A latent need is just being revealed, provoking a breaking off in client's behaviors: underclothes are no longer simply functional but embody the expression of sensuality. The Etam lingerie team has perceived this change of mentality and exploits it to the maximum in its new range of products.
A technological disruption in fabrics is what enables these innovations. New materials such as lycra and tactel are born. They are soft upon touch and make undergarments arousing. They allow designers to conceive new shapes fashioned without seams that render underclothes invisible.
This story illustrates an original strategy in a market disruption. Etam has understood how to skilfully navigate on the waters of its market troubled by disruptions. The company was able to
initiate novel client benefits. These accomplishments show that even in sectors losing momentum such as textile, a well coordinated strategy can bring success.
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Lingerie at Etam
Lingerie is the original activity of Etam, its soul and the source its pride. The firm has created the independent 123 Lingerie brand in 1996, which she reintegrated in its Etam Lingerie division in 2001. Today it benefits from past innovations and is the European leader in its industry. It has circumvented the traps of Chinese competition by early outsourcing production to Chinese factories. The group now has more than 1600 outlets in China. Etam Lingerie brings valuable profits to the mother company whose ready-to-wear activity is given a rough time by strong brands such as Zara and H&M.
