New lingerie label Livy ready for major roll-out in France and rest of Europe

By

Anaïs Lerévérend

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jun 22, 2017

Not long to go to the launch of Livy, the underwear industry's hottest new project. The French lingerie label is named after its inspirational creative director Lisa Chavy, as we reported a few months ago, and is putting the finishing touches to its launch plan, scheduled for next September. Supported by its joint shareholders, the Etam and Vog groups, Livy has been able to engineer an energetic market roll-out, and has announced some ten store openings by the end of the year, after pre-launching its website on 20th June.

Livy's web showcase will initially focus on editorial content, while the e-shop will start operating from 31st August. "In parallel, we will roll out on social media, to kickstart the conversation about the brand, and interact with our future customers," said Lisa Chavy. "We commissioned a first set of pictures to Dimitri Costes, and we will be collaborating regularly with other creatives, who will envision our label through their own individual perspective," added Chavy, who has also been, through her own agency Atelier 31, the Creative Director of Undiz ever since the label's launch.

By drip-feeding images to the market, Livy wants to whet the customers' appetite ahead of September, the crucial date of its commercial roll-out. The Etam and Vog groups, owners among others of Ba&sh and Eleven Paris, have allocated sizeable resources for the project, and Livy will not simply be content with a e-tailing. It will launch at the same time in department stores, with an exclusive at Le Bon Marché in Paris, and in traditional retail, with its own monobrand network.

A robust roll-out in France is already on the cards: three stores will open in Paris between September and October, and other locations, each between 75 and 90 m2, have been identified in major French cities, including Lyon and Bordeaux, and in Geneva, Switzerland. "We are keen to go for a strong retail orientation right from the start," said Dan Arrouas of the Vog group, adding that Livy is looking for other brick-and-mortar locations around Paris and in the South of France, between now and 2018.

After the Le Bon Marché launch, Livy is planning to open retail corners in other French and European department stores. Online distribution is another priority, and an agreement was signed with the Place des Tendances website, which will sell a selection of Livy items. The label's brand image is quite unique, highly directional and visual, and the range is positioned in the medium-high segment, with lingerie sets sold chiefly between €100 and €150. Another distinctive element is the plan to feature a very international range, for multi-cultural women who travel extensively. This is why the collection, with its nearly 300 colour codes, is split into three lines: edgy New York, couture-conscious Paris and laid-back Los Angeles.

The trio behind the label, Lisa Chavy, Dan Arrouas and Laurent Milchior, have underlined how Livy's launch will be strongly supported by marketing and communication initiatives. They are keen to quickly forge a close relationship with customers, and to "adjust our strategy according to their feed-back and expectations," said Lisa Chavy. "It is quite a unique launch, there have been few of this size on the lingerie market in the last twenty years," said the designer.