Hunkemöller is a global, omnichannel retailer specialising in

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fash ...

and related products. The company was founded in 1886 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

as a speciality shop for

corsets A corset is a support garment commonly worn to hold and train the torso into a desired shape, traditionally a smaller waist or larger bottom, for aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the natur ...

. Today, it is a brand with more than 7,400 employees in 19 countries. Hunkemöller is a market leader in The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Germany.

History

Wilhelm Hunkemöller and his wife Josephina Lexis founded the company in 1886 as a special shop for corsets and bustles in Amsterdam. In the early years, they produced products in their own factory. In the following years, the family-owned business expanded and opened stores in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

and

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

. In 1974 the company was acquired by Vendex subsidiary Confendex B.V., a subsidiary company of Vroom & Dreesman B.V. At this point, the company name was changed from “Hunkemöller Lexis” to simply “Hunkemöller”. In 1977 the company expanded to Belgium and ten years later to Germany. Today, Hunkemöller has stores throughout Europe and franchise partner stores in the Middle East. In 2003 online operations began in The Netherlands.

Notable people

In August 2016, the Dutch supermodel

Doutzen Kroes Doutzen Kroes (, ; born 23 January 1985) is a Dutch fashion model. She began her modelling career in 2003, in the Netherlands and was quickly sent by her agency to New York where she was cast by lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret. She was a Vict ...

became Hunkemöller's lead brand ambassador. Previously, the model and tv personality

Sylvie Meis Sylvie Françoise Meis (born 13 April 1978), known for sometime as Sylvie van der Vaart, is a Dutch television personality and model based in Germany. Career Netherlands Born in Breda, Netherlands, Meis is partly of Dutch East Indies orig ...

was the face of the company. In 2021 US actor and media star

Lucy Hale Karen Lucille Hale (born June 14, 1989) is an American actress, singer, and television personality. She has received various accolades, including seven Teen Choice Awards (the most for any actress in a single series), a Gracie Award, a People's ...

launched a collaboration with the brand.

Collections

Hunkemöller sells

shapewear Kim Kardashian in Shapewear-dress A foundation garment (also known as shapewear or shaping underwear) is an undergarment designed to impermanently alter the wearer's body shape, to achieve what some view as a more fashionable figure. The func ...

nightwear Nightwear – also called sleepwear, or nightclothes – is clothing designed to be worn while sleeping. The style of nightwear worn may vary with the seasons, with warmer styles being worn in colder conditions and vice versa. Some styles ...

, loungewear,

swimwear A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types may be worn by men, w ...

sports clothing Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical sport-specific garments ...

hosiery Hosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as ...

fragrance An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently vol ...

and accessories. Hunkemöller structures its product offer via a range of sub-brands: HKMX (sports collection), Private collection (seductive lingerie), Noir (premium lingerie and swimwear), P.O.P (aimed at

Generation Z Generation Z (or more commonly Gen Z for short), colloquially known as zoomers, is the Western demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting bir ...

), Freedom (wire free collection), Bra Solutions (bra accessories) and Always Sexy (everyday lingerie). In addition, the brand creates regular collaborative influencer collections. In the autumn of 2021 the brand launched its first

collection.

Company structure

Hunkemöller operates a omni-channel model: own-operated physical stores, outlets (for clearance), shop-in-shops, digital channels and international franchise units. Hunkemöller began its franchise program in 1979. The company was acquired by

The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and ...

in early 2016. Since the end of 2010 the company belonged to

PAI Partners PAI Partners is a French private equity firm based in Paris, France. It is one of the oldest firms in the sector, with its origins dating back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles, the historical principal investment activity of Paribas, which sta ...

, a European private equity group. Before it was part of

Maxeda Maxeda is a Dutch retail company owned by American investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Activities Maxeda DIY Group is the market leader in the DIY segment and has 345 stores in the Benelux and more than 7,000 employees. Most stores h ...

, a retail business from the Netherlands who in 2009 appointed the current CEO Philip Mountford to lead a period of expansion and transformation. Hunkemöller’s headquarters is in Hilversum, the Netherlands. In 2021 the business operated 900 physical stores, 19 international webshops, has around 7,400 employees and 4.7m active members. In October 2021,

shared its intention for the sale of the business. In October 2021 the CEO, Philip Mountford stated the brand's worth as €1bn (£855.45m).

Diversity & Inclusion

The brand's diversity and inclusion activities include the appointment of

Loiza Lamers Loiza Lamers (born 9 January 1995) is a Dutch model and businesswoman best known for being the winner of the eighth cycle of '' Holland's Next Top Model'', and the world's first transgender winner of the global ''Top Model'' TV-franchise. Earl ...

as a brand influencer and supporting the European Network Against Racism.

Charitable support

Pink Ribbon The pink ribbon is an international symbol of breast cancer awareness. Pink ribbons, and the color pink in general, identify the wearer or promoter with the breast cancer brand and express moral support for women with breast cancer. Pink ri ...

- a charity that supports women in the fight against breast cancer. * CEMBA - a circular economy social enterprise that reuses fashion waste products to create mattresses for flood refugees. * NewLife - an organisation that provides support to terminally ill and disabled children

Awards

* 2017-2021: 'Top Employer'. * 2017: 'Best European Retailer of the year' (Lingerie & Underwear) * 2017: Philip Mountford (CEO) 'Best Retail Executive'. * 2017: 'Webshop Award'. * 2016 'Cross Channel Award Europe'. * 2016: RETA (Retail Technology Award) in the category Best Enterprise Solution * 2015: 'Webshop Award Europe' and 'Cross Channel Award Europe'. * 2015: German 'Retailer of the Year'. * 2015: VROUW Award Telegraaf (NL) for the best lingerie collection with focus on the Sylvie Collection London. * 2015: Women’s Health Germany Award for 'Best Lingerie Brand'. * 2015: RETA (Retail Technology Award) in the category best customer experience with the Flagship Düsseldorf, Germany * 2014: Mercuriusprijs for 'Best Store Concept' in Belgium with the Meir Flagship store. * 2014: 'Best Lingerie Chain' in the Netherlands. * 2013: 'Best Lingerie Chain' in Belgium, Germany, and Austria.

References

External links

Hunkemöller Website UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunkemoller Lingerie retailers Clothing companies established in 1886 Clothing companies of the Netherlands Companies based in North Holland Organisations based in Hilversum