Britain's Underwear Brand Insider Lost Half Of Its Losses And Relocated To "Sustainable".

Recently, the famous British underwear brand Agent Provocateur (internal spy) released its 2018 performance data, brand sales increased slightly from last year to 18 million 100 thousand euros, while the loss significantly reduced.

In 2018, sales of Agent Provocateur increased by 1 million pounds (+5.8%) to 18 million 100 thousand pounds compared with 2017. But the company also admits that "the overall predicament of the retail industry has led to this result lower than the group's expectations for physical store sales". However, it is gratifying to note that the loss of the brand in 2018 was 50% lower than that in 2017, from 18 million 900 thousand to 9 million 600 thousand. Brand said, Agent Provocateur will continue to adhere to the niche market positioning of sustainable development in the future.

Agent Provocateur was founded in 1994 by Joseph Corr e, the son of British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and his ex-wife Serena Rees. In 1994, the two opened the first boudoir style underwear store in Broadwick street, Soho District, London, and also sold silk and lace underwear, suspenders and stockings. Joseph Corr also served as the designer of the brand.

In 2007, Joseph Corr Ye divorced Serena Rees, mainly engaged in private equity fund companies invested by medium-sized enterprises. 3I Group acquired Agent Provocateur Ltd. 80% stake in 60 million euros. Between November 2007 and March 2009, Agent Provocateur Ltd. expanded rapidly in the United States, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Hongkong, China, and opened 13 new stores. But the rapid expansion also caused many financial problems. The company's profit in the 2007 fiscal year dropped by 18% to 2 million 200 thousand pounds. In the ensuing nearly 10 years, 3I group took many measures to try to turn the tide, including additional investment and closing some stores.

In 2017, Agent Provocateur filed for bankruptcy protection after months of chaos and layoffs. 3I group decided to sell Agent Provocateur as a whole.

The famous British underwear brand Agent Provocateur will be sold as a whole and its valuation will be greatly reduced.

Hard to find buyers, the British luxury underwear brand Agent Provocateur or by the Barclays Bank, the creditor.

British underwear brand Agent Provocateur (new spy) has another buyer to bid for 27 million 500 thousand pounds.

In the end, Four Holdings, the parent company of Sports Direct, the UK's largest sports retailer holding Mike Ashley holding by the British billionaire, bought Agent Provocateur at about 31 million pounds (see "ornate ambition"): the billionaire Mike Ashley of the UK finally bought the Agent Agent at 31 million pounds. At that time, the deal caused strong dissatisfaction with the brand founder Joseph Corr e, who called the deal "a disgrace to the British business community".

It is worth mentioning that the industry has commented that Mike Ashley's usual investment practices are waiting for competitors to go bankrupt, and then grab their assets at a low price. In addition to Agent Provocateur, the assets under Mike Ashley include mass sports goods retailer Sports Direct, multi brand fashion retailer Flannels, football club Newcastle united, and House of Fraser, which were acquired in the high-end department stores in 2018. Besides, they also hold some shares of French French, British department store and sporting goods retailer.

The Agent Provocateur, which was taken over by the new owner, was replaced by a female leadership team, and the brand was restructured by refurbishing the store decoration, lowering the brand threshold and expanding the category.