Bravissimo restarts online orders as it recovers from warehouse fire, sales jump from day one

Bravissimo’s back fulfilling UK online orders after a warehouse fire in June. And so is the lingerie/swimwear brand’s performance with the business seeing a 70% year-on-year rise in total sales on the day of its relaunch. Lingerie sales alone were up 90% compared to the same day last year.

And the two-months pause in online ops gave Bravissimo the opportunity to assess store performance. The result was a strong increase in footfall across its 25 UK stores, with its flagship store in Oxford Circus seeing a 16% increase in customer traffic over the period.

The brand said the surge “reflected the strength of its community”, as well as “the continued demand for its offering of industry-leading bra and swimwear fittings”.    

Bravissimo retail and customer director Caroline Bartlett added: “We’ve been blown away by the support, loyalty and patience our customers have shown.

“The past few months have reminded us just how powerful our in-store experience is and the importance of brick-and-mortar retail in an increasingly digitally-focused world.”

In a busy year for the brand, Bravissimo was bought by Japanese international lingerie and swimwear giant Wacoal Europe in a deal that kept the retailer operating as a standalone business.

CEO Leanne Cahill also stepped down in April, following an internal restructure that will see the business more closely aligned with its new parent company.