This European Brand Wants To Be The Next Victoria’s Secret

You may not have heard of Italian retailer Calzedonia, but it’s angling to give Victoria’s Secret some serious competition, according to Bloomberg Business. Beyond outposts in its native Italy, Calzedonia Group has over 3,800 store locations internationally. These locations include: its namesake legwear and beachwear brand, Calzedonia; its lingerie brand, Intimissimi; and a few other brands in the Calzedonia portfolio. Compare that to the Victoria’s Secret empire, which is in the ballpark of 1,100 locations in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

Calzedonia is primarily found throughout Europe; expansion in Asia hasn’t proven fruitful for the brand, though there are a couple of locations in Japan and Hong Kong. And it doesn’t have any U.S. stores yet, but that’s definitely about to change, with stateside openings slated for the next few years. It certainly sounds like Calzedonia is vying to wrest some customers (and revenues) from Victoria’s Secret. “There is a dominant competitor in the United States, but that is maybe a reason why…women would like to have an alternative,” Caldzedonia Group’s billionaire owner, Sandro Veronesi, told Bloomberg.

Calzedonia raked in roughly $2.5 billion in sales in 2014 (compared to Victoria’s Secret’s $11.4 billion for the same period, according to Business Of Fashion). Victoria’s Secret trots out its fleet of super-toned Angels and many pounds of glitter for its annual fashion show each November; now, Calzedonia Group has started an annual spectacle of its own. The second iteration of Intimissimi on Ice, which happened over the weekend, involved an Ellie Goulding performance, Olympic ice skaters, and Intimissimi costumes designed by Patricia Field.

Granted, Calzedonia’s namesake brand is far more sock-centric than Victoria’s Secret, but it does have a big lingerie presence via Intimissimi. Time will tell if an Italian import can poach customers (and cash) from Victoria’s Seceret.

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