Return to RisquŽ Roots

Frederick's of Hollywood is banking on a new image, new merchandise and a new $1.5 million holiday marketing campaign that takes the lingerie retailer back to its raunchier roots to lift the company from bankruptcy. According to The New York Times, chief executive Linda LoRe will report to a bankruptcy judge on November 6 and share the company's restructuring plans, which includes a portfolio featuring a $40 million debt restructuring by the new owners.

Frederick's, which made a name for itself back in the 1960s, filed for Chapter 11 protection in July 2000. Since then, the retailer has redesigned its packaging to be more colorful and fun and remodeled its stores with leopard carpeting and red velvet curtains, all in an effort to appeal to teenagers and young people in their 20s. The company has built 13 new stores in malls and remodeled nine more. Such efforts are designed to present Frederick's as a spicier alternative to its competitors, including Victoria's Secret, the Gap and Express.

“In the past, Frederick's chased Victoria's Secret and chased the department stores, but the company swung the pendulum too far; they stopped being a Frederick's brand — the 'anti-establishment lingerie,'” says LoRe.

The company also has shot its latest advertisements in a hip club setting and has launched several new apparel lines, including a Get Cheeky line of cotton panties and an inner-wear-as-outerwear campaign. “We are carrying more color and fun,” says LoRe. “That young customer has a different attitude than people my age did: they're much more open about their sexuality.”

Proof that Frederick's efforts may be working surfaced in September when the company announced that its sales that month for stores open at least a year were up 12 percent from the previous year.