Pandemic boom for local lingerie firm

Pour Moi, founded in Macclesfield, enjoyed a boost in sales as stores were closed and customers turned to online sales.

The Hurdsfield based lingerie and swimwear company once favoured by Samantha Cameron has seen a 200% spike in lingerie sales during the pandemic as customers looked to alternative areas of entertainment.

Turnover soared to help sales reach £31 million in the 12 months to the end of September, up 46%, following a 61% jump in the same period in 2019.

Several successive UK lockdowns meant citizens were trapped inside, so demand for nightwear soared.

Founder Michael Thompson started the business around 17 years ago after he discovered a passion for lingerie whilst working in the department at M&S.

The company has high repeat uptake figures, boasting 72% retention rates, measured by a repeat or return purchase in the year following first purchase.

Underlying pre-tax profits have more than trebled since before the pandemic, including a 75% jump in the past year to £2.7 million.

Mr Thompson said: “Like a lot of people, for the first couple of months of the pandemic we were terrified.

“The biggest terrifying thing for us was that 80% of our business was swimwear, it was like having cassette player and having loads of cassettes in your warehouse, then finding out everyone has gone to streaming.”

Three men and 47 women make up the design team at Pour Moi and the entire business has 147 staff.

He added: “If you’re stuck at home, your entertainment has limited resources, it was either streaming something, playing Scrabble or buying lingerie.

“Straight into Covid we definitely saw our sexy lingerie sales spike, and then it went into more everyday lingerie because the stores were closed.

“It is mad, everything, every customer need changed overnight and then has changed back again, and then will change again, we are constantly trying to keep up with it and it’s so exciting.”

Pour Moi also experienced a 154% increase in e-commerce website sales compared with 2019 figures.

During the final three months of 2021 growth increased by 297% from 2019.

The brand gained notoriety in 2015 after Samantha Cameron, ex-Prime Minister David Cameron’s wife, wore a Pour Moi bikini on a trip to Ibiza.

Being predominantly online benefited the company during the pandemic and helped them compete with bigger names like Marks and Spencer, who hold a huge chunk of the market share currently.