Hunkemöller is a clothing manufacturer from the Netherlands, specialising in underclothes and lingerie.
The company was founded in 1886 in Amsterdam as a special shop for corsets. Nowadays it is an omni-channel brand with more than 4,000 employees in more than 23 countries. Hunkemöller is one of the field leaders in ladies underwear, especially in the Low Countries.
History
Wilhelm Hunkemöller and his wife Josephina Lexis founded the company in 1886 as a special shop for corsets and bustles in Amsterdam. In the beginning they used to produce in their own factory. In the following years the family owned business expanded and they could open stores in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht. In 1974 the company was acquired by Vendex dochter Confendex B.V., a subsidiary company of Vroom & Dreesman B.V. Thereby the company name was changed from “Hunkemöller Lexis” just to “Hunkemöller”. In 1977 the company expanded to Belgium and ten years later to Germany. Nowadays Hunkemöller has many stores in Europe and in the Middle East. Flagship stores are located in Amsterdam, Vienna, Stuttgart, Oberhausen, Düsseldorf, Rotterdam and Antwerp. Since August the 31. the Dutch model Doutzen Kroes represent the face of Hunkemöller. Previously, the model and moderator Sylvie Meis and thai singer Pimmara Charoenpukdi was the face of the company.
Company structure
Hunkemöller runs an omni-channel operation, which contains own-operated stores, shop-in-shops, e-commerce and international franchise units. Hunkemöller began its franchise program in 1979. These days the lingerie company contains more than 800 stores, with more than 4,000 employers. 2015 Hunkemöller recorded a turnover of 440 Million Euros. The company was acquired by The Carlyle Group in the beginning of 2016. Since the end of 2010 the company belonged to PAI Partners, a European private equity group. Before it was part of Maxeda, a retail business from the Netherlands. Hunkemöller’s headquarter is in Hilversum.
Collections
Hunkemöller sells lingerie, shapewear, nightwear, swimwear, sports clothing, hosiery and ladies accessories. In addition Hunkemöller features a range of sub-brands: HKMX (sports collection), Private collection (seductive lingerie), Noir (lingerie and swimwear), Bra Solutions (Bra Basics), The Sylvie Collection and Marlies Dekker Collection (designer collections).
Awards
In 2014 Hunkemöller secured the Retail Award again for the best lingerie chain in the Netherlands. In Belgium, Germany and Austria it got awarded with the same award a year before. Moreover, in Germany the company secured the prestigious “Retailer of the Year Award” in 2015.
- 2016: RETA (Retail Technology award) in the kategory Best Enterprise Solution
- 2015: VROUW Award Telegraaf (NL) for the best lingerie collection with focus on the Sylvie Collection London ( voted by readers of VROUW )
- 2015: Women’s Health Germany Award for “best lingerie brand”
- 2014: Mercuriusprijs for best store concept in Belgium with the Meir Flagship store.
- 2015: RETA (Retail Technology award) in the category best customer experience with the Flagship Düsseldorf, Germany.
Since October 27, 2016, the “Doutzen’s Stories” Collection is online
