ThirdLove

Market position

In 2021 NPD Group ranked ThirdLove the third largest online intimate apparel brand in the US, behind Victoria's Secret and American Eagle's Aerie. Forbes valued it at approximately $750 million in October 2018 and placed it on the Next Billion-Dollar Startup list; a source cited by TechCrunch put its valuation above $750 million after the 2019 Series B. It is characterized as a direct-to-consumer challenger to incumbent intimates retailers.

Size-inclusive assortment including half-cup sizes and a broad band/cup range, a data-derived fit quiz built from aggregated body imagery and shopper inputs, a try-before-you-buy program, and product lines organized around specific fit complaints rather than only style. The brand also differentiated through inclusive marketing positioned explicitly against Victoria's Secret.

Technology

A proprietary fit quiz (Fit Finder / FitFinder / virtual Fitting Room) collects body and fit-problem data to recommend size and style; earlier versions used a smartphone camera to size shoppers. The company applies aggregated body-shape data and analytics to product design, size creation (including half cups) and to personalization of the online shopping experience; a virtual Fitting Room platform with a personalized 3D shopping experience was announced in January 2021. Product technology includes 37.5 Tech thermoregulating fabric in the TempSync line, seamless and wireless constructions, and recycled lace.

Go-to-market

Online-first acquisition, historically a heavy buyer of Facebook advertising targeted at prospective customers, combined with the Fit Finder quiz as an acquisition and personalization tool. The company has used pop-up retail (initially for brand awareness rather than sales, including a Soho pop-up from July 2019 to March 2020) and gained significant earned media from its 2018 public exchange with Victoria's Secret, including an open letter in the New York Times.

Women shopping for bras and underwear across a wide range of body shapes and sizes, including those poorly served by standard cup sizing; sizing spans bands 30-48, cups AA-I with half cups, and apparel sizes XS-3X, with specialty styles for nursing, post-surgery, sports and sensitive skin.

Geography

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, with Wikipedia describing the area served as worldwide. As of February 2019 distribution was limited to the United States, with international expansion and local facilities planned; customer support hours are quoted in US Pacific Time.

History

The first product line launched in spring 2014. The company nearly collapsed while manufacturing in Mexico because of high fabric import costs, losing $400,000 in investment capital before shifting production to China; it streamlined its app and introduced a try-before-you-buy program in March 2015. In 2017 Zak was named to Fast Company's "100 Most Creative People." In June 2018 ThirdLove added 24 larger sizes, and in October 2018 Forbes estimated the company at $750 million and included it on its Next Billion-Dollar Startup list. A public dispute with Victoria's Secret followed in late 2018. In 2019 the founders received an EY Entrepreneur of the Year award for Northern California, the company raised a $55 million Series B, and it opened its first pop-up shop in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood (July 2019 to March 2020). In 2021 NPD Group named it the third largest online intimate apparel brand in the US, and it launched a Seamless wireless bra line. By 2022 the assortment spanned underwear, loungewear, sportswear and sleepwear, with the style count doubled versus 2021.

Risks & controversies

In October 2018 Victoria's Secret filed two USPTO applications for the name "Victoria's Secret First Love." In a November 2018 Vogue interview, then-L Brands CMO Ed Razek said the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show would not cast plus-size or "transsexual" models and that the brand is "nobody's third love"; Zak responded with a widely shared open letter in the New York Times, Victoria's Secret posted an apology, and Razek resigned in 2019. The company also faced an early operational near-failure, losing $400,000 in capital on Mexican manufacturing before relocating production to China. The Wikipedia article carries editorial notices flagging promotional content and undue weight, indicating limited neutrality in that source.