Friday 11th June 2010

It’s with deepest frustration and sadness that Boudiche founders Clare and Fiona today had to today place Boudiche in Administration. We have been trying to raise finance for a number of weeks, but the pressure on cashflow became increasingly difficult, leading to the closure of the boutiques in Edinburgh and Glasgow this week and the appointment of RSM Tenon as Administrators.

Trading conditions through the retail stores have been difficult since the start of the Edinburgh Tramworks project hit footfall badly to the original Edinburgh boutique. Growth in the boutique prior to this had been over 70%.  This happened around the same time as the Glasgow store opened, and the economic recession impacted consumer spending.

We want to thank our amazing team that made Boudiche what it is, for their dedication and passion over the last five years.  They are as saddened as we are, Boudiche had become their baby too.    We also want to thank all of our customers and fans of Boudiche that have taken Boudiche this far.  Our almost 2000 Facebook fans, and Twitter followers.   Our thanks go out to our loyal suppliers for their support over last five years, designers of the best lingerie brands in the world. Damaris, Julianne, Fleur of England, Pleasure State, Elle Macpherson Intimates, Miss Mandalay and all of our amazing brands Boudiche was lucky to be able to stock.   And our thanks to a number of special people that helped us along the way, initially as advisors and many now close friends you know who you are.

There are too many amazing people that have supported us and Boudiche, to mention without risking missing anyone off, but thanks to all our supportive families, our Mums and Dads who helped us get here from tagging stock, to painting the boutique floors and sewing boudiche labels onto hangers.  Our friends who all mucked in and helped us at over the years, getting launched and even hosting and serving drinks at our last Men Only night.  We owe everyone a big thank you from bottom of our hearts.

A special thanks to the Princes Scottish Youth Business Trust (PSYBT) who have supported us from day one, and been there at every step of the way.  Without PSYBT many young people would never be given a chance to start in business.

It is with sincere regret that we were not able to raise Finance to prevent the business being placed in Administration. We are still in discussions with a number of investors about the potential to buy the business out of Administration, but at this stage nothing is agreed, and it is being handled by RSM Tenon.

For now, we need to say goodbye from Clare and Fiona, and the amazing Boudiche team that created something we still believe was, and is very special.

With deepest sadness,
Love
Clare and Fiona xxx

Official Release from Tenon below. Any queries in relation to creditor balance, customer gift vouchers or credit notes Tenon are dealing with, Alistair Mitchell can be contacted on Alistair . Mitchell @ rsmtenon.com. (no spaces). Direct dial 0131 221 8850.

BOUDICHE IN ADMINISTRATION

The directors of one of the UK’s leading quality lingerie retailers, fast-growing Edinburgh-based Boudiche, have placed the company in administration.

Launched in 2005 by Clare Thommen and Fiona McLean with a store in Edinburgh, the award-winning company then opened a second store in Glasgow’s merchant city in 2008, where turnover grew 9% last year. The company had also recently made a highly successful move into online retailing.

Turnover had grown from £68k in the first year to nearly £600k, with online sales rising an impressive 75% in the last year as demand for the company’s upmarket range of lingerie had attracted online sales from over 50 countries.

However, despite the success of the concept, and the growing profile of the brand, Boudiche’s two retail stores had been severely affected by the recession and contraction in high street spending. The Edinburgh store had also been badly affected by the Edinburgh tram works, with footfall falling an estimated 40%.

As such, the business was suffering serious cash flow problems and the directors requested the appointment of RSM Tenon as administrators, who are now marketing the brand and assets for sale.

Joint administrator Tom MacLennan, head of recovery at RSM Tenon in Scotland said: “Boudiche is a very high profile brand and was a rising star in the quality lingerie market, with the potential for further development, in particular the online business. The administration offers an exciting opportunity for an entrepreneur to acquire the brand and assets and develop the business. We would urge interested parties to make contact with us as soon as possible.”

Founding Director Clare Thommen said: “It is with deep regret that we have placed Boudiche into administration. Despite our best efforts and an extensive search for funding we were unable to secure the investment required to continue. We will continue to seek investment and hope to buy back the brand. In the meantime, we would like to thank everyone who has worked with us and helped us over the years.”

The administrators also announced that both stores have been closed, online trading has been suspended and all 13 staff (5 full-time, 8 part-time) have been made redundant with immediate effect.

The first time around Carrie wore the romper suit with jeans, working underwear as outerwear circa 2008 – not too much of a surprise really considering this gals fashion credentials…

2010 brings the Curveball chemise to our screens, the girls at Boudiche were given a tip off  from the designers that the piece would be featured – needless to say we bought in for our Boudiche and SATC fans.  Squeals and pointing at the big screen were aplenty when we spotted Carrie wearing it in her plush bathroom whilst having a conversation with Big!

Victorias Secret is so huge over here, but they still don’t even make my bra size and tried to fit me into a 34B! Even so, I still love to check it out when I’m over.  There are some gorgeous other lingerie designer brands in New York  if you look hard enough to find them:

The Lake and Stars is one of Boudiche’s favourite designers, and Boudiche have stocked The Lake and Stars for two years now. It’s so Sex and The City – Carrie Bradshaw / SJP wore one of their pieces in the first SATC movie.  I met up with Nikki Dekker and Maayan Zimberman, The Lake and Stars founders, this week.  The new A/W 2010 collection is ordered and is stunning.  I can’t wait for it to arrive in!  We have some Spring Summer 10 Lake and Stars collection left, but it flew out fast when it arrived, especially the Curveball range.

Nikki from The Lake and Stars (Right, short blonde hair) Clare (middle) and Sadie from Dolly Leo

This week’s Time Out NY Magazine featured these two quirky designers: Brulee – gorgeous camis, bodysuits and loungewear in rich satins and jersey, and also T-Luxe, an Eco Friendly organic cotton range of bralettes, robes, bustiers and sleepwear.

I’m in NYC with Sadie Jean Sloss, an internationally trained Make up Artist and founder of Dolly Leo, who has just launched her online website at www.dollyleo.co.uk – gorgeous website, check it out.  It’s great staying with her – I’m never short on beauty products, we have Becca make up everywhere in her Soho apartment, and Dr Alkiatas skin potions all over the bathroom. It’s girl heaven.

There are some very talented Scots over here in NYC too, including David Eustace, an amazing photographer. He’s looked after us, and shown us some of the real New York city, including how to get lunch for under ten bucks, and he’s even taught us how to use the Subway.  Earlier this week I had a lovely lunch with Ashley Jeanne Granata, who introduced me to a fab new website out here www.fashism.com – if you’re ever stuck on an outfit and need another opinion you simply upload a snap of you and users ‘vote’ love it or hate it.  Ashley has her own collection of gorgeous scarves she designs which are hand-made in New York.

We have also extended our offer of 20% off any new Boudiche bra in exchange for a ‘gently worn’  bra donation, this discount is valid on all our brands including Elle Macpherson Intimates, Stella McCartney lingerie and Fleur of England.

Maria the ever so kind (and modest) lady that started Smalls for all, is currently in Africa with the first batch of Boudiche donations! We will hopefully have some more photographs soon that we can share…

Does your bra feel too tight? Do you find you’re spilling out of the cups? Feel that you need some more support? Do you find your bra is uncomfortable? Unsure of the difference between balcony and plunge bra styles? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, chances are you could benefit from a fitting – it’s alarming to know that the vast majority (it’s estimated 80%) of us are wearing the wrong size of bra. Wearing the wrong size not only changes how your clothes look (wearing the right size can really enhance your gorgeous curves and make the most of your outfits!), but wearing the wrong bra size also have physical effects, such as damaging breast tissue, and even leading to back pain. Think you might benefit from a fitting? That’s where we can help!

The Fleur of England Daisy Drema Balcony bra offers sumptous styling and support.

Our boutiques offer a fitting service, so you can find out what size you really are. You can drop in at anytime (even if you can’t make it in during National Bra Fit Week), or you can call up in advance on 0141 2216477 (Glasgow boutique) and 0131 2265255 (Edinburgh boutique) to book an appointment with one of our expert advisors.

National Bra Fit Week runs from 19th April.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

From next week, we’re also running an exclusive daily competition on our Facebook page where you can win a pair of gorgeous Boudiche knickers! Here’s how you can become eligible to enter:

• Simply  change your Facebook profile photo to our Smalls for All campaign image and post “Smalls for All” on our Facebook page, and each day one lucky lady will be picked to recieve a free pair of knickers.

Get involved with this fantastic campaign – thank you and good luck!

4000 knickers enroute to Kenya!

From today, we’re supporting Edinburgh-based Maria MacNamara who started the Smalls for All campaign back in 2009, and has since donated over 6500 peices of underwear! After working as a volunteer in an orphanage in Africa, Marie realised a shocking reality; that many women and children do not have access to underwear – something that in the UK we just take for granted. Marie returned from her travels determined to try to make a difference, and caught the attention of the Boudiche Directors who were really keen to get involved.

However, we need your help: Boudiche aims to donate a minimum of 1000 knickers to Smalls for All for Ethiopia. If you’d  like to get involved (we’d love you to!) then here’s how:

• In our Glasgow and Edinburgh Boudiche boutiques, we’re donating 5 pairs of knickers for every Smalls for Africa bra fitting we undertake – please call our Head Office team on 0141 2216478 to arrange an appointment.

• You’re also entitled to a 20% discount on any new or “gently worn” bra that you have but you don’t wear (don’t worry – we won’t be checking whether it’s from Boudiche or not!).*

• We’re also looking for multipacks of knickers for women (sizes 8, 10, 12) and children (3-15 years) which you can drop off in the Boudiche boutiques.*

* If you’re not able to pop into Boudiche but still want to be involved with this fantastic project, you can send us your donations by post, but please contact us first by emailing africa@boudiche.com for further details.

More information can be accessed on Boudiche’s dedicated Smalls for All for Africa webpage – keep up to date and see how the donations are going!

We look forward to recieving your smalls to help us support this very worthwhile campaign!

Model wears Masquerade Hestia Basque

Model wears Ayten Gasson Grace Teddy

If you are interested in bridal lingerie but couldn’t make it along, please call our Glasgow boutique directly on 0141 2216477 or our Edinburgh boutique on 0131 2265255 to arrange a fitting appointment – we understand that what is underneath your dress is just as important, and our expert fitters look forward to helping you find the perfect lingerie.

All head pieces and hats from Glasgow-based William Chambers Millinery

Cupcakes from Cupcake Glasgow

A survey revealed by Poll.com this week  found that British women are hoarding 124 million unwanted bras. Poll.com interviewed 3,000 women nationwide aged 16 – 65 to discover the typical female owns 13 bras but only wears 8 of them regularly, while the remaining 5 are left untouched and gathering dust!

We aim to donate 1000 knickers to the women and children in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia as part of the Smalls for All campaign.  Smalls for All started in 2009 when Edinburgh based Maria Macnamara visited Africa doing voluntary work in an orphanage, and became aware of the need for basic underwear for African women and children. She has since collected over 6500 pair of pants!

We are donating 5 pairs of women’s or children’s underwear for every bra fitting carried out in our Glasgow or Edinburgh boutique and would very much appreciate if you could help the cause by donating new multi-packs to help reach our target. There will be rather fetching collection boxes in our boutiques for you to drop off your dontations!

After all that giving we thought you may like to get a little something? How about a 20% discount on a new bra if you trade us for an unworn or ‘gently worn’ bra. We all know once properly fitted our customers generally go down a back size and up a cup size or two and many old bras are left redundant. So here is the perfect excuse to grow your exquisite looking, well fitting lingerie selection and help the women and children in Africa!

This campaign is also open to our international customers send us your ‘gently worn’ bras and or multi-packs of new knickers and we will send you a 20% discount code to use online! Please email us first at africa@boudiche.com and we will send you more details.

The campaign runs from 29th March.

Keep track of the campaign by becoming a fan on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

But wait! There is more…the latest Stella McCartney Box Set to be released is the Vintage Days of the Week Knickers Set. Featuring a contrasting colour scheme of grey with white embroidery, and electric pink with purple embroidery, these are are boldly eye-catching, and comfortable to wear. The set also comes encased in a mini-drawer set with Stella McCartney branding, and each day of the week is written on each individual drawer. There’s even a little bonus drawer for “bits and bobs”, which is perfect for stashing away any little extras cluttering up your dresser. Any lingerie lover would be very excited to add this set to their lingerie collection, and it would look adorable on display in the boudoir!

So there’s some food (or rather knickers) for thought!