Brashop.ru: Plus size bra s made Easy&Convenient

04 December 2017

Intimoda introduces our readers to the young, successful and increasingly popular Russian online store, BRASHOP. Store owner Julia Gesser opens up about the unique concept of selling lingerie at the interface of online and offline.

How did the Brashop.ru project come about?
The story has been a simple one. In 2009, after the birth of my first child, my already large cup size grew even larger and I was completely consumed with the problem of finding lingerie for a bigger bust. At that time even Moscow, the largest and most prosperous Russian city it was extremely difficult. There was nothing in the mass market. Nothing at all.
We came across just one store selling decent bras for size 30HH (UK). The brand was Panache lingerie but priced at 200-300$, it was an astronomical amount. My husband then decided to find out what made this lingerie so magical. He found the exact same items on British websites and ordered them; the retail price (including delivery) was ten times cheaper than what we had seen. It was then that the idea to open a specialist lingerie store for plus-sized women was born. We put the project on the back burner for a while as we focused on other things but eventually in 2013, we opened our store. We started as an online store, only selling Panache sports bars in 4 different models. Today, we have more than 400 different models with a size range from 60D to 100K.

How did you manage to sell something as complicated as bras, online so well?
Yes, selling lingerie online, especially for plus sizes is very difficult. When we opened our online store back in 2013, we did not have our own physical point of sales. But shortly after our first month of business, we realised that we needed to have a fitting point. Four months later we had our first small showroom in the Taganka district. Today no more than 10% of our orders are placed online. The lion’s share of the sales take place in the showroom. When dealing with sales online, the most important thing is determining not only the size but also which style will be most suitable. To do this, our sales assistants learn as much s they can about the client: the chest and under bust size, the lingerie brands she uses, the styles she wears and how they fit her. Occasionally a customer may even order a model that we would not recommend, after a consultation we, instead, offer them more suitable pieces. Then we can recommend the appropriate styles of lingerie for our individual clients. Sometimes our clients even ask for a consultation over Skype and we are happy to oblige. You can see examples of this on our YouTube channel.

Could you tell us more about your showroom and its atmosphere?
Our showroom offers a homely atmosphere. We wanted to create an “anti-shop” environment: a cozy room, tea and coffee, easy communication with an both new catalogues and lingerie pieces on display. The atmosphere is very inviting, we treat all our clients as friends and try to help them to choose the perfect lingerie. In this way, we are able to provide them with the best personal service and build a close relationship with them. During the colder seasons we offer our guests mulled wine and when it’s hot, we serve iced tea.
Our new showroom on Prechistenka street is very different from other classic stores.
First, there are no store windows that we use to display our range of models and sizes. It doesn’t make sense for us to do so as we have more than 400 models of lingerie, each available in up to 80 different sizes. However, we do highlight our best pieces and accessories on mannequins in-store. Excluding display windows has allowed us to maximise on space, air and light. We have 3 points of lighting: for the general store-floor, within the fitting rooms and track lights above the fitting rooms. This combination of light is very flattering for our products. Secondly, visits to the showroom are made by appointment only, ensuring our guests are not interrupted or disturbed while browsing. And lastly, we exercise a “human-oriented” approach. It is important to understand the difference between being client-oriented and human-oriented. If you are client-oriented, you manipulate people, trying to satisfy the client's needs in order to earn money. This is the old economy in which most companies operate. “I see, I hear, I react” - these are the three basic principles of the human-oriented approach. If you are in a hurry, the store consultant will immediately bring you 3-5 items most suited to your needs. If, on the other hand, you are interested in browsing our full collection, our consultant will take you through as many items and models that are in line with your needs, explaining their features and fit. We may even recommend accessories that would work well with the different items. If you prefer a more relaxed or independent shopping experience, your consultant will be available in the manner of “Call me if you need me;” attentive but not obtrusive. An individual approach in the lingerie business is not just finding lingerie for the customer, it is also about hearing and understanding the client as an individual.
I would also like to note the location of our new showroom, which is at the very center of Moscow. On a quiet side street of Prechistenka, the store is close to the metro and enjoys easy access and parking, which in Moscow is considered a miracle!
As such, if I were to try and describe the essence of our store in two words, they would be ‘EASY & CONVENIENT.’

Which brands and product categories do you currently offer on Brashop.ru?
We started as a mono-brand store for the British brand, Panache. Then we expanded to include other popular British brands like Curvy Kate, Scantilly, Elomi, and Freya and also the Canadian brand, Wonderbra . The British lingerie brands are specialized in designing bras for bigger cups. They offer a very wide size range and the construction takes into account the features required by a larger cup size. Now, in our assortment there are more than 20 specialized plus-size brands. We are constantly searching the world for the best brands and styles and this year, for example, we added a line of maternity lingerie from Australian brand, Cake Maternity, two Polish brands, Nessa and Comexim, and we even plan to add a few more. In addition to lingerie, we also sell swimwear and beach accessories like bags, tunics and sunglasses.

How do you choose the brands in your portfolio?
It is very simple: we try to listen to our customers and then we search. The two main channels we use are the Internet and trade shows.
We use the internet to filter feedback on plus size lingerie brands, when we find good reviews we proceed to contact the manufacturers directly and ask them to “send us the best you have,” then we choose. There were times when we were frankly disappointed and other times we were pleasantly surprised! Additionally, we visit expositions in order to communicate with brands and then choose pieces specific to our target audience.

Which are your best selling brands? Why?
Currently, we have 4 leaders: Panache (UK), Nessa (Poland), Scantilly (UK), and Elomi (UK). Their combined range generally satisfies most of our customer’s needs.
Panache, has a large range of plus size lingerie and beachwear with excellent construction and quality.
Nessa has very nice patterns and their balconette styles are very popular. They have a push-up effect and provide a beautiful form and support. They fit perfectly on almost every figure and we often say to ourselves that, “Nessa fits well even on women who really struggle.”
Elomi satisfies the needs of young women with fuller and plus sized cup sizes. These very popular cups, usually with a side cut, provide great support.
Scantilly is an erotic brand for special occasions with cup sizes up to a J (cups up to J). If you’re looking for sophistication and variety, these styles are exactly what you need.

What extra services do you offer your customers?
The primary additional service we provide is education. To all our clients we offer a short educational program on building a lingerie wardrobe. Our consultants advise customers on the types of bras that suit their individual characteristics and teach them how choosing the right model can even hide imperfections while flattering the right attributes.
We also provide another interesting and rather unusual service where we teach women how to wear a bra correctly. A number of women don’t know where their breasts should sit inside their bra cup, filling the whole cup and keeping the underwire below the breast.
how to properly position their breasts to fill the whole volume of the cup when putting on a bra, allowing the underwire to remain strictly under the breast. At the request of a client, our consultants can help position breasts correctly and also teach them how to do it themselves.

What is the big trend you see today in terms of consumer purchases?
Of course, the main consumer trend is the Internet, in all its shapes and forms. First of all, the internet changes the decision making process. In the past, a client walked into a store, chose what they wanted to buy and then decided which store they would visit next. But now, the approach is very different. With the plethora of information available on the internet, people decide what they want to buy before even entering the store. We call this the “point of zero choice.” Thanks to the internet, consumers are better informed and demand more from products, prices and services.

You use social media and online promotion actively. Could you tell us about your strategies and the results you have seen so far?
With the arrival of social networks, every company can create a channel of communication, that almost serves as their personal TV through which they can access their target audiences. If you create interesting content, more people will tune in to your channel, and the more successful you become As a “TV channel”, we chose Instagram, because for lingerie visual impact is important. We use several basic types of content: photo reviews from our clients, video reviews of lingerie news, tutorials on the correct selection of lingerie and photos from the fitting rooms. A majority of our followers want to see how lingerie fits on normal women, not models. And we show them this. We even have a section where we show one bra on five different sized models, from 65E to 80J. Women find this useful as it is then easier for them to understand the fitting process and decide if it suits them or not.
Today, we have about 50,000 followers, and a monthly coverage of about 1 million people. We are still growing. This channel provides us about 70% of new customers.