Rigby & Peller gets boost from new product sales

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 6, 2017

Rigby & Peller may be most closely associated with its lingerie heritage in most consumers’ minds but its decision to widen its remit on the product front appears to have paid off, as far as turnover is concerned, at least.

While the upscale company made a loss last year, its latest accounts show, its sales rose slightly and have risen further this year. In the first half (the period to June 2017), it has seen a comparable sales increase  of 3.6%.

The company, which is based in Mayfair, London, has added a raft of new products from home fragrances such as rooms sprays and scented candles through to hosiery items like socks.

For 2016, this initiative helped the firm grow its comp sales by 1%, even though total sales for the year fell by 3.3% to £7.9 million. The company, which has been majority owned by Belgium’s Van de Velde since 2011, also made a loss of £734,416, a fall from a profit of £587,046 in the previous year. 

But the firm said that the loss was a direct result of spending on its stores, such as its new location in Bluewater, and on staff training.

The company has a strong focus on personal service and emphasises the importance of correctly fitting bras. This has won it a number of celebrity clients from Lady Gaga to  Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson. But perhaps its best known ‘celebrity’ customer is the Queen and the almost-80 year-old company has held a much-prized royal warrant for a number of decades.