ThirdLove

ThirdLove is an American lingerie company founded by Heidi Zak and her husband, David Spector, in 2013. The brand is known for marketing body positivity and offering size-inclusive bras and half-cup sizes. ThirdLove is also known for its online FitFinder quiz, which helps users determine their best fit bra and style.[1][2][3]

ThirdLove
IndustryApparel
Founded2013
Founders
  • Heidi Zak
  • David Spector
Headquarters
San Francisco
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Products
Websitewww.thirdlove.com

In 2017, Zak was named one of Fast Company's "100 Most Creative People".[4]

In 2019, Zak and Spector received an EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Northern California region.[5]

In 2021, NPD Group named ThirdLove the "third largest online intimate apparel brand" in the US, behind Victoria's Secret and American Eagle's Aerie brands.[6][7][8]

History

ThirdLove was inspired by Zak's own challenges with bra shopping, when she could not find bras that were both beautiful and comfortable. In 2013, Heidi left her Google advertising job to take a data-driven approach to designing bras.[9][10][11]

After using Craigslist to invite 100 women to photograph themselves wearing fitted tank tops over their bras, ThirdLove used the images to design both their prototype bra with the help of proprietary lingerie designer Ra'el Cohen and an app that would determine bra size. Upon finding that standard cup sizes do not fit 37% of women, ThirdLove created half-cup sizes.[11][12]

ThirdLove launched its first line in the spring of 2014.[12] The company nearly collapsed when manufacturing in Mexico due to the high cost of importing fabrics. After losing $400,000 in investment capital, it transitioned to manufacturing in China. To generate more interest in the bras, the company streamlined its app and implemented its try-before-you-buy program in March 2015.[13]

In June 2018, the company added 24 larger sizes.[14] In October, Forbes estimated ThirdLove to be worth $750 million and was placed on Forbes' Next Billion-Dollar Startup list. [13]

In 2019, ThirdLove opened its first pop-up shop in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood from July 24 until March 2020.[15]

In 2021, ThirdLove launched its new Seamless wireless bra line. [16]

As of 2022, ThirdLove has offered underwear, loungewear, sportswear and sleepwear and had doubled its 2021 Style Count.[17][18][19][20]

Funding

ThirdLove raised $5.6 million in its seed round in 2013. Investors included NEA, Andreessen Horowitz, Yuri Milner, Silas Chou, Barry Sternlicht, Munjal Shah, Nasir Jones (NAS), and XG Ventures. The Series A investment was $8 million in 2016 and investors included New Enterprise Associates and Lori Greely (former CEO of ThirdLove's competitor, Victoria's Secret[21]). In 2019, ThirdLove raised $55 Million in a Series B funding round led by L Catterton. Anne Wojcicki, Susan Wojcicki, and Tim Armstrong also participated in Series B.

Victoria's Secret controversy

On October 23, 2018, ThirdLove's competitor Victoria's Secret officially filed two applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office for the name "Victoria's Secret First Love".[22]

In a November 8, 2018 interview with Vogue, Ed Razek, former CMO of Victoria's Secret's parent company L Brands, expressed no desire to cast plus-size and “transsexual” models in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show "because the show is a fantasy". Razek also claimed that the brand is "nobody’s third love" and that "Victoria's Secret has been women's first love from the beginning".[22][23]

On November 18, 2018, Zak condemned Razek's comments and pushed for inclusivity in an open letter in the New York Times that went viral on Instagram.[24]

The next day, Victoria's Secret posted Razek's apology for his comment about transgender models on Twitter and Razek resigned from his role as CMO in 2019. [25][26]

References
  1. Kavilanz, Parija (19 January 2019). "Bra sizing is wildly confusing. Her company seeks to change that". CNN Business. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  2. "ThirdLove Continues to Disrupt Intimates Industry Status Quo with Launch of Everyday Woman Model Search" (Press release). San Francisco. Business Wire. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  3. Hanbury, Mary (18 April 2019). "Meet the startup founder challenging the way women shop for bras". Business Insider. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  4. "THE MOST CREATIVE PEOPLE IN BUSINESS 2017". Fast Company. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  5. "ThirdLove Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, Heidi Zak and David Spector, Receive Prestigious EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2019 Award in Northern California" (Press release). San Francisco. Business Wire. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  6. "ThirdLove lowers prices in bid for Victoria's Secret shoppers". Glossy. 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  7. "ThirdLove updated its fit quiz to increase sales in more categories". Glossy. 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  8. "ThirdLove Unveils New Virtual "Fitting Room®" Platform and Personalized 3D Shopping Experience Online". AP NEWS. 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  9. "Meet The Ex-Googlers Who Built ThirdLove, The DTC Challenger To Victoria's Secret". Ad Exchanger. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  10. "Meet Heidi Zak, one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People 2017". Fast Company. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  11. "ThirdLove: Most Innovative Company". Fast Company. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  12. Welch, Liz. "How an MIT Grad Made a $68 Bra So Perfect, You'll Forget You're Wearing It". Inc. Magazine.
  13. Robehmed, Natalie. "Next Billion-Dollar Startup: Entrepreneurs Create $750M Bra Business By Exposing Victoria's Weakness". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  14. "The Bra With a 1.3 Million-Woman Waitlist Is Finally Here (and There Are 70 Sizes to Choose From)". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  15. Ryan, Tom. "To Get Online Bra-Fitting Right, ThirdLove Is Going Physical". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  16. Magaldi, Kristin. "ThirdLove's new product line might be more comfortable than its T-shirt bra". Adweek. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  17. Nina Zipkin (6 January 2017). "This Founder's Best Advice for Entrepreneurs: To Succeed, Entrepreneurs Need to Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  18. Collings, Richard. "ThirdLove Unveils Loungewear As Intimates Business Matures". Adweek. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  19. Stych, Anne. "ThirdLove launches activewear category". Bizjournals. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  20. Howland, Daphne. "ThirdLove emphasizes sexiness, comfort and fit in brand revamp". Bizjournals. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  21. Kavilanz, Parija (January 16, 2019). "Bra sizing is wildly confusing. Her company seeks to change that". CNN Business. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  22. Stampler, Laura (May 10, 2019). "Victoria's Secret Trademarks a Twist on a Rival's Name. Will It Backfire?". Fortune. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  23. Phelps, Nicole (November 18, 2018). ""We're Nobody's Third Love, We're Their First Love"—The Architects of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Are Still Banking on Bombshells". Vogue. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  24. Lowe, Lindsay. "ThirdLove responds to Victoria's Secret CMO Ed Razek with open letter in New York Times". Today. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  25. Barden, David (November 11, 2018). "Victoria's Secret Boss Apologizes For 'Insensitive' Trans Comment". HuffPost. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  26. "Victoria's Secret boss Ed Razek has quit". Harper's Bazaar. August 6, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
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