When Alexa Cahill came on board as global president of New York-based lingerie and sexual wellness brand Kiki de Montparnasse in January, she was impressed. The 20-year-old brand had managed to maintain brand equity through multiple owners and the Covid pandemic, which was rare, she said.
Still, she felt like Kiki needed a refresh. Cahill had recently come off of a successful 13-year run as head of the Australian fashion brand Zimmermann where she helped the brand grow by 32,000%. She expanded the brand beyond Australia to markets including Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East and brought Zimmermann to Paris Fashion Week. She envisioned Kiki as having similar global potential.
Now, Cahill is overseeing an overhaul of Kiki de Montparnasse. That includes growing its wholesale business, expanding it internationally and refreshing its online presence and store, including with a new section for men called Mr. Kiki.
“I peeked under the hood and found the brand hadn’t been marketed digitally enough,” Cahill said.
For its part, Mr. Kiki will be marketed to men who are buying gifts for a female partner or a unisex loungewear style for themselves. About 50% of Kiki’s customers are men, so it’s a proven customer base that hasn’t been directly marketed to before. Globally, lingerie is an over $80 billion market, projected to grow by around 6% per year through 2030.
Cahill also plans to adjust Kiki’s wholesale and DTC split, which is currently about 50-50, to a 60-40 split favoring wholesale. The brand is currently sold at a number of major online and offline retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, Ssense, Bergdorf Goodman and Net-a-Porter. According to Cahill, wholesale is undervalued, especially as digital marketing costs rise. The expanded wholesale efforts will focus on international markets, especially Europe and the United Arab Emirates.
“The proof of wholesale is in the pudding,” Cahill said. “Wholesale was how we expanded Zimmermann into a global brand. When I was there, wholesale was 20% of the revenue, and now it’s 50%. It’s proven that getting your product in stores like Selfridges or Harvey Nichols is a gateway into continental Europe and then into big luxury markets like the Middle East.”
Cahill’s approach to marketing Kiki also includes IRL events. Earlier this month, the brand co-hosted Les Jardins de Kiki, an event held in Southampton in collaboration with artist Clelia Montali and OBGYN Dr. Amir Marashi. The latter co-curated a travel kit for Kiki.
Kiki de Montparnasse is a luxury brand, and its pricing reflects that. Some of its lingerie sells for over $1,000, plus it carries a nearly $30,000 chaise. But, according to Cahill, the brand needs to offer entry-level products to build up brand loyalty from customers of all income levels. To do that, Cahill is planning to bring back a program Kiki had in 2017 offering a selection of lower-priced items to retailers like Shopbop.
Cahill’s strategy is still new, having only just joined the company in January, but it seems to already be paying off. Topline revenue growth is already up triple digits in 2024 compared to last year.
