Okay. Let me make something perfectly clear from the very beginning of this post. I have never bought “shapewear,”—undergarments that are specifically designed to reshape (mostly) female body parts and regions—and I don’t expect I ever will. Apparently I’m not alone: the market for pantyhose (much less for girdles, corsets, and other, old-fashioned shapewear) has been sagging for years as large numbers of women have abandoned the product, moving to a more natural look.
That is, until a spunky entrepreneur (aren’t all entrepreneurs infused with at least a bit spunk?) by the name of Sara Blakely re-engineered shapewear, built Spanx Inc. (www.spanx.com)—a company that did $250 million in retail sales in 2007—and reinvented the entire shapewear industry to boot. Not bad for a former door-to-door fax salesperson.
Sara did all the things highly motivated, successful entrepreneurs usually do: she came up with a great idea (footless pantyhose), she spent hours and hours doing research to be sure no one else had already patented the idea (they hadn’t), she was persistent in first finding a manufacturer for her new product (no one wanted to manufacture it) and then talking store buyers into stocking it (no one wanted to, until a Neiman Marcus Group buyer agreed to take a chance).
But Sara did one thing that few entrepreneurs do: she reinvented the shapewear industry, turning it on its ear. How? As Mary Krug, vice president and divisional merchandise manager for Neiman Marcus Stores put it, Spanx “made it cool and hip in what is not a cool and hip category (which, coincidentally, is what Howard Schultz did with coffee and Starbucks).” Celebrities flocked to the brand, with Tyra Banks, Gwyneth Paltrow, Oprah Winfrey, and other high-profile personalities touting (and flouting on the red carpet) Spanx’s benefits. However, when it comes right down to it, the bulk of Sara’s success can be attributed to two things: a great idea (this was something that women really wanted to buy, whether they knew it or not) coupled with superb marketing skills (honed from seven years of selling those fax machines door-to-door).
As Sara’s company has grown, it has created new products and continued to redefine the shapewear industry. Of course, some day Spanx’s products may become as old-fashioned as the girdles that preceded them. Until then, Sara is having the time of her life.
This reminds me of Devon Rifkin, the guy who started The Great American Hanger Company. His idea was to take an everyday product (the hanger) and transform it into something cool. He turned a profit in his first year and now brings in more than ten million in revenue a year.
Hi, cool post. I have been wondering about this topic,so thanks for writing.