Etam: from lingerie to ready-to-wear, Marie Delahaie’s aim is to dress women throughout the day

As Paris has been buzzing with Fashion Week since Monday, Etam has splashed its new campaign across the streets of the French capital. This sun-kissed, sexy offensive received a high-profile boost on Tuesday evening with a star-studded event at the Bus Palladium club in Paris. More than a headline-grabbing showcase for France’s leading lingerie brand, it marks the first step in the medium-term strategy set by its new managing director, Marie Delahaie.

The executive, who says she first focused on crafting a new brand platform built around dressing women throughout their day, is credited with repositioning Etam’s ‘little sister’ within the group, Undiz: more understated, more mature, yet still joyfully toned. In just a few seasons, the brand has been transformed while becoming more appealing — no mean feat in a lingerie market that edged down last year. As Etam considered its next phase, Laurent Milchior, co‑manager and chairman of the family-owned group, and his board approved the appointment of the former head of Zadig & Voltaire.

“At Undiz, my aim was to move away from overly risqué lingerie and break free from over-reliance on licences to recreate a more coherent brand image. I had fun with the brand’s image, giving it a bit of a ‘California’ feel. I was given carte blanche and free rein. And it worked,” explains the executive, who acknowledges that Etam, with its 833 shops — some 450 of which are in France — presents a different set of challenges. “But what applies to both brands is that without the right organisation and the right team, it doesn’t work. The transformation must not rest on a single person or on an artistic vision embodied by one individual; otherwise, if that person leaves, all the know-how goes with them.”

Moreover, Etam’s evolution, which gets under way this autumn–winter season, is not confined to a campaign aimed at attracting a younger clientele. The managing director is steering a vision to build a silhouette-led offer rather than a proposition that simply ticks boxes by product category across its various segments.

“I joined this venture because I believe deeply in the project,” she says. “Etam offers a very high standard of quality and excellent value for money. If we bring in on-trend collections with greater consistency between ready-to-wear, lingerie, and nightwear, and if we truly establish this 8am-to-midnight woman’s silhouette… we have huge potential. I’m a firm believer in a larger store concept where we’d stock lingerie — as we’re the only player to offer corsetry — but also sportswear and comfortwear; and by adding the right ready-to-wear, we’ll be offering something quite unique on the market.”

Etam is certainly a sizeable operation with some 3,000 employees and a history spanning more than a century. Its business has slowed in recent seasons, particularly in France, yet Marie Delahaie is intent on “instilling a new mindset.” Given the current economic climate and consumer expectations, she believes this shift is essential. She has surrounded herself with an experienced leadership team aligned around the idea of “breaking down silos” and moving beyond department-based operations.

“Among the new recruits, I’ve brought in people for product, design, marketing, and digital, and we’ve created a new role focused on managing stock from purchasing and building the product portfolio, right through to in-store allocation, residuals management, and end-of-life. On all these points, there must be one voice and one vision. This is a cultural shift to deliver, in which the supply chain is just as important as a beautiful bra in the perfect lingerie set. I have two key words for the teams: simplify and structure. Simplify to be agile, and structure to be robust.”

In this context, the executive notes the use of tools powered by generative artificial intelligence, not so much to create collections as to delve into the company’s library and archives, and to optimise stock allocation and management. These tools should help Etam remain relevant in a market crowded with long-standing competitors, fast-fashion players and new international challengers. In this regard, the new brand image must permeate the business to bring to life a cohesive offer spanning lingerie, sportswear, comfortwear, and ready-to-wear, and to evolve the store concept accordingly.

On the ready-to-wear side, work on the offer is under way; and whilst each country has a different relationship with lingerie, ready-to-wear must also help reinforce a universal brand message across the 40 markets in which Etam operates. Already strong in Belgium and Spain, the brand has expanded significantly in recent years in Mexico and in the United States, where it is stocked in Nordstrom department stores. 

“Etam must first appeal to the majority of French women; then the ambition will be to take this ready-to-wear international. That means striking the right balance with silhouettes that aren’t too narrowly French,” the managing director explains. “Ready-to-wear was originally at the heart of Etam. If you look at the brand’s DNA, that’s where it lay. But over time, it has almost become a brand within the brand. So we’re currently refining the product mix. We want to bring denim back. The idea is to create fluidity between categories. A lace bodysuit can be paired with a jacket. Knitwear sits naturally alongside lingerie, as does tailoring. And to accompany life’s moments, we’ll have athleisure with sport and, of course, tights. Etam faces the challenge of rejuvenating its clientele. You have to be convinced of your vision and go for it. If you try to address every customer without following a clear path, that’s when brands lose their way. I strongly believe in a powerful brand message, even if it means risking the loss of a few customers at the start.”

The brand must be able to meet the expectations of its historic clientele, aged over 40, while also appealing more broadly to 25–35-year-olds. Building this offer entails a challenge: even as Etam’s image evolves, its pricing proposition must remain stable.

“The image can be very polished while still offering good value for money,” says Marie Delahaie. “For me, our main lever lies in streamlining the range and managing residual stock. In certain categories, there’s no need to multiply materials. We need to identify the right one — of the highest quality — buy it in volume, then vary colours or prints. By rationalising the offer, we free up margin without penalising the customer.”

Towards a transformation of the store network

This work on image and offer should start to be visible in stores by the end of the year. But transforming a network of 450 stores — particularly to reflect Etam’s new branding and introduce its ready-to-wear proposition — is a project in its own right.

“We’ve evolved the concept,” says the managing director, who stresses the importance of being part of a family-owned group with a long-term vision. “The concept is due to be finalised by year-end. For example, we want to work on in-store ‘totems’: showcasing the knickers bar, innovations in invisible lingerie, or the entire 100% cotton range. We need to bring all this product expertise back to the fore.” Around ten shops will see initial adjustments by the end of the year, including the Rue Saint‑Lazare boutique in Paris.

The brand is also preparing to unveil its new flagship format, combining lingerie and ready-to-wear, in the first half of 2027. Whilst most of its estate currently operates on footprints averaging around 150 square metres, the new concept will favour spaces of more than 250 square metres to allow the different silhouettes to be fully expressed. The transformation of the banner will therefore inevitably involve a number of shop relocations over the coming seasons.

The Les Halles flagship in Paris, with more than 500 square metres of retail space, will be among the first to be revamped, while the shop on Rue de Sèvres in the capital and the one in central Caen will also switch to the new concept. At the same time, management is focusing on lighter-format concepts, particularly in peripheral areas.

“We want to renovate these large-format stores. It may run counter to current strategies, but I strongly believe in proximity. It’s not just about chasing volume in hyper-centres. I believe an accessible brand must also be accessible in terms of geographic proximity.”

This approach also reflects a physical presence designed to support its omnichannel strategy. The brand, which counts around 4.8 million loyalty cardholders worldwide, needs to increase the share of its digital business, currently capped at 14% of turnover — a figure the group does not break out.

But beyond customers, Marie Delahaie’s chief challenge will be to bring head-office and store teams along on this major transformation, which will play out over several years. To this end, Etam is drawing on the group’s strength, as it approaches €900 million in turnover and targets an EBITDA margin of 10% for the financial year.