Frederick’s of Hollywood, Inc. is a leading U.S. intimate apparel retailer, with an emphasis on racier clothing and other items. Through about 160 mainly mall-based stores, a mail-order business, and an online shopping site, Frederick’s sells lingerie, bras, and panties, as well as sportswear, dresses, swimwear, shoes, hosiery, accessories, and a line of menswear. Increasing competition from upstart lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret hurt the company throughout the 1990s, and Frederick’s finally was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2000. Following a thorough restructuring, the firm emerged from bankruptcy in January 2003, majority owned by a consortium of creditors led by Crédit Agricole, a French investment bank. In an attempt to differentiate itself from Victoria’s Secret and other competitors, Frederick’s has repositioned its product line to appeal to younger women by returning to a racier image–but not to the raunchy image on which the company made its reputation.

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Statistics:

Private Company
Incorporated: 1962 
Employees: 1,600 
Sales: $200 million (2002 est.) 
NAIC: 448190 Other Clothing Stores; 454111 Electronic Shopping; 454113 Mail-Order Houses

KEY EXECUTIVES

• Mr. Thomas J. Lynch , 41
  Chairman and Chief Exec. Officer
• Ms. Linda LoRe , 55
  Pres, Director and Chief Exec. Officer of the Frederick’s of Hollywood Division
• Mr. Thomas Rende , 48
  Chief Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer
• Ms. Terri Patterson ,
  Chief Exec. Officer
• Mr. John B. Hatfield , 66
  Chief Admin. Officer, Exec. VP, Sec. and Treasurer

Key Dates:

1946: Frederick Mellinger establishes a mail-order lingerie business in New York City called Frederick’s of Fifth Avenue. 

1947: Mellinger relocates the business to California, renaming it Frederick’s of Hollywood. 

1948: Mellinger designs and begins selling the first push-up bra, dubbed the “Rising Star.” 

1952: The first retail store opens in California. 

1962: The company is incorporated as Frederick’s of Hollywood, Inc. 

1972: The company goes public, but the Mellinger family continues to own a majority stake. 

1984: Frederick’s suffers a net loss for the year, its first ever; Mellinger retires. 

1985: George Townson is brought onboard as chairman and CEO and launches a “desleazification” of Frederick’s. 

1996: The company launches an online shopping site. 

1997: Investment bank Knightsbridge Capital Corp. takes Frederick’s private in a $66.6 million leveraged deal. 

1999: Linda LoRe is named president and CEO. 

2000: Knightsbridge sells the company to investment firm Wilshire Partners; burdened by debt, Frederick’s files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. 

2003: The company emerges from bankruptcy under the majority ownership of a consortium of creditors led by Crédit Agricole, a French investment bank.

2006: It merged with New York City sleepware manufacturer Movie Star and the headquarters was moved to New York.

2008: The company changed its name to Frederick’s of Hollywood Group Inc. The company trades on the American Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FOH. Its headquarters remains in New York City.