Curvy bras: Plus-size online retailer increases sales during coronavirus lockdown

There’s one reason why this bra is “flying off shelves”, helping an Australian retailer to pocket a cool $39,000 in just two short months.

Most of us cut back our spending during COVID-19 lockdown – but one Aussie business bucked that trend with bras “so comfortable” they had a 3100-person waiting list.

In fact, Sydney-based online plus-size bra retailer Curvy exploded during the coronavirus crisis, with some unexpected items “flying off shelves” while rival businesses struggled.

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Owner Wes Blundy said customers had been rushing to snap up a group of three bras in particular – nicknamed “COVID bras” – which were especially suited to iso life.

They include the $44.95 Playtex Comfort Revolution Wire-free Bra, the Sugar Candy Seamless Lounge Bra for $69.90 and the Curvy Kate Unwind Wire-free Bralette for $69.95.

Those three items alone raked in a staggering $39,000 in just two months as Australian women scrambled to find comfortable underwear designed for lounging at home.

Mr Blundy, who launched the company back in January 2014, said that figure represented a “huge spike” and that they were just three of more than 700 bras stocked by the retailer.

In the early days of the lockdown, Curvy sales tripled following the closure of competitors such as Myer and Bras N Things – but Mr Blundy told news.com.au “the boom got even crazier” as the weeks passed, with 3100 customers waiting on orders at one point.

The Curvy Kate Unwind Wire-free Bralette was one of Curvy’s sellout ‘COVID Bras’. Picture: Supplied

“Things have gone really crazy and it’s such an exciting time for us – sales are still up four times (compared with) this time last year and we’ve just had so many new customers trying online bra shopping for the first time,” Mr Blundy said.

“It has been amazing but also really challenging because we weren’t expecting to quadruple sales essentially overnight, and on top of that we’ve had team members affected personally with family responsibilities during COVID-19, so we’ve had four times the sales but a 75 per cent reduction in team availability.

“We had to do a bit of a hiring spree which was fascinating in itself and with so many really qualified people out of work, we’ve got a bunch of new team members on board and more than doubled our warehouse team.”

He said the company had finally “cleared the backlog” of orders which had soared to around 600 a day and that he had signed a lease on a new space which was seven times as big as the previous one as the business was “just exploding”.

And while it was “hard to know for sure” what was behind the huge spike in demand, Mr Blundy said it likely came down to a few different factors.

“COVID-19 probably accelerated some things that were already happening – we’re seeing a changing of the baton from brands like Myer that were very dominant in previous decades to specialist retailers like ourselves,” he said.

“I understand we sold more Triumph bras than Myer in April, which is pretty incredible.”

One of the factors that helped set Curvy apart at the beginning was that while other bra retailers closed their doors, it kept operating and offered customers private, personal fittings over Skype from their home.

Wesley Blundy founded Curvy in January 2014. Picture: Supplied

Another reason was the focus on comfort during isolation as women spent more time at home on the couch than usual.

“Bra technology and brands have become really great at making supportive, wire-free bras – previously there used to be a trade-off when it came to support and comfort but that’s no longer the case.

“I hear a lot of our customers saying the first thing they used to do when they walked in the door after a day at work was to tear their bra off but now that’s not top of mind, they’re so comfortable they’re not even noticing they’re wearing it, and that’s a huge win.”

Mr Blundy said another big seller had been sports bras, which he put down to people exercising and walking their dogs more often during lockdown.

That rapid growth is an impressive feat for a business launched with “$0 invested by anyone”.

“It was originally a partnership with Bras N Things and I pitched the idea to them as a joint venture – there were more and more specialty plus-size lingerie retailers overseas and it was becoming a really big business,” Mr Blundy said.

“Looking at Australia, I could see it was a market we were not currently serving. Just because you’re a G cup doesn’t mean you want to wear a nana bra.”

From day one “no one put in a cent” as Mr Blundy was able to secure some free initial stock from a supplier, with the profits used to purchase more stock.

The Sugar Candy Seamless Lounge Bra was another iso hit. Picture: Supplied

But after two years, he decided he was ready to branch out on his own – a big risk without the benefit of the Bras N Things brand and the marketing power that went with it.

“It almost backfired and it was a real leap of faith – three months later the business almost folded because that rebuilding stage was so hard to sustain,” Mr Blundy said.

“I thought I’d have to give up the Curvy dream which was devastating and scary but it motivated me to do every single thing possible and leave no stone unturned.”

That sheer determination paid off, and sales revenue for Curvy in the last 12 months now exceeds $3,500,000, up from $1 million in 2017.

Curvy is also in the midst of a soft launch in the US, with big plans to shake up the American market in the near future.