Intimates retailer Ann Summers Group is aiming to transform its online visibility via the acquired Knickerbox brand and has invested £1.2 million to launch Knickerbox.com, aiming for the platform to become “the ultimate ‘House of Underwear’.”

Claiming to be “the only lingerie-specific retail platform in the UK”, the new women’s marketplace will showcase “curated style, unrivalled expertise and brands aligned with our own ethos and values”.

It will launch with a stable of 15 brands, including Calvin Klein Underwear, Lemonade Dolls, Curvy Kate, and Nudea, alongside the brand’s own lingerie lines, plus its new brand KBX. The group also stressed the platform will not sell the sex products or toys the Ann Summers brand itself is well known for.

As a tribute to its former chief executive Jacqueline Gold, who died last year, the platform will go live on her birthday 16 July.

“Ann Summers Group has always championed empowerment and with the launch of the platform, alongside established players, it is empowering smaller brands, many of which are female led”, it noted

But importantly for the brand, it said the platform “will expand its reach and improve visibility on the digital high street”. 

It aded that its “Ann Summers online business continues to be challenged by Safe Search restrictions, which reduces the visibility of the Ann Summers website and results in a large number of our customers unable to find it”. 

The business also said to accommodate Knickerbox.com it has modified its warehouse “to increase capacity and improve overall operational efficiencies”.

CEO Maria Hollins, Chief Executive Officer, added that the “group has ambitious plans for growth, and developing our omnichannel proposition sits at the very heart of these plans. We have been actively exploring ways we can leverage digital to support our growth ambitions and the launch of Knickerbox.com is a very exciting milestone for us.” 

Ann Summers bought the loss-making Knickerbox business in 2000 when it operated 33 branded stores and came close to selling it in 2014.