ThirdLove Acquires Gen-Z Underwear Brand Kit Undergarments

The direct-to-consumer bra startup, known for its wide assortment of sizes, will relaunch Kit Undergarments on the ThirdLove website Tuesday, the company announced Monday, Apr. 25.

Leveraging ThirdLove’s scale in manufacturing and marketing, the two brands will grow alongside each other and mutually acquire new customers, said ThirdLove chief executive Heidi Zak, who founded the brand in 2013. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

While ThirdLove captures customers across age demographics, the three-year-old Kit Undergarments, founded by stylists Simone Harouche and Jamie Mizrahi, garnered a younger consumer base with a fashion-forward offering.

The intimates business became competitive in recent years as a bevy of newcomers have emerged to take on Victoria’s Secret. By catering to shifting consumer preferences for inclusivity and comfort, brands like ThirdLove, Parade, Knix and Savage X Fenty were able to steal market share from the mall mega-chain. But saturation in the market and Victoria’s Secret’s pivot away from its outdated sexy image has made further growth difficult for the direct-to-consumer upstarts.

ThirdLove had considered launching its own sub-brand before buying Kit Undergarments, Zak told BoF, but decided the acquisition was an easier, less resource-intensive way of scaling the business.

“There’s definitely somewhat of a differentiated product assortment so there’s an ability for customers to shop across the brands,” said Zak.

ThirdLove plans to continue expanding into new categories — it debuted a sports bra last fall — as well its retail footprint. Currently, it has two stores in Southern California and two more in the Bay Area.

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