(Cup) Size Matters as Agent Provocateur and Frederick's of Hollywood Battle for Market Share

Agent Provocateur features the sort of wispy underpinnings frosted with Chantilly lace and finished with extravagant bits of silk and satin while Frederick's of Hollywood (FOH) frames the lady parts in shiny (mostly) artificial fibers. Each company is currently in expansion mode. Agent's plan is to open more stores and add more swimwear and accessories to cater to ladies lusting for all things luxe. Frederick's, um, thrust is in social media and online promotion to those who prefer more affordable frippery.

But at either end of the market spectrum, size matters. You read that right. The secret to snagging the most customers is not the number of doors or web portals, it's in the cup (and panty, corset, garter, etc.) size. In the lingerie business, the bigger the range of sizes, the bigger the company's market share.

As with apparel, a lucrative and rapidly growing segment of women's retail can be found in the plus-size intimates section. Companies offering sizes above 14 are experiencing double-digit increases (think teen retailer Torrid's impressive online sales).

For U.K.-based Agent Provocateur, the growth strategy begins with a changing of the executive guard, most notably by installing a woman as creative director. Sarah Shotton succeeds the brand's co-founder Joe Corre in a move that underscores the importance of the brand's messaging of female empowerment -- and its attention to understanding how women shop.

For her first directive, Shotton hit on that perennial trouble spot -- bathing suits. She said Agent would focus on creating a full collection of swimwear, with cup sizes ranging from A to F, and on mix-and-match tops and bottoms. "Women come in all shapes and sizes, and they buy swimwear in a similar way to lingerie," Shotton said. "We design with their problems in mind."

Shotton would do well to consider extending that philosophy into Agent's existing lines where bra sizes only go up to E and pajamas, slips, and the like max out at a U.S. 14 (which is widely recognized as the average American woman's size). With such a reach, it's almost certain that the company, currently owned by 3i, a European private equity company, could sustain the double-digit sales increases it experienced despite the recession.

Frederick's has long capitalized on super-sizing. The catalog used to be one of the few purveyors of vertiginous stilettos (in sizes up to 11) and has always offered larger cup and waist sizes (pajamas go up to 2x). By concentrating efforts in online marketing, Frederick's -- with the help of digital agency WhittmanHart Interactive (WHi) -- hopes to increase sales organically through an online community (become a Frederick's fan on Facebook!) that's interested in sharing/baring the more, umm, intimate details of their purchases.

The company admitted the recession had a negative impact on revenues, gross margins and earnings but still managed to pull off a hefty $176.5 million in net sales across its wholesale and retail channels last year. The new digital strategy boosted sales 4 percent already.

One final thought: though each company is actively trying to embrace the full-figured customer, neither Agent Provocateur nor Frederick's of Hollywood is showing any products on plus-sized models. That's a smart move (even if it seems counterintuitive) because even if a woman says she is comfortable in her curves, studies show she still wants to purchase items shown off by skinny models.