The Rise and Expansion of Frankies Bikinis
By Serena Perl
Last month Victoria’s Secret took a minority stake in Frankies Bikinis by investing $18 million in the company. Victoria’s Secret is the largest women’s lingerie company with a net worth of $4.11B. They reintroduced swimwear to its brand roughly three years ago, after realizing that the decision to eliminate it was harming merchandise sales. With their new investment in Frankies Bikinis, Victoria’s Secret will remain extremely relevant and be able to increase sales.
This relationship is mutually beneficial, as Frankies Bikinis will be in more stores and online sites than ever before. Both brands have similar values and consumers, so the minority stake will expand both Frankies Bikinis and Victoria’s Secret simultaneously.
Frankies Bikini Founder and Creative Director Francesca Ailleo was placed on the Forbes 30 under 30 list — and for good reason. Growing up in Malibu, Ailleo spent the majority of her time at the beach wearing bikinis. She wanted to create the perfect bikini which inspired her to start designing her own.
As a senior in highschool in 2012, she launched her brand and after creating just two collections, she was the youngest designer to make a debut in her first of many Miami Swim Weeks. Several collections later, her designs have skyrocketed in demand, now worn by numerous celebrities including the Hadid sisters, Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner.
Although the company is now over 10 years old and has maintained its status in the market, Frankies Bikinis continues to expand and make an even greater name for itself in the swimwear industry. A staple of the brand, the swimwear line’s collections often utilize one material of a certain pattern and craft various complementary articles of clothing. For example, this quilted pink bikini material goes far beyond a bikini top and bottom. They have made matching pants, purses, hats, rompers and more to complete the look.
This relationship is mutually beneficial, as Frankies Bikinis will be in more stores and online sites than ever before. Both brands have similar values and consumers, so the minority stake will expand both Frankies Bikinis and Victoria’s Secret simultaneously.
Frankies Bikini Founder and Creative Director Francesca Ailleo was placed on the Forbes 30 under 30 list — and for good reason. Growing up in Malibu, Ailleo spent the majority of her time at the beach wearing bikinis. She wanted to create the perfect bikini which inspired her to start designing her own.
As a senior in highschool in 2012, she launched her brand and after creating just two collections, she was the youngest designer to make a debut in her first of many Miami Swim Weeks. Several collections later, her designs have skyrocketed in demand, now worn by numerous celebrities including the Hadid sisters, Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner.
Although the company is now over 10 years old and has maintained its status in the market, Frankies Bikinis continues to expand and make an even greater name for itself in the swimwear industry. A staple of the brand, the swimwear line’s collections often utilize one material of a certain pattern and craft various complementary articles of clothing. For example, this quilted pink bikini material goes far beyond a bikini top and bottom. They have made matching pants, purses, hats, rompers and more to complete the look.
Some of the collections recently dropped in preparation for summer include rhinestone clothing, tie-dye and terry cloth sets. The trendy patterns have risen to popularity with recent crazes such as Y2K fashion. While many other swimwear brands have attempted to recreate this concept of “matching sets” with bikinis, Frankies remains the most successful and iconic. Although they began as a simple swimwear brand, their expansion to create matching clothing of nearly every type was a genius marketing move and caused an astronomical spike in sales.
Their marketing model has proven to be wildly successful and results in constant waitlists and styles sold out for months. The brand was built upon social media engagement with customers through giveaways, reposting celebrities modeling the styles, and updating followers on new releases and drops.
To build anticipation and drive a greater demand for the bikinis, sneak previews of capsule collections are posted to their social media in order to build eagerness around future launches. In their recent terry cloth swim collection, there were several “sneak peaks” posted, and consumers were left waiting and wondering about the specific colors, designs and style. Once this collection was finally released, the apparel and bucket hats were sold out within days.
Frankies apparel is at a higher price range than the average bikini, with a top ranging from $90 to $130 on average. However, people are willing to invest in these pieces because of the distinguished reputation the brand has and the understanding they have of its quality. Frankies Bikinis also has a high rating in mitigating environmental impacts due to their use of eco-friendly and recycled materials, and are known for manufacturing locally and having a low carbon footprint.
Several factors — from style to accountability — draw customers to this brand and transform it into a sweeping empire. From its origins in Malibu, Frankies Bikinis is blooming into an increasingly prominent brand and will easily continue to release iconic designs worn by many.
Their marketing model has proven to be wildly successful and results in constant waitlists and styles sold out for months. The brand was built upon social media engagement with customers through giveaways, reposting celebrities modeling the styles, and updating followers on new releases and drops.
To build anticipation and drive a greater demand for the bikinis, sneak previews of capsule collections are posted to their social media in order to build eagerness around future launches. In their recent terry cloth swim collection, there were several “sneak peaks” posted, and consumers were left waiting and wondering about the specific colors, designs and style. Once this collection was finally released, the apparel and bucket hats were sold out within days.
Frankies apparel is at a higher price range than the average bikini, with a top ranging from $90 to $130 on average. However, people are willing to invest in these pieces because of the distinguished reputation the brand has and the understanding they have of its quality. Frankies Bikinis also has a high rating in mitigating environmental impacts due to their use of eco-friendly and recycled materials, and are known for manufacturing locally and having a low carbon footprint.
Several factors — from style to accountability — draw customers to this brand and transform it into a sweeping empire. From its origins in Malibu, Frankies Bikinis is blooming into an increasingly prominent brand and will easily continue to release iconic designs worn by many.