Figleaves

Figleaves was founded in 1998 by entrepreneur Daniel Nabarro and former McKinsey & Co manager Michael Ross. At launch, it was the first internet retailer to specialise in lingerie, and one of the first to target a female-only market. In 2002 the company started selling in the US. In 2005 the private equity group Balderton Capital bought an almost 40% stake, and in 2010 the company was purchased by N Brown Group in 2010 for £11.5 million. The company did not turn a profit in the UK until 2012, 14 years after it launched and two years after it was acquired by N Brown Group.

In Feb 2021 Figleaves.com announced the website would close and be absorbed into SimplyBe.co.uk.

Lingerie makes up 50% of sales, swimwear 40% and nightwear 10%. Figleaves also sells its own-brand clothing through JD Williams, part of the N Brown Group, as well as on Amazon and eBay. Figleaves' head office is in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. They also have a warehouse and customer service centre in Haverhill, Suffolk.