Thu Feb 11 08:56:00 -0500 2010

Forbes (New York)

- Ever since 1920, when Ida Rosenthal and enid Bissett strapped two cups together with a piece of elastic and called it the Maidenform Brassiere, making female undergarments has been a pretty good business. The latest craze in intimate apparel is “shapewear,” a new name for what used to be called girdles and corsets. It started a decade ago when entrepreneur Sara Blakely created her Spanx panty hose and caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey. Maidenform (MFB, 14), known primarily for selling department store and mass-market bras and panties, moved into the business, and it now has a 40% market share with its Flexees Shapewear.

Mimi Bartow, an analyst at Telsey Advisory Group, thinks the “affordable luxuries” that Maidenform sells are a great fit for a struggling economy.

To view the full article, download the PDF here: Forbes, February 11, 2010