Venus Fashion
Formerly | Venus Body Wear, Venus Swimwear |
---|---|
Company type | Subsidiary |
Founded | 1984 |
Headquarters | 11711 Marco Beach Drive Jacksonville, Florida United States |
Products | Clothing Swimwear Shoes Accessories |
Number of employees | 850+ |
Parent | Bon Prix |
Website | www.venus.com |
Venus is an American online and catalog fashion retailer headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.[1][2] The company sells clothing, shoes, jewelry and accessories for women.[3] Venus is known for its swimwear and lingerie.[1][4] The company is known for actively participating in charitable endeavors and community activities.[5][6]
Background
[edit]In 1982, Daryle Scott, IBM engineer and MBA student, and three other investors created a mail order apparel company that focused in competitive body suits.[7] In 1984, Scott created Venus Body Wear,[7] an American clothing and swimsuit retailer, selling ladies' leotards and exercise apparel via full-page advertisements in Cosmopolitan and other national magazines. A year later, the company expanded to include women’s swimwear and became known as Venus Swimwear.[7] In 1998, the company opened its first retail store on the first level of the shopping mall, Jacksonville Landing.[8] The store was located near The Body Shop and Foot Locker.[8] During this time the company already had a Venus Factory Outlet on Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville.[8]
In 1999, Venus acquired WinterSilks, a large importer of silk fashions. In 2000, reflecting the expanded offerings, the company name changed to Venus. In November 2006, Venus, Venus Manufacturing, and WinterSilks, were acquired 80% by Golden Gate Capital, under their Catalog Holdings Group. The three companies fell under a new, united company name, Venus Holdings, LLC. In 2007, Venus opened three new retail stores, including one at shopping mall Coconut Point in Estero.[9][10] In 2009, Venus Holdings was acquired by the German catalog company Bon Prix, a subsidiary of Otto.[2][11]
As of 2018, the company employs nearly 1,000 people, 600 of which work at the headquarters in Jacksonville, 300 people work at the distribution center and approximately 50 people work at a Venus fashion design office in Boca Raton.[12] In September 2020, Venus announced that it is permanently laying off 120 jobs at its distribution center as part of a plan to open a second distribution facility on the west coast.[13][14][15]
In the media
[edit]In February 2012, Kate Upton and Julie Henderson wore bikinis by Venus in the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.[16] Venus' swimwear has also been featured in the CBS talk show The Wendy Williams Show.[16]
Venus has held an annual Venus Model Search since 1989.[17] Venus Swimwear Model Search was documented in the fifth episode of the first season of HDNet's reality series Bikini Destinations in 2003.
Collaborations
[edit]In 2002, actress and model Brooke Burke created a swimwear line called Barely Brooke with Venus. In June 2020, Venus Fashion launched a swimwear line with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.[18][19][20] The collaboration featured nearly 40 items, including long-sleeved one-pieces, tie-dye, neon, color-block and animal print swimwear and cover-ups.[21] The pieces were priced between $85 and $140, and sold online. Select pieces from the collection were featured in the 2020 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.[18]
Sponsorships
[edit]- Official presenting sponsor for The Jacksonville ROAR 2014/2015 cheerleaders.[22][23]
Venus models
[edit]Model | Occupation | Known for |
---|---|---|
Bree Condon[24] | Fashion model and actress | Appeared on the drama film Bombshell (2019) |
Jessica Hart[24] | Fashion model | Appeared on the magazine covers for Australian Vogue, Elle and GQ |
Brooke Burke | Model and fitness personality | Host of E!'s Wild On! and CBS's reality show, Rock Star |
Joanna Krupa[24] | Model and television personality | Former cast member of Bravo's reality show The Real Housewives of Miami |
Barbie Blank[25] | Professional wrestler and model | World Wrestling Entertainment professional wrestler on the ECW Brand |
Karen McDougal | Model and actress | Playboy's Playmate of the Month for December 1997 and Playmate of the Year of 1998 |
Nikki Schieler | Model and actress | Playboy's Playmate of the Month for September 1997 |
Dalene Kurtis | Model | Playboy's Playmate of the Month for September 2001 and Playmate of the Year of 2002 |
Rachel Reynolds | Model | Currently a prize model on CBS's game show The Price Is Right |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Venus Reviews: Is Their Trendy Clothing Worth It? - ClothedUp". clothedup.com. 10 April 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
- ^ a b Katie Deatsch (July 10, 2009). "German cataloger will keep Venus Swimwear afloat". Internet Retailer. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ^ "Women's Fashion | Clothing, Swimwear & Lingerie Store | VENUS". www.venus.com. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
- ^ "VENUS.Com Partners with Spirit of Giving to Distribute Hundreds of Boxes of New Clothing – Spirit of Giving Network". Retrieved 2021-11-12.
- ^ "Venus Fashion awarded for service to the First Coast community". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
- ^ "Local companies join charitable effort". www.bizjournals.com. Feb 6, 2003. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
- ^ a b c "Venus Swimwear in business for at least four more weeks". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
- ^ a b c "Venus Swimwear opens store at The Landing". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
- ^ "New on the scene: Venus". www.naplesnews.com. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ^ "Venus, a Division of Catalog Holdings, Inc. Steps Up Bricks & Mortar Expansion Campaign". PRWeb. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ^ Jim Tierney (July 13, 2009). "Bon Prix Buys Venus Swimwear". Multichannel Merchant. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ^ "Venus Fashion Inc. renovating Jacksonville headquarters | Jax Daily Record". Jacksonville Daily Record - Jacksonville, Florida. 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ "Venus Fashion to lay off 120 jobs at its distribution center | Jax Daily Record". Jacksonville Daily Record - Jacksonville, Florida. 2020-09-03. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ "Venus laying off workers because it plans to open West Coast distribution center | Jax Daily Record". Jacksonville Daily Record - Jacksonville, Florida. 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ Patterson, Steve. "Venus Fashion's layoffs in Jacksonville caused by plan for new West Coast operation". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ a b "Venus Swimwear has two suits featured in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
- ^ "VENUS Model Search". www.venusmodelsearch.com. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
- ^ a b Puhak, Janine (2020-06-16). "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit teams with retailer to launch 'inclusive' new swimwear line". Fox News. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
- ^ "ABG to Launch SI Swim Collection, Targeted to Women". news.yahoo.com. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
- ^ "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Magazine Unveils Its Own Swimwear Line – Angel City Style". Retrieved 2021-11-18.
- ^ "'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit' Finally Unveils Swimwear Line". Us Weekly. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
- ^ Jacksonville Jaguars Public Relations (Feb 5, 2014). "THE ROAR partners with VENUS". Jaguars.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2014-09-18.
- ^ Ashley Gurbal Kritzer (Feb 12, 2014). "Venus Swimwear looks to make local splash with Jacksonville Jaguars Roar sponsorship". Jacksonville Business Journal.
- ^ a b c "Venus Swimwear Models". FashionModelDirectory. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
- ^ "8 Celebrities that Proudly Call Jacksonville, Florida Their Home". Prime Roofing Florida. Retrieved 2022-02-28.