With men’s lingerie becoming more popular over the past few years, HommeMystere has moved to larger premises to cope with increasing demand. When searching for somewhere suitable for warehouse purposes, we were fortunate enough to find a location that has an area that would be perfect as a showroom/display area.
We thought this would give our local, interstate and international visitors somewhere to look and touch the lingerie and even try it on. But before we jump in and develop a space to show the lingerie, we sent out a survey to check that guys (and girls!) would come in and take advantage of the showroom. So with a few questions, we have the results and they are listed below-
1. What is the likelihood you would visit our warehouse in Brisbane Australia if we held an Open Day?
This is a bit of a tricky question because clearly our international respondents are pretty unlikely to visit us for a day! Even though we do receive a substantial number of inquiries from guys heading to Australia from overseas. Overall, the response was pretty positive in that quite a few would come and have a look at HommeMystere lingerie if we opened for a day.
2. Would you be interested in trying on lingerie and making a purchase in store?
Whoa! The overwhelming response here is a resounding ‘Yes’! Over 90% of you are pretty keen to have the opportunity to try on lingerie in store!
3. We are planning one weekend day per month. Would you prefer 5 days per week, 1 day per week, 1 day per month or you can’t get to Australia so it doesn’t really matter…
About 15% of you want 5 days per week but the majority is split between 1 day per week and 1 day per month. About 60% of you can’t get to Australia..
4. How far would you travel to see us?
We wanted to gain an idea of whether we might see locals only or if some of you would make a longer trip to visit. With about 60% of overseas, that ruled out quite a few of you flying in to say hello. Of the balance, about 10% said you wouldn’t travel at all and the remainder would travel as far as interstate to see us! We’re impressed!
5. Do you like the idea of making an appointment to try lingerie in private rather than having an open day. Keeping in mind we would probably have to charge a fee of some kind if you didn’t make a purchase.
This was our initial thought in relation to allowing access to our warehouse. We appreciate lingerie is a very personal thing and you would probably prefer some personal space and time to peruse the range. We also understand we are providing garments to a niche market so it’s unlikely we’ll have high numbers of visitors trying to book an appointment with us. We have definitely taken this on board and will investigate how we can make a visit to our warehouse as comfortable as possible for interested guys or couples.
Finally, we asked respondents if there was ‘anything else you would like to add’ which opened the door to anything! Some of the responses are below and we have also replied to some of the queries.
* Great job. Keep up the great work!
* Sell to Dillards and Macy’s
HM – Sorry but I can’t see that happening!
* It’s a cool idea being able to try stuff on before buying. Mind you, the sizing on the garments I’ve bought have been bang on and the reviews have been really helpful in deciding what to buy! Downside is Canberra is a bit far away to drive/fly for an open day 🙁
HM – Come on mate, seriously? Canberra’s just down the road! We know because we fly down that way quite a bit to visit friends and family that are another 2 hours drive away. But we don’t go there in winter… Ever..
* What about a virtual warehouse or store….could have 3D models of garments & avatars modeling them. Eliminates issues of store hours & problems of location & expenses of a physical site. Just a thought!
HM – You’re onto a good idea there and I am looking at a few options at the moment. Keeping in mind that even though we are an online store, we still need somewhere to keep stock, do paperwork and run the business. And while it’s great to do things online, I think it would be nice to meet customers and talk to guys that are on the same wavelength. I’m hoping to improve the experience for everyone as we continue to grow.
* Love your lateral thinking and courage. I always wear beautiful lingerie but it is still rather private, shared with only a score of people. But it is essential that you continue your pilgrimage so that attitudes change in the future. Shame I will not be around to enjoy a new liberal attitude as I am already in my 70’s, but wish you every success.
HM – Thanks for the kind words. I think we’re still a long long way from everyday acceptance but I believe we’re on the right track. I think more and more guys are gaining the courage to tread their own path rather than following the herd these days too.
* If you could write in french!!!! Merci
HM – Mate, my English is pretty average and my Mandarin lessons taught me one thing – I’m not good at languages! We can look at a Google translate feature but I don’t think we could do a full site in French. Sorry!
* Much as I may like, 500km each way is just a bit too much for underwear and calling in on holidays would not be acceptable to my wife.
HM – Are you suggesting HommeMystere is not worth a 10 hour round trip?!? Seriously, that’s what holidays are all about! Getting out enjoying life and doing what you want! Next holiday, get in touch, tell your wife you have any appointment and drop in to see us. Ok?
* Store in Las Vegas!!!!
HM – I hear you mate and I’m with you! How cool would it be to have a store in Vegas! Tax deductible trips overseas…..Freemont Street….gambling…drinking….
* Lingerie shops in Europe usually let couples in and have some privacy. I wouldn’t shop on my own, but would enjoy shopping with my partner.
HM – We will certainly allow that if we go ahead with the shopping by appointment plan.. And you Europeans are so liberal…
* Maybe sometime in the future you could open a store in the UK.
HM – Yes, that would be great. But I’m kind of leaning towards Vegas first! And we have to see if the idea of opening at all in Brisbane works too.
* Why don’t you think of opening a store in the South of France.
HM – I’d love to. But after Vegas eh?
* I live in the UK and if I order from you my parcel may get stopped by customs which can add 30% to the cost of the order, so I will not order. Can you ship from within the EU?
HM – We were shipping for a while from Wakefield in the UK and servicing all of the Eurozone. However the cost for us to get the stock to the UK was horrendous so we brought it back to Australia. As for the customs thing, that is beyond our control. Sorry!
* Get credit card payment method online on your website!
HM – Hey, we already do! Choose the PayPal/Credit/Debit card option and when you are redirected to the PayPal site click on the option that says ‘Pay by credit or debit card’. You don’t have to have a PayPal account.
* I love your panties but why don’t you have any that go to size 52. That’s the problem I have and I would order more but uncomfortable. I order from a site that makes to my measurements.
HM – Sorry but we just don’t have enough demand to justify going to larger sizes. We are always trying to fine tune quantities of each size and unfortunately even our XL’s in panties are getting reduced now due to lack of demand. If you see something you like and it’s not rated to your size, please feel free to get in touch and check if it will actually fit. We are conservative with sizing so you may be in luck!
* As we have experienced recently, things often do not work out no matter the intent.
HM – Harold! If it had been just a few weeks later it would have been ok! I hope you enjoyed your cruise and I’m sorry I missed you!
* Any chance of opening an establishment in South Florida?
HM – Not in the foreseeable future. I’m still thinking Vegas..
* Lower your prices!
HM – Unfortunately, we can’t do any better than our current prices. We are forced to buy in USD and the currency fluctuations are out of our control so some countries so increases including Australia. We do offer some great specials to our subscribers and if you are not receiving the Newsletter, then grab it today!
* Are you going to add different colors to your selections?
HM – It’s unlikely you will see the same patterns done exactly the same in a different color anytime soon. We’ve just released Rachel which is very close to Genevieve but there are no plans to do that again. We might have very similar patterns in future but there will almost always be a point of difference somewhere.
* How about a video catalog. You have some great lingerie, why not show it off from all angles. The video could be paired with a product list providing the sizes available and prices
HM – We are looking into the best way to utilize more video into the site and throughout social media. Thanks for your input!
Finally, we have received plenty of suggestions of where else we should open a store including Canada, Portland (Oregon), Las Vegas (several times), Melbourne, New York City, Mexico, London, Sydney, California, Birmingham…
