Wolford is a brand known for its luxury tights; however, it has recently seen a sharp rise in negative reviews due to deliveries being delayed and refunds failing to appear. The company has apologised, but more significant changes may be necessary.
What is Wolford?
Founded in 1950, Wolford is an Austrian company that launched its first market-leading seamless nylon stockings in 1954. It continued to lead the way with products such as transparent tights, released in 1969, before going on to collaborate with major fashion names such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, and Karl Lagerfeld.
Today, it is owned by Lavin, a Chinese company, and is considered a luxury brand, selling not only tights and stockings but also bodysuits, lingerie, and beachwear. A pair of tights can cost as much as £200, so it is not always the best place to buy plus size tights.
What happened?
There have been several major changes at Wolford that may have contributed to its issues. In the first six months of 2024, the company saw a significant 27% reduction in sales.
In June of the same year, CEO Silvia Azzali was replaced by Régis Rimbert. To try to enhance efficiency, Wolford turned to a new logistics provider to handle deliveries, but this appears to have caused complications. UK and European customers began to complain about delays of a month or more in receiving their goods, followed by difficulties claiming refunds. More than 90% of ratings on online review aggregator Trustpilot are negative.
What next?
More losses were reported as 2024 continued, but Wolford followed up its apology by establishing a task force to deal with delivery and refund delays in addition to promising wider restructuring to its operation and distribution systems. Lavin also promised to continue to ensure Wolford could continue to meet its financial obligations, at least until June 2026.
Customers continue to complain about Wolford’s poor service. Although the brand has apologised, it remains to be seen whether the promised restructuring will prove effective. Fortunately, there are lots of other places to buy regular and plus size tights.