boutique la vie en rose type private industry retail founded 1984 founders harry kaner rosmary kaner headquarters montreal quebec number of locations 150 canadian stores 56 international locations september 2011 1 key people fran ois roberge chairman and ceo 1996 present products lingerie sleepwear swimwear loungewear website www.lavieenrose.com boutique la vie en rose is a canadian lingerie retailer headquartered in montreal quebec . the brand produces and sells a range of undergarments sleepwear and swimwear aimed at women in the 25 55 age group . since 2003 la vie en rose also offers underwear sleepwear loungewear and swimwear for men under the brand name la vie en rose man . in 2016 the company launched a new line for men called lv96 . 2 3 as of may 2016 the company has over 180 stores throughout canada as well as 56 international locations including a large presence in the middle east particularly in saudi arabia where the company has 25 stores and the united arab emirates . the most recent canadian addition in 2016 is the new store in quebec city at the les galeries de la capitale shopping mall . the most recent international addition is a store in astana kazakhstan which opened in january 2011 . the company has plans to expand to ten new countries by 2013 which is set to include locations in india china australia and georgia . contents 1 history 2 the brand 3 international 4 references history edit la vie en rose in toronto eaton centre with geox bcbgmaxazria apple store collacutt motherhood maternity costa blanca and other stores . sears can be seen far out . la vie en rose was founded in 1984 by a toronto businessman harry kaner in collaboration with his wife rosmary kaner . 1 4 the first store opened in the summer of 1985 at toronto s sherway gardens shopping mall with intention of becoming the first of a chain which would include upwards of eight stores . aimed at the increasing working women market the company sought to offer a personal service robe in each changing room and a well trained staff . 4 however the first three years of operation did not happen as intended and the company filed for bankruptcy protection before kaner sold it to the algo group in 1987 . 1 in 1996 after more years of losses algo sold the company for 2.4 million to entrepreneur fran ois roberge who had previous experience working in the industry . roberge financed the sale primarily from loans and personal savings and secured 23 of the company s 26 stores which were at the time losing a million dollars a year . 1 on acquirement the company s head office located in toronto employed only 12 people and roberge made the choice to relocate the head office from toronto to downtown montreal . the first year under new ownership proved profitable and shortly after la vie en rose started opening stores annually . there are currently 150 stores throughout canada which employ around 2 000 people nationwide including three concept stores la vie en rose la vie en rose aqua and la vie en rose outlet . 5 6 as of september 2011 the chain now counts 150 boutiques nationwide . the company brings in 130 million in domestic sales from its canadian stores as well as 10 million from 56 international locations . 1 5 at the beginning of december 2011 the company acquired 11 stores from ainsi soit elle a quebec lingerie retailer . the stores are set to be reopened by the end of january 2012 . 7 the brand edit the brand produces and sells a range of lingerie sleepwear loungewear and swimwear aimed at women aged 25 55 . the company is considered to be on the low to mid range of luxury brands with products that cater toward more mature women . 1 5 international edit in 2004 la vie en rose expanded internationally into the middle eastern market when they opened a store in saudi arabia . 1 8 having seen a positive results from the venture the company has increased their operation in the region opening 56 boutiques with additional locations in lebanon the united arab emirates jordan egypt kuwait and algeria . saudi arabia is the largest international asset for the company with 25 stores currently in operation . the united arab emirates has the second largest number of stores outside of canada after saudi arabia with a total of ten stores nine in dubai and one abu dhabi 8 the most recent la vie en rose location opened january 2011 in astana kazakhstan and as of september 2011 plans are underway expand to an additional 10 new countries by 2013 which is set to include india china azerbaijan and georgia . australia s first store is set to be in adelaide 1 references edit a b c d e f g h undercover economy . canadian business . 2011 09 08 . retrieved 2011 10 15 . https www.lavieenrose.com en la vie en rose behind the brand https www.lavieenrose.com en men a b wickens barbara 1985 08 13 . retailers try new tack to woo working women . the windsor star 29 . retrieved 2011 10 15 . a b c giving women what they want . canada.com . retrieved 2011 10 15 . la vie en rose canada s leading lingerie retailer expands worldwide reach . cnw.ca . 2011 01 11 . retrieved 2011 10 15 . canada s biggest lingerie retailer acquires ainsi soit elle stores . winnipeg free press . 2010 04 16 . retrieved 2011 12 12 . a b alexandre paill 2011 01 11 . la vie en rose l assaut du kazakhstan . lapresseaffaires.cyberpresse.ca . retrieved 2011 10 15 . retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title boutique la vie en rose & oldid 740244622 categories companies established in 1984companies based in montreallingerie brands navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 19 september 2016 at 22 53 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view