Women'secret

Women'secret is a Spanish lingerie, sleepwear and swimwear chain launched in 1993 by the Madrid fashion group then called Grupo Cortefiel, now Tendam. Its first shop opened in the center of Madrid, and the brand now reports more than 700 points of sale in 76 countries, which makes it the most widely distributed label in the Tendam portfolio. Earlier versions of this page placed the founding in Barcelona; the company and its Spanish Wikipedia entry both put it in Madrid.

A Haberdashery's Grandchild

Women'secret was a late addition to a very old business. Tendam traces itself to a family haberdashery opened in 1880 on Calle Romanones in Madrid. The family moved into manufacturing with a shirt factory, La Palma, in 1933, and in 1946 began selling men's suits under the Cortefiel name. The group stayed menswear-led for decades before adding younger chains: Milano in 1984, Springfield in 1988, and the designer label Pedro del Hierro, bought in 1989.

By the early 1990s Cortefiel knew how to run a chain of mono-brand shops in Spanish high streets and malls. What it lacked was a women's underwear business. Women'secret filled that gap in 1993. The group still describes it as "a brand created by and for women," and its range was built around three categories that have barely changed: corsetry, sleepwear and swimwear.

The Shop as the Brand

From the start Women'secret was a retail concept rather than a wholesale label. It sold its own designs in its own stores, at mid-to-low prices, with pajamas and lounge sets given as much space as bras. That mix is the brand's real signature. The bralettes, soft-cup sets and pajamas share a look that is closer to a fashion chain than to a corsetry specialist.

The brand was early online for a Spanish retailer, opening a web store in 2000, and it went through a formal rebrand and repositioning in 2012.

Going Abroad from 2001

International expansion began in 2001 and was built on a mix of company-run shops and franchises, the same model the group uses for its other chains. By August 2015 the store map looked like this:

Market	Stores (Aug 2015)
Spain	271
Portugal	45
Russia	44
Mexico	42
Belgium	15
South Korea	13
United Arab Emirates	11
Hungary	9

Smaller footprints at the time included Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Greece, the Dominican Republic, the Netherlands, Bolivia, France, Luxembourg, Chile, Palestine and Uzbekistan. The pattern is clear: Iberia first, then Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Gulf, with a notably large Russian network. The older claim that Women'secret became one of the leading lingerie retailers in the Middle East could not be confirmed and has been dropped; eleven stores in the Emirates in 2015 is a presence, not dominance.

The current figure, more than 700 points of sale in 76 countries, counts points of sale, so it is not directly comparable with the store tally above.

Products with a Purpose

Two product launches stand out for a mass-market chain. In 2013 Women'secret introduced post-surgery bras for women recovering from breast cancer treatment, a category usually left to medical suppliers. In 2019 it added a collection made with organic cotton and recycled materials. The brand frames both as part of a wider commitment to women's causes.

Tendam Today

The parent group changed its name from The Cortefiel Group to Tendam in 2018. It is owned by private equity firms including PAI Partners and Permira, and in 2023 it ran about 1,990 stores in 86 countries plus 47 online markets. Women'secret competes with the Italian chains Intimissimi and Tezenis and with the Inditex lingerie brand Oysho, and of the four it is the one most clearly built around the bedroom rather than the dressing room.

In 2024 the group began trialling a new store format, Cabinet, which puts Women'secret alongside two newer Tendam labels, the activewear brand Dash and Stars and HI&BYE. Thirty-odd years after that first shop in central Madrid, the brand is being asked to anchor a multi-brand store rather than stand alone.

Last updated October 28, 2026