Lingerie talk with Chad Horstman, CEO and founder of Yandy

Chad Horstman, CEO and
founder of Yandy.
Yandy offers some of the greatest lingerie and costumes in the world. Offering a huge selection, you can also find swimwear and clothing there too. With low prices, it is one of the most popular stores on the world wide web. Founded over a decade ago by Chad Horstman and his brother Evan, this world-renowned lingerie store started out in Horstman's garage in the heart of Scottsdale, Arizona and evolved into one of the biggest stores to hit the intimate scene. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with the man behind the brand, CEO and founder of Yandy, Chad Horstman. Here is what he had to tell me...

(Q) Thank you so much for speaking with me today. Yandy is such an amazing store to purchase everything from lingerie to costumes. I have to ask more about this amazingly underrated store and it's innovation. Tell me a little more about Yandy...

C.H: When we first started Yandy, we were solely a lingerie company. My brother Evan and I started Yandy in 2005 out of my garage in Scottsdale, AZ. I had a background in digital marketing and computer information systems and Evan had a background in supply chain management so we brought our diverse skill-sets together to create Yandy. We soon discovered that many of the lingerie manufacturers also manufactured costumes so that first Halloween we gave them a shot.

That's when business really started to boom. We recruited friends and family to help pack orders. My entire garage was filled and we eventually had to spill into my closets and spare bedrooms in order to house all of the merchandise. We were packing and shipping around the clock. We used all of our earnings from that first Halloween to purchase our first warehouse. From there, we expanded to an even larger warehouse a few years later. In 2012 we moved to our current, 35,000 square foot warehouse and we're packed to the rafters. In addition to offering lingerie and costumes, we also have a wide variety of clothing, dresses, swimwear, and club wear available.

(Q) What inspired you to create Yandy? Tell me a little more about the inspiration behind the brand...

C.H: It all began after I had a disappointing experience shopping for some lingerie for my then girlfriend. I started the lingerie hunt by going to an extremely well known and popular lingerie brand. I quickly discovered that the selection I found was small and there was a real lack of styles and options. It was also a really uncomfortable in-store experience overall. After that, I thought I might have better luck finding the right lingerie gift online, but when searching found the products that were carried on various lingerie sites were just as underwhelming as the lingerie I had looked at in person. My discovery and own frustration as a lingerie consumer is what then sparked the idea to correct this and offer a diverse selection of lingerie, at an incredible price point and in the privacy of your own home.

(Q) You offer a wide-range selection of lingerie, costumes, bras, panties, swimwear, clothing and shoes as well as, accessories. Currently, what are the most popular, best-selling items right now?

C.H: Our current top 5 products include everything from sexy to sweet including teddies and chemises and everything in between. They include the Unwrap Me Satin Bow Teddy, the Hollywood Chemise Set, the Victorian Lace Bustier and Thong, the Elegant Bra with Garters and G-String Set, and the Faux Leather Venice Lace Corset.

While we make sure our staples, like these top sellers, are always available, we are constantly adding new on-trend products into our assortment every season. This spring we will be unveiling our very own private bra label featuring many of the top trends for Spring like soft pastel, candy-colored pieces.

(Q) That is amazing. I noticed that Yandy's prices are the best on the web.

C.H: Thanks! It’s nice to hear that feedback from an avid lingerie lover. Price is something that is very important to us. Although price is always of high relevance in retail, I think that with lingerie it’s especially significant since lingerie isn’t typically worn as an everyday wardrobe item. At Yandy you can purchase stylish lingerie sets that are high quality and on-trend at less than half the cost of major lingerie retailers.

(Q) When is Yandy the busiest?

C.H: We are typically the busiest the week before Halloween, the week before Christmas and the week before Valentine’s Day. But lingerie sells year round and with our upcoming 2016 swimwear launch and private label bra line, we expect to have really explosive growth all year long.

(Q) The bustier and corset debate continues. What is the real difference between a corset and a bustier?

C.H: Good question. Both items date back quite far historically. The main difference is actually in the overall intent of the bustier versus the corset. Bustiers were designed with the purpose of accentuating a woman's bust line and cleavage, whereas corsets were made to provide definition and a slimming effect to a woman’s waist and hip area. Corsets tend to be much tighter and are made to be more confining than bustiers based on their purpose of creating a well-defined hourglass shape when worn.

(Q) If someone is searching or hosiery, where should they start?

C.H: On the Yandy website of course! In all honesty, when shopping for hosiery, like with lingerie, bras and other undergarments it's all about the fit, material quality and with hosiery, durability. We look for hosiery that has great elasticity and stretch built-in. We provide a great selection of hosiery and our sizing charts are very accurate unlike other brands I’ve seen that are all over the map with sizing and measurement recommendations. Our customer service is fantastic and very knowledgeable about our product and helps guide customers through picking the best size and the desired fit that they are looking for when it comes to hosiery, as well as the thousands of products we offer.

(Q) I absolutely love the concept of Club Yandy. It is the lingerie version of Birchbox and Ipsy. For those individuals reading this interview, can you explain what Club Yandy is and who it benefits?

C.H: Thank you! We are actually getting ready to unveil a new and improved Club Yandy and we are very excited about what it will offer our current Yandy loyalists and all of our potential new Club Yandy members. We created Club Yandy for any woman who loves collecting lingerie and feeling sexy. We wanted a program that was extremely affordable and still offered the best on-trend lingerie sets at a fraction of the cost each month. Every month, club members receive a lingerie set typically retailing for between $20 - $40 for up to 60% less. Besides the great savings, Club Yandy provides a fun surprise element to the shopping process too and now it will be delivered to each member in our new packaging that we are very excited to add to the program. We’ve also added a lot of additional perks like birthday and seasonal gifts and great birthday savings the week of your birthday.

(Q) If someone loves pinup, retro, vintage and burlesque lingerie, can they find something at Yandy?

C.H: Yes, we have an entire category dedicated to popular burlesque styles that features over 100 unique items. Also many of our looks throughout all of our categories are based on pinup and retro lingerie. Burlesque lingerie for instance. Classically sexy styles are something that we use as inspiration at Yandy!

(Q) I would love to know, what do you think of the diversity in the lingerie industry?

C.H: I think diversity in the lingerie industry is currently changing. More lingerie brands are now including products for a broader range of body types. Yandy has always been ahead of this trend. We are proud to have a very extensive line of plus size lingerie that includes nearly 2,000 unique styles, more than any of our competitors. Today, a lot of competitors are beginning to feature smaller lines catering to plus size women within their overall product mix, probably because plus size now accounts for an ever increasing amount of retail spend. I always felt that it was important to have a highly diversified selection of lingerie for all body types from petite to curvy.

(Q) The big question is - why should one choose Yandy?

C.H: Yandy carries the largest selection of quality made lingerie that you’ll find at the prices that seem hard to believe. We carry lingerie in hundreds of colors and thousands of styles guaranteeing that whatever look a woman may be seeking she’ll find it with us. Another main reason to shop with us is that we make the experience easy, fun, enjoyable and always hassle free. Every aspect of the shopping process and areas within the company that facilitate it, from our website, to our customer service team, to our shipping and return policy was created to make buying lingerie the best possible experience for our customers. If we ever discover that something could be made better, we change it. I think our customers appreciate all of this and we have some really loyal fans including 1.5 million followers on Facebook.

(Q) For all those Yandy enthusiasts including women and lingerie lovers reading this interview, what is next for the brand? What is next for Yandy?

C.H: It’s important to us that we always stay innovative and fashion-forward when it comes to trends and what’s next for us. One fashion category expansion that we have coming up this spring is the launch of our Yandy private label bra line that will feature more of an “everyday sexy” selection that women can wear from day to night. Each piece within the collection is comfortable, versatile, very fashionable and also extremely affordable. We’re also very excited about our Summer 2016 swimwear line that will feature many new on trend and fashion forward styles.

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