Hunkemöller was founded in 1886, in Amsterdam, by Wilhelm Hunkemöller and his wife Josephina Lexis. This clothing manufacturer specialises in underclothes, lingerie, shapewear, nightwear, swimwear, sports clothing, hosiery and ladies accessories.

Calzedonia was founded in 1987 in Verona, with the aim to create a new way of selling hosiery beachwear and later underwear too, for women, men and children, through a franchising sales network. Little more than twenty years later, the Calzedonia network boasts more than 4000 shops throughout the world.