Stockings HQ is part of Pure Fiction Media Ltd and the sister site of Tights And More. Our company has been trading on the Internet since its inception in 1997, although we've actually been running web sites since 1994.
Stockings HQ is the world's biggest dedicated stockings site. I know, it sounds like a brag but actually it's true - both in terms of content (over eight million words at the last count and that was a long time ago!) and page impressions. The site was created to encourage a stockings renaissance.
At the time of its launch (May 20th, 2000) there were only really two kinds of stockings sites. The vast majority contained naughty pictures - either home made or professional. The rest were a group of specialist retailers who had been doing fine work in keeping the supply of stockings alive.
Nobody, however, seemed to be discussing the subject in any great depth. Nobody was examining the social and cultural implications of hosiery. Furthermore, nobody seemed to be actively attempting to encourage the world at large to try stockings again.
By the start of 2000 the hosiery industry had seen many years of declining sales. Tights were becoming rare, and stockings even rarer. Alarm bells began to ring and we decided it was about time we did something about it! So, the idea for the site emerged: a picture-free discussion and information resource that had, as its sole aim, the desire to see stockings back in the mainstream.
The site launched on May 20th 2000 as "the ultimate online hosiery resource" with 12 articles, a discussion forum, and lots of links to other sites - most of which were retailers or manufacturers. It was black, white and pink - and very basic. You can see a screenshot in the archive gallery by clicking here.
We sent an email to all of the sites we linked to and asked them, if possible, to return the favour. We were trying to build a market for all. Unfortunately only one retailer ever actually linked back to the site. Nevertheless we spent an average of £2,000 a month on banner advertising and by the end of 2000 the site was achieving 2,000 pages per day.
One thing had become clear: the site had outgrown its black, white and pink design and needed a new coat of paint. In the week between Christmas and New Year, 2000-2001, it had a transformation - entering a distinctly purple and yellow phase! You can also see a screenshot of that in the archive. A lot more attention was paid to content. A "stockings of the week" feature was added to the front page, guaranteeing lots of traffic and sales for the particular retailer featured. (And still only one ever returned a link!) A hosiery news section arrived. We spent a lot more time and effort developing traffic and things began to grow.
Then someone had a bright idea: condense the best bits of the discussion forum into new articles. And suddenly the content mushroomed. An adaptation of the yellow and purple design arrived - grouping articles into culture, society, advice and history sections. A lot more money was spent on advertising and a lot more people started to come.
By May, and the site's first anniversary, traffic was averaging 26,295 pages per day. In June it was 28,208. In July it was 29,872 and by August it was 35,925. The August average meant that we broke through the million pages in a month barrier for the first time - with over 11,000 to spare.
In the midst of all this, the purple and yellow design also began to look tired. The site was demanding something cleaner and more professional. Various potential new designs were created (and again you can see them in the archive). Finally, however, we settled on blue, pink and white. It was bright, it was modern, and it went live on July 17th. More new features were added (including a poll, a live news feed, and a site search engine). Finally Stockings HQ had grown up. But still the retailers wouldn't link back.
And so, in early August 2001 we were faced with a conundrum. The amount of traffic we were sending to other sites seemed to be greatly enhancing their search engine rankings at the expense of ours. And that seemed a little unfair. We were spending ever increasing amounts of cash on advertising to compensate, and yet since the start, the site had never earned any revenue. It was never supposed to. Its mission was to promote stockings - not to turn a profit for its founders.
So here was the problem: should we leave things the same - helping others to grow larger at our expense, or should we do something about it and in so doing protect the site, develop it, and continue to build a demand for stockings? We decided on the latter. At the same time we thought that two of the main reasons stockings were dying was that they were expensive and difficult to buy. And so, one weekend, we created Sheer Temptation - the Stockings HQ shop. Its mission was simply to make stockings abundant and affordable again.
The shop had a soft launch with a single product (a selection of cut-price fully fashioned seconds) on August 18th 2001. (The links to all the other retailers were maintained.) It was an instant hit! Sales hit £1,600 by the end of the weekend. With such an astonishing start, we decided to do the next logical thing and extend the range to offer stockings of all types at prices that would make them affordable for all. From the outset we tried to make it as global as possible. (We have now delivered to over 100 countries!) We called manufacturers throughout Europe, explained the proposition of a stockings-only Web shop and asked them to send us price lists.
Over the next few weeks, thousands more were spent to buy supplies. Stock started to arrive. Pictures were scanned. Pages were created. Finally the shop was ready for a proper launch first thing one morning. Before leaving for work, the upload button was pressed. It was a time of celebration. Then the first orders arrived. But the date was September 11th 2001 and by lunchtime terrorist attacks were underway upon America. Suddenly stockings didn't seem all that important any more.
Eventually, as the horror sunk in, people began to return to the site. The discussion forums took on a new, valuable role as a place to come to terms with grief. And slowly in a time of international trauma, stockings, though trivial, provided some with some much needed light relief.
Traffic on the site continued to grow. Average daily page impressions were 48,265 in September 2001, 59,888 in October and 64,288 in November. The December average of 77,803 meant that by the close of the year the site had achieved 2 million page impressions in a month for the first time! Traffic had doubled within four months! We were given accounts by Pretty Polly, Aristoc, Gio, Gerbe, Levante, Cette, Charnos, Silky, Gipsy, Jonathan Aston and more. The range grew and grew. Suddenly the Stockings HQ shop had a bigger range than anybody else! Suddenly we were Gerbe's biggest online retailer in the UK. Then the same applied for Cervin, Mura, Silky and others. And still we stayed true to the ideals. There were, and are, no tights/pantyhose! Prices are still as low as we were allowed to charge.
As 2002 dawned, so it became time to take the message to the public at large. A series of high profile events began with the sponsorship of the School Disco event at the Hammersmith Palais in London. Offline advertising space was booked for the first time.
The site was given some design tweaks in April 2002 in an attempt to make the front page less cluttered and easier to navigate. Traffic has since continued to grow. At the time of writing (November 2007), the records continue to fall: on average over 25,000 people visit each day! The shop has grown too - with an ever increasing range of hosiery brands and the biggest selection of stockings and hold-ups on the planet. Stockings HQ has now become the official distributor for Rago Shapewear in the UK and Ireland. Companies as big as Sainsbury's, First Direct, O2, SAS, and Nationwide have paid for advertising space on the site - helping to fund an unprecedented online marketing campaign.
The "wear stockings" campaign has begun to draw media attention, and the future looks considerably brighter than it did four years ago. And the credit for that goes not to those who created the site, but to those who visit, and participate, and share the passion. The site belongs to those who visit, and the growing stockings revival is a tribute to their dedication to the cause.
Pure Fiction Media Ltd is a UK registered company. Our registered address is 23 Woodside Industrial Park, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, SG6 1LA, United Kingdom. Our company registration number is 3375181. Our VAT number is 780339812. Our Data Protection Act registration number is Z5684653.
If you'd like to get in touch with us, our email address is customercare@stockingshq.com. You can phone us on 01462 677970, 01462 677972, 01462 677974 or 01462 677979 from 9am-5.30pm Monday to Friday, or try the mobile (07799 066699) outside those hours. We endeavour to respond to all queries within 48 hours.
You're welcome to visit the warehouse in Letchworth, but it's always best to call first. To ensure the best possible service, the warehouse has 10 despatch desks, along with a full time photographic studio, and theoretically a limitless supply of KitKats.