European lingerie giant Hunkemöller has launched a UK website and has its sights set on conquering the British high street.

The Amsterdam-headquartered retailer, which has approximately 800 stores across Europe and the Middle East, soft launched its UK website last week.

It will launch a marketing campaign to kickstart its assault on the UK market this autumn.

Hunkemoller chief executive Philip Mountford with new Hunkemoller ambassador Doutzen Kroes

Hunkemölller chief executive Philip Mountford with new Hunkemölller ambassador Doutzen Kroes

Hunkemöller boss Philip Mountford, former chief executive officer of Moss Bros, said that the website had an “incredible” reception with more than 10,000 visitors in its first few days.

Mountford was in Berlin on Wednesday to unveil Hunkemöller’s new ambassador, Dutch supermodel and former Victoria’s Secret model Doutzen Kroes.

Mountford told Retail Week that Hunkemöller wants to open stores in the UK, but said its immediate focus was on Germany, its biggest market.

He said: “It’s the first time we’ve launched a website in a country we don’t trade in. The UK is longer term in our strategic plan but not in the next two to three years.

“When we go into a market we don’t open one shop – we really go for it. We go in to become number one. That is our philosophy.

”It would be difficult to knock M&S off the number one spot but certainly we want to be the biggest independent.”

Retail Week understands that Mountford views Theo Paphitis’s Boux Avenue as Hunkemöller’s biggest competitor.

Mountford arrived at Hunkemöller in 2009 and has grown the retailer from 350 stores to 800 over the past seven years. Its turnover has rocketed from £194m to more than £500m over the same period.

Hunkemöller was bought by American private equity group Carlyle in January. Mountford said its new owner was ”taking us onto the next era of becoming a global brand”.