Nice to know Michelle Obama is pumping money into the economy..........but it isn't the US economy which seems to run in the Obama family.

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 2:50 PM on 30th January 2012

British lingerie label Agent Provocateur have seen annual sales jump by more than 12 per cent in a year which also saw First Lady Michelle Obama joining their list of elite customers.

Mrs Obama, is said to have spent $50,000 (£31,794) in the one shopping trip to the boutique which closed down part of Madison Avenue when she visited with the Queen of Qatar, Sheikha Mozah.

Buoyed by their recent sales success, the company have announced an expansion in the U.S. (where sales have outpaced the UK) is underway.

First Lady of Fashion: U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are pictured last month, after she is said to have spent $50,000 at the boutique

In the last 43 weeks, trading has been up 12.5 per cent on a like-for-like basis and 21.6 per cent overall.

Agent Provocateur CEO Gary Hogarth would not confirm if Mrs Obama is among the company's high-profile clientele.

However, he told the newspaper the label has garnered several 'unexpected famous names' in the U.S. as of late.

Risqué: Lingerie is on view at an Agent Provocateur store similar to the one on Madison Avenue Mrs Obama is said to have visited

Upscale: The First Lady is said to have closed down part of Madison Avenue in Manhattan to shop at the lingerie boutique

Mrs Obama's trip to the pricey boutique will no doubt shock critics who have taken issue in the past with her taste for luxury fashion.

Glamour: The Queen of Qatar, Sheikha Mozah, is also said to have helped sales for the lingerie brand

The First Lady's striking cobalt blue Barbara Tfank dress, worn for last week's State of the Union address, is reported to sell for approximately $2,000.

While winning over sartorialists with the eye-catching look, some questioned whether her choice was appropriate, given that she was seated next to Jackie Bray, a single mother from North Carolina who put herself through community college to boost her career prospects after getting laid off from her job.

Agent Provocateur, founded by the son of fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, Joseph Corré, and his then-wife, Serena Rees, in 1994, was bought out by private equity firm 3i in 2007 for a reported $108.5million.

With Sarah Shotton as creative director, the designs certainly are not for the faint-of-heart, although most retailers also sell beauty products, candles, soaps and accessories for coquettes inclined to blush.

The label's un-matched list of celebrity clientele, who seem to gravitate to Ms Shotton's unmistakeable fixation with old Hollywood glamour, it seems have helped sales by leaving stores toting their token candy pink and black bags in hand.

The company recently announced an expansion in the U.S. (where sales have outpaced the UK) is underway.

According to Business Week, Agent Provocateur has annual sales of $40million, with a budgeted increase of nine per cent same-store sales this year in the U.S.

By summer the label plans to have 11 retailers in the U.S. and is aiming to expand from 54 to 100 total stores worldwide in the next three years.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2093688/Agent-Provocateur-s...