These have been skimpy times for money-losing lingerie maker Frederick’s of Hollywood Group Inc.

But Frederick’s is hoping it can now push up its profile with the help of its new owner, which recently paid $10 million for a controlling stake in the company.

The deal was the culmination of a 10-month search by the cash-strapped lingerie pioneer to ease its liquidity crisis. For a time, Frederick’s didn’t have sufficient capital to fully stock shelves, and it even had to put up its trademarked name in June as collateral for a $24 million loan.

But Chief Financial Officer Thomas Rende said the recent capital infusion will allow Frederick’s to increase sales by boosting inventory for its collection of corsets, bras and other lingerie. The company also plans to pay vendors that it owed money.

“We needed cash to operate the business,” Rende said. “This capital allows us to increase the inventory in the product categories that our consumers are looking for.”

The investor is Five Island Asset Management, a unit of billionaire Philip Falcone’s publicly traded New York investment firm Harbinger Group Inc.

With its stake, Five Island will appoint at least two directors to the Frederick’s board in coming weeks. It will also have a say in the selection of new leadership; three days after the deal closed, Frederick’s announced that it had terminated Chief Operating Officer Don Jones.

Frederick’s operates about 115 stores around the world, including its flagship store in Hollywood, and Rende said the new ownership group planned to return the business to its roots, focusing on selling lingerie, rather than the other products the company has introduced in recent years, such as daywear, nightwear and shoes.

Given that Harbinger had more than $1 billion in cash at the end of last year, Five Island’s investment represents a small but potentially lucrative investment, said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of New York retail consulting and investment bank Davidowitz & Associates.

“I can understand the shot they’re taking,” he said. “It’s a high-risk, high-reward investment.”

Long run

Frederick’s, founded in 1946, pioneered such staples as the push-up bra and thong. But even as those items are now universally popular, the chain has been struggling. That’s due in no small part to the ascendancy of Limited Brands Inc.’s Victoria’s Secret, which long ago overtook Frederick’s and is by far the largest seller of lingerie in the United States.

Frederick’s, meanwhile, has been trying to find its way forward. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection from its creditors in 2000, emerging from bankruptcy three years later. It went public in 2006 through a reverse merger, but has been on the decline since then.

Sales have dropped every year since 2007, and the company recorded a loss of $6 million on revenue of $111 million for the year ended July 28, 2012. The company has lost money every year since fiscal 2008.

Still, even with a 1 percent share of the market, Frederick’s is the country’s second largest lingerie seller, according to market research firm IBISWorld. By comparison, Victoria’s Secret has 43 percent of the $11.5 billion domestic market.

Davidowitz said Frederick’s has an opportunity to gain market share, suggesting the chain more closely mimic Victoria’s Secret’s image in its stores and marketing materials.

“You’re in this segment where there are gigantic amounts of money to be made and one player,” he said. “There’s so much money to be made, how can there only be one player?”

Rende said Frederick’s does plan to spend more on inventory and marketing, although he declined to say what new product lines were planned.

One apparent possibility would be for the company to partner with Falcone’s wife, Lisa Marie Falcone, whose wardrobe choices have been examined in the pages of Vanity Fair, to launch a product line. In October, Frederick’s unveiled a luxury line of lingerie, Harriet, named after the wife of the company’s late founder, Frederick Mellinger.

More immediately, the company will be targeting unprofitable stores for closure. After the initial cuts, Rende said he expects the chain to once again expand.

To that end, Harbinger, which tends to hold long-term positions in value-oriented businesses, plans to help the chain grow.

“We believe the company has significant upside value with the right support and we look forward to working with Frederick’s to help grow its business,” a Harbinger spokesman said.