The Rise And Fall Of A Mighty Empire Created By Victoria’s Secret
When Victoria’s Secret first announced its rebranding initiative in August 2021, the news was received with raised eyebrows. And for a good reason. The brand had suffered years of falling credibility and sales (which we will get into) and is using this rebranding initiative to champion body positivity. To achieve that, they are replacing their bevy of VS angels and other ‘angelically’ beautiful models with the VS Collective consisting of real accomplished women of different body types and from diverse professional backgrounds. These women are tasked with leading the new campaign to revitalize the brand by doing precisely what their competition has been doing for years: to become the opposite of what Victoria’s Secret stood for.
They now released an ad campaign to celebrate the ‘Victoria’s Secret of today’ that was apparently supposed to show how the brand had refocused its attention on the fact that they’ve changed and that they see the ‘real’ women out there. The problem was that they dressed these women of different sizes, skin tones, and ages in basic silk panties and bras.
Is the brand trying to communicate that women that don’t fit into their ‘ideal’ body standards don’t deserve sexy lingerie? Where did their exuberantly ‘sexy’ bras and iconic VS wings go? Nobody wants dull underwear, which is precisely a vital reason why women prefer shopping from other, more considerate brands that have good options for women of all sizes.
Victoria’s Secret was founded in 1977 by Roy Raymond, an American Businessman, whose inspiration behind starting the brand, was rooted in an uncomfortable experience buying underwear for his wife. Therefore, he aimed to create a store experience that would make men feel at ease shopping for their wives/ partners — a lingerie shop for women but targeted at men. The name stems from the English’ Victorian era’, as he wanted to evoke a sense of refinement and propriety in his lingerie associated with this period- refined on the outside while the ‘secrets’ were hidden beneath.
It used to be the kind of upscale, fancy place a woman could go with her mom, but the revamp made the stores look like the type of place school girls/ teenagers went behind their mom’s back. Comparing the initial idea and what the brand has morphed into now, I can confidently say that the brand has become the one it set out not to be.
In the year 1982, Les Wesner (the founder of L Brands — Victoria’s Secret’s parent company), stooped in. He decided he wanted the brand to be for women and not for men. Apart from this, he also wanted to transform Victoria’s Secret into a premium but an affordable brand like its European counterpart ‘La Perla’. And that’s precisely what he did, and it worked. By the time the 1990s rolled out, the brand had become the largest retailer of lingerie in the US. By setting its image firmly, in 1995, the brand announced the first iconic Victoria’s Secret annual fashion show. So, if everything was going well, why was this rebrand necessary? There are multiple reasons; let’s try to list them down.
The first issue would be their prolonged marketing of what a woman should look like to be considered ‘sexy’. For years, customers have been trying to tell the brand to be more inclusive, to have a wider variety of sizes, and to use plus-sized models in their campaigns. However, the brand was still focusing on fully airbrushed and photo-shopped videos and images of its models to make them look ‘perfect’ to fit the male gaze.
Over the years, the quality started to fall as well. Many women thought the underwear was highly uncomfortable and cheaply produced but still overpriced for what they offered. From a brand that was the ‘staple’ for any young women back in the day, I would say this was the main reason they finally failed.
Of course, Les Wexner’s ties to Jeffery Epstein definitely helped. Epstein was a millionaire and a sex offender who apparently managed billions of dollars for Wexner. In addition to that, Epstein was also a trustee for the Wexner Foundation along with two family trusts. Even Epstein’s Manhattan mansion that was seized initially belonged to Wexner. Though the brand has been trying to distance itself from Epstein, such close ties could not be ignored and fell favorably ill with the public. Wexner, who built the brand into what it is today, stepped down as the Chairman and CEO after these ties were revealed. The #MeToo movement worsened this image for the brand, as customers didn’t want to contribute to brands that have links to sexual violence scandals, especially a brand that was meant for women.
The worst thing? Ed Razek, one of the top executives for L Brands, was the subject of constant complaints of inappropriate behavior. From trying to kiss models to sexually assaulting one before the 2018 Annual Show, the list of complaints is never-ending. Epstein even posed as a recruiter for Victoria’s Secret and lured some young women in, while managing Wexner’s fortune. What surprised me was how ingrained this sexist corporate culture was and how it was normal and thrived at the company for decades.
After the pandemic, the way customers shopped changed drastically, and a majority started shopping online. This proved troublesome for a brand that staked itself on shopping malls in the 80s and 90s as new shopping malls opened nationwide in the US. This strategy worked for the brand initially as it helped it become a ‘national’ brand. Still, in the increasingly online world that we live in, it backfired, as most of the VS stores are located in malls.
After a series of mistakes, one would expect the brand to make an efficient turnaround. Still, unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. According to Ranjan Roy, the VP of Strategy at Victoria’s Secret’s competitor Adore Me, VS has been focusing too much on surface-level marketing without any changes to the product or design and has spent too much money to bring in big names in vague ways. They brought in the famous footballer Megan Rapinoe as their ambassador. Still, she hasn’t posted, said, or done anything with the brand in a long time.
Roy also says that the lead times in intimate apparel are really long. This means that unless Victoria’s Secret worked on more inclusive products beforehand, it would take a while before the actual product caught up with the marketing. Empty statements promising inclusivity in the brand, supported by seeing the same stock and the same kind of models on the website and in stores, is somehow worse than not being inclusive at all, and that negatively affects the brand.
While Victoria’s Secret still remains number one in terms of market share, there’s growing room for efficient competitors like Aerie, ThirdLove, Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty, Parade, Lively, and Skims. They’ve learned from Victoria’s Secret’s mistakes. They are creating a different path for themselves to capture the massive share of Victoria’s Secret and its giant sales. These brands also cater to women’s need for sports bras instead of push-ups, creating another problem for a company that’s own line of sports bras goes un-resonated with shoppers.
I have to say Victoria’s Secret is making the same mistake that it always did — refusing to adapt to the world’s needs and refusing to listen to its customers. Through their rebranding initiative, they’ve created more trouble for themselves than what they initially found themselves with. The brand must continue diversifying its advertising to keep in touch with the changing femininity and social attitudes. They also need to be less focused on re-establishing themselves and instead turn their attention to the fundamentals of retail. Only time will tell whether Victoria’s Secret can make it out of this mess or if they’re already doomed due to years of bad rep.
