Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (first time in six years) revived in October included many nods in the heyday of the 1990s and 2000s. This is because veteran models, including Adriana Lima and Tyra Banks, have returned to the New York Catwalk.
However, the decision to include plus-sized models such as transgender models, including Ashley Graham and Valentina Sampaio, and live streaming unedited footage on social media, also seduces ZZ and flags it for sale. It was also an attempt to turn the game around.
Building a multi-billion dollar empire on luxury shows and provocative images, the US brand needs to beat younger shoppers interested in inclusivity, comfort and sustainability. According to “sexual attraction,” according to Olivia Kelly, a fashion analyst at Kantal.
On a busy Christmas shopping weekend, there was a long line inside the next department store to enter Victoria’s Secret Oxford Street Boutique, but customers were split into makeovers, from 30s to family and couple teenagers. I did.
Sarah, 30, who is accompanying a friend, said the brand “has not really evolved” to modern standards of inclusivity.
The company’s annual revenue reached a record $7.8 billion in 2016, but by 2023 it had dropped to $6.2 billion. Customers around the world have chosen more comfortable styles than Lacy underwear, a preference spurred by the pandemic.
The group, which includes plus-size models such as Ashley Graham on recent shows, was also the pitch for Z and younger millennials. . . ©FilmMagicafter was previously criticized for its lack of diversity. Kate Moss above walks the runway with his brand debut at age 50 ©AFP
The brand, spun by former owner L brand in 2021 after private equity firm Sycamore Partners contracted to sell the collapsed majority stake, suffered a lot of controversy that year.
In 2019, they canceled their annual fashion show amid growing complaints about the lack of diversity among models, and they have been criticised by some executives. Former Chief Marketing Director Ed Razek left the brand the same year after apologizing for “insensitive” comments about how trans models didn’t fit into the “fantasy” fashion show.
Meanwhile, Les Wexner, the founder of L Brands billionaire, has been scrutinized for decades as a client of Jeffrey Epstein.
Victoria’s secret was “talked for the wrong reasons, not for the right reasons,” said marketing analyst Katherine Shuttleworth. “There’s no doubt that the brand has become a hit,” she added.
Model including Stephanie Seymour displaying lingerie in Spring 1996 Victoria’s Secret Runway Show in New York Spring 1996 © Kyle Ericksen/Penske Media Getty Images
Amidst unstable sales, lingerie retailers reduced the presence of brick and mortar, closing almost a quarter of their North American stores in 2020. Stakes.
Most of the company’s 55 UK and Ireland stores were now found within the following stores: After the flagship new Bond Street site was closed last February, Oxford Street’s next boutique is the only place in central London. In the US, there are just under 800 stores, starting from over 1,000 in early 2020.
However, brands are looking to attract a new generation of customers recently, and therefore have shown evidence of a recent comeback.
The company poached Hillary Super, former head of Rihanna’s rival Savage X Fenty brand, as CEO in 2024.
The group’s stock, which had been declining since its listing in New York in July 2021, rose following the appointment of the supermarket, reaching a two-and-a-half year high of $48.7 in mid-December. The stock fell to $32.8 on Monday.
Peak came after the company raised year-round guidance following a strong quarter that included the return of the catwalk show and the appointment of a super. Net sales for the three months ended November 2nd increased by 6.5% year-on-year, with the group having adjusted annual operating income of $335 million to $345 million to $345 million to $300 million. He said it has grown to $45 million.
Super declined to interview, but said in a revenue call in December, “sales performance was far better than our expectations and the highest quarterly sales growth since 2021.”
“I think the fashion show introduced us to a new generation of consumers,” Super added, pointing to social media engagement and collaboration with pop star Sabrina Carpenter with the brand.
In response to the outcome, Jeffries analysts said Victoria’s secret is the “road to recovery” and that the month of its best performance is the month of the fashion show, which is October.
Shuttleworth highlighted the importance of social media to brands’ attempts to connect with younger customers, explaining that “we will have to meet where they play (Gen Z).”
The brand closed several stores as sales flagged them in photos via Getty Images
However, Kelly warned that sales growth was being driven by older millennials, not Generation Z.
Meanwhile, Victoria’s Secret faces higher competition than when it first launched, including celebrities-set brands such as Savage X Fenty, which launched in 2018 and Kim Kardashian’s Skim. The latter is valued at $4 billion and is closely monitored for signs that may be publicly available.
Brands that bet on inclusiveness have become more popular, such as Aerie, an American brand owned by retail group American Eagle Outfitters. 2020.
Supermodel Tyra Banks during the 2002 Victoria’s Secret Show © Timothy A. Clary/AFP
In the UK, women-led brands like Dora Larsen, Stripe & Stare and Fruity Booty have also emerged as smaller competitors. “It’s a busy and noisy market,” said Katie Lopes, co-founder of Stripe & Stare. “A lot of people jumped at the decline of Victoria’s secrets,” she added.
“They have a brand where people talk,” Shuttleworth said. “They need to make sure people are talking about them for the right reasons.”
