Victoria’s Secret Case Study
This case study explores the evolution of Victoria’s Secret—from its male-centered origins and rise to global dominance, to its decline amid backlash over exclusion and outdated ideals. It examines the brand’s missteps, public controversies, and current efforts to regain consumer trust through inclusivity, rebranding, and market research.
Introduction
In 1977, Victoria’s Secret was created with the purpose of inviting men to the market of women’s underwear. Victoria's Secret founder, Roy Raymond opened the first store in Palo Alto, California (Hanbury 2022). Raymond disguised the company's intention of sexualizing women for the male gaze by marketing the idea that women should buy lingerie to feel sexy, romantic and confident. This marketing strategy was successful, allowing the company to avoid potential backlash of the arising second-wave of feminism (Hanbury, 2022). The refinery and respectability of the name Victoria and England’s Victorian era alongside the ‘secrets’ she hides beneath her clothes created the perfect name for Raymond’s idea.
Despite Victoria’s Secret making over $4 million in annual sales, the company was near bankruptcy in 1982 (Hanbury 2022). Founder of L Brands, Les Wexner, acquired Victoria’s Secret and the six stores for $1 million. In order to elevate the company away from bankruptcy, Wexner shifted their marketing efforts towards women. He sought to bring an affordable, glamorous version of European lingerie to the U.S. By the early 1990s, Victoria’s Secret sales were over $1 billion, allowing it to open 350 stores nationwide (Hanbury 2022). In 1995, the first annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was hosted by the chief marketing officer of L Brands, Ed Razek. In 1997, the famous Victoria’s Secret “Angel” was introduced in advertisements and marketing campaigns. In 1999, the show’s first livestream was so successful that the site was unable to support the overwhelming audience of 1.5 million viewers.
In 2000, Sharen Jester Turney became the CEO of Victoria’s Secret Direct. Turney rebranded the company’s catalogs to shift away from having similarities with Playboy and transformed it into an aesthetic similar to Vogue (Hanbury 2022). In 2006, Turney was promoted to CEO of the entire Victoria’s Secret brand. Under her leadership, sales rose to $7.7 million. In 2016, Turney was succeeded by Wexner as interim CEO. Wexner diverted the company’s focus back to lingerie, neglecting the success of swimwear, apparel and the catalog (Hanbury 2022). Wexner divided the company in three separate parts: Victoria’s Secret Lingerie, Victoria’s Secret Beauty and Pink.
Problem
As public interest began to shift, Victoria’s Secret failed to keep up. In time, sales began to drop and consumers actively voiced criticism of several aspects of the brand (Hanbury, 2022). Many referred to the annual fashion show as outdated and felt as though the brand oversexualized its models. Others were upset by the brand's lack of diversity on the board. Many Victoria’s Secret customers idolized the iconic ‘Angels’ who appeared in the advertisements and fashion shows; however, others felt the women symbolized unrealistic body expectations, desire for the male gaze and lack of inclusion. Consumers took their business to inclusive, body-positive brands like Aerie and ThirdLove. Victoria’s Secret’s inability to cater to the evolved needs of consumers left it with a decreased market share. After making several adjustments including hiring the first transgender model, striving to represent body inclusivity, adding more women to the board and canceling the annual fashion show, statistics began to look up for the company (Hanbury, 2022). However, shortly after, Wexner’s relations with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein surfaced to the public eye.
It was speculated that Epstein utilized Wexner’s power within Victoria's Secret for access to young women models (Specter, 2022). The scandal raised customers’ concerns, leading to a drop in sales yet again. When things appeared to be rock bottom for the brand, the Coronavirus hit. As a result, all storefronts were closed, including the online platform. While the Coronavirus created similar issues for all companies that were dependent on brick and mortar storefront sales, it hit Victoria’s Secret at a time where the company was already vulnerable.
Today, Victoria’s Secret is making several efforts to gain back the trust and respect of prospective consumers under new leadership. The previous faces of the brand, The Angels, have been traded out for strong business women. Additionally, body positivity is prioritized in advertisements (Hanbury, 2021). Despite this, the brand continues to stand on thin ice as consumers are still skeptical of the brand. Wexner’s relations with Jeffrey Epstein remain prevalent in consumers’ minds as the documentary “Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons,” recently released in 2022, dove into the specifics.
Goal
Through strong, continued efforts, the brand has the ability to gain back the trust of the market. Conducting thorough research, including surveys and focus groups, will help the brand understand what initiatives they can make to regain customers, obtain new customers and boost sales.
To achieve data that is pertinent to Victoria’s Secret’s comeback, reaching out to models, ex-Angels, current Victoria’s Secret models and any consumer that has bought from Victoria’s Secret is essential. The overall mission is to gain the trust of consumers back. By talking to these different groups, the goal is to figure out how and why Victoria’s Secret lost the trust of consumers and what steps it can take to gain customers back. Furthermore, research on other lingerie companies is key. Through learning what other brands have done to promote body inclusivity/positivity, Victoria’s Secret can mimic those techniques and build upon them.
All in all, the hope is that through thoughtful conversations with consumers, Victoria’s Secret can learn from its mistakes and improve its image. The most meaningful data will come from those who have been directly affected by Victoria’s Secret’s controversies and lack of inclusion. By talking to customers and those in the modeling industry, the brand can learn what consumers are looking for. Moreover, Victoria’s Secret’s willingness to adapt and learn from its consumers’ experiences will reintegrate a sense of trust in customer relationships with the brand. From there, the data can be converted into a multi-step plan that will get Victoria’s Secret back to being the top lingerie company in the world.