The rise, fall, and rise of Victoria's Secret?

Finshots

The rise, fall, and rise of Victoria's Secret?

The rise, fall, and rise of Victoria's Secret? | Finshots Daily Newsletter

In today's Finshots we discuss why Victoria's Secret is making news right now


Business

The Story

Victoria’s Secret cemented its place as an iconic brand by banking on the annual runway show featuring supermodels and risque lingerie. It was their claim to fame.

However, it also became their undoing. Here’s a reporter from the Fast Company tearing into the lingerie brand for promoting this glitzy event each year.

For decades, the strategy worked, and millions of everyday Americans tuned into the show. At its peak, in 2012, 12.4 million people watched it. Victoria’s Secret effectively turned a strip show into mainstream entertainment, much like Sunday night football. But all that changed in the wake of the #MeToo movement. In 2016, 6.7 million people tuned in. But the next year, when the first #MeToo stories broke, that figure had gone down to five million. By 2018, only 3.3 million people were watching.

As countless media reports exposed men like Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, and Jeffrey Epstein who sexually harassed or raped women, it was impossible not to wonder about what kind of culture facilitated this kind of abuse. And the Victoria’s Secret fashion show was part of the problem, premised on the idea that models are objects of sexual gratification.

And the irony here ought to be palpable. The founder of Victoria’s Secret only ventured into the business after feeling uncomfortable buying lingerie for his wife at a department store. It was meant to be a safe space for men. And even though the company was eventually acquired by Les Wexner — the retail tycoon, they continued to espouse the same values.

Victoria’s Secret was always more about what men wanted as opposed to what women wanted themselves. And in some ways, this was always bound to backfire someday. But aside from all this, there were also business decisions that hurt them real bad. The company continued to operate most stores in outdated malls even as people began to adopt and embrace the online shopping experience. American malls were a dying breed. People didn’t frequent them as much as they used to anymore. And when sales started dipping, the company doubled down on discounts, hoping it would get more people into these stores. But once again, it wasn’t particularly effective. If anything, their margins eroded rather substantially.

And as sales continued to take a beating, they made some very bizarre decisions. They decided to discontinue non-core categories i.e. swimwear and apparel. Popular products were removed from the shelves arbitrarily. And quality deteriorated. Even the most loyal customers could see that the products no longer felt premium. And it was beginning to seem as if this was the end of the road.

But then a ray of hope. In February 2020, private equity firm Sycamore agreed to pay $525 million to buy out 55% of Victoria’s Secret. This was a lifeline by all accounts and it came at a time when investors were still downplaying the risks of the coronavirus. But within a month, Victoria’s Secret was forced to close all its stores and take down its online operations.

So in April, Sycamore tried to get L Brands (the parent company) to adjust the purchase price considering the situation at hand. L Brands flat-out refused to discuss it and they went to court. But considering both parties wanted to avoid long drawn-out litigation, they decided to settle amicably and walk away in peace.

After which, the company has been trying to remodel Victoria’s Secret in a bid to appeal to an entirely new audience. This is a final attempt to make the brand more relatable. They’ve now promised to ditch the unrealistic beauty standards, be more inclusive by featuring models of all shapes and sizes, and also collaborating with the likes of US soccer star, Megan Rapinoe and our very own Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

So yeah, this could be the final gambit for a brand that was once deemed irreplaceable. Will this work? We don’t know.

But until then…

Don't forget to share this article on WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Twitter





Copyright © Finception. All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email because you have subscribed via our website

Our mailing address is:

Finception

Ideapad, CIIE,

IIM Ahmedabad,

Ahmedabad 380015,

India

No longer interested in Finshots?Unsubscribe








This email was sent to you
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Finception · Ideapad, CIIE, · IIM Ahmedabad · Ahmedabad 380015 · India

Older messages

Is this the end of the road for the e-commerce juggernaut?

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Finshots Is this the end of the road for the e-commerce juggernaut? In today's Finshots we talk about the new amendments to the E-Commerce Rules, 2020 Policy The Story Right off the bat, we have to

The Stimulus Package Explained in 3 minutes

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Finshots The Stimulus Package Explained in 3 minutes In today's Finshots we talk about the latest stimulus package and how it may impact the economy Economy The Story For starters, the Finance

The Biggest Landlord of them all

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Finshots The Biggest Landlord of them all A few days ago, a brilliant thread on Twitter outlined how big financial institutions in the US may now be cornering the US housing market. So we thought we

Why is Mukesh Ambani foraying into renewables now?

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Finshots Why is Mukesh Ambani foraying into renewables now? In today's Finshots we ask a very important question—How come RIL suddenly decided to make a foray into the clean energy space this year?

Weekly Wrapup: To new ventures

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Finshots Weekly Wrapup: To new ventures In this week's wrapup we talk about Victoria's Secret, E-Commerce Rules, the latest stimulus package, corporate landlords in the US, and finally Mukesh

You Might Also Like

Cashless Chronicles? - Issue #461

Friday, March 29, 2024

The digital finance era unfolds, charting new paths for global economies. March 29, 2024 FinTech Weekly presents a panorama where each thread weaves into the broader narrative of digital finance's

🤝 Amazon doubled down on AI

Thursday, March 28, 2024

China's green energy goodies are too cheap for the US | Amazon doubled down on Anthropic | Finimize TOGETHER WITH Hi Reader, here's what you need to know for March 29th in 3:12 minutes. 🌞 As

🤝 Amazon doubled down on AI

Thursday, March 28, 2024

China's green energy goodies are too cheap for the US | Amazon doubled down on Anthropic | Finimize TOGETHER WITH Hi Reader, here's what you need to know for March 29th in 3:12 minutes. 🌞 As

China’s ‘lost decade’

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Bloomberg Evening Briefing View in browser Bloomberg Ray Dalio has a warning for China. The hedge fund titan says the country should cut its debt and ease monetary policy or face “a lost decade.” China

Looking to buy a home? Good news.

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Don't miss out on lower mortgage rates ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌

This woman made investing history

Thursday, March 28, 2024

And so can you. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

The Simple Solution Worth Billions to Walmart and Amazon

Thursday, March 28, 2024

The following is a third-party sponsored message. It should not be considered a recommendation or endorsement by HS Dent Publishing. Dear Investor, In warfighting, there's a saying: "Amateurs

Markup matters: monetary policy works through aspirations

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Tim Willems and Rick van der Ploeg Since the post-Covid rise in inflation has been accompanied by strong wage growth, interactions between wage and price-setters, each wishing to attain a certain

🇯🇵 Japan's latest low

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Visa and Mastercard cut merchants some slack | Japan's yen hit a 30-year low against the US dollar | Finimize TOGETHER WITH Hi Reader, here's what you need to know for March 28th in 3:14

‘Out of the blue’ correction

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Bloomberg Evening Briefing View in browser Bloomberg With a number of market watchers warning of a bubble, traders are increasingly on the lookout for signs of the cliff's edge. But if you ask