Victoria Secret's Fall from Glory
Victoria’s Secret is suffering.
Maybe it’s because they no longer appeal to the modern woman. Maybe it’s because they are failing to revolutionize their products, and are selling the same items they sold a decade ago. Regardless, their numbers give the impression that the old VS charm is weaker than ever before.
Victoria’s Secret’s parent company, L Brands, used to rely on VS for the majority of its profit. So, once the VS started to struggle, the L Brands stock also began to reflect this. The stock hit its peak in November 2015, when it was trading at nearly $100 per share. Now, in February 2019, it has dropped to a mere $27 a share. VS has almost certainly played a large role in this plunge.
The public sentiment is also reflected in the viewership of the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. According to Business Insider, 6.7 million people tuned in to watch the show in 2016, and 5 million viewed it in 2017. In 2018, however, only 3.3 million people watched. For the viewership to be cut in half in only two years, VS must have gone off the tracks somehow.
Why, though? One potential reason is VS’s failure in marketing to the real woman. Though the company may have once risen to fame in large part due to the image of the VS “Angel,” this image now seems completely unrealistic and downright frustrating to a majority of women. Women no longer find undergarments worn my tall women with perfectly skinny yet curvy bodies appealing… because who actually looks like that? Moreover, the way that Victoria’s Secret markets their apparel has not changed since the start of the VS empire; we are still seeing the same types of girls, with the same unrealistic bodies sporting their lingerie. The products that they sell maintain the same early 2000s VS intrigue, covered with lace, sparkles and bows. It is simply no longer revolutionary.
Victoria’s Secret has also failed to follow market trends. They launched their athleisure line in 2016, years after brands like Lululemon and Athleta had already discovered massive success. Victoria’s Secret discontinued their swimsuit line in 2016, even though it’s popularity contributed to a large portion of their overall revenue. They are soon bringing back the swimwear line in hopes of regaining its original appeal, but it may be too little, too late. These choices illustrate an underlying misunderstanding that VS has as to what their consumers actually want. Today, women are increasingly prioritizing comfort over the sexy, done-up guise that VS pushes, and the company has failed to scale with the priorities of the modern woman.
American Eagle, for example, has hit massive success with their Aerie brand. They have maintained a steady increase in sales since their launch in 2014. Much of this success can be attributed to the inclusive marketing strategy that the brand has taken. They hired a diverse range of women to model their garments, sending the message that their products are meant for every and any women. This approach has proven to be spot-on, and Aerie has continued to move in an upward trajectory.
I have one thing to say about this: Victoria’s Secret needs to do better. They need to realize that women no longer pine for the ‘VS’ look; instead, we now want comfort, and we want to see that women of all sizes can enjoy undergarments. All women need to purchase bras and underwear, so why is VS only recognizing one type of woman? Women want to feel welcome; they want to feel included. They don’t want to walk into a store, look at the walls and see images of women that feel out of touch with the reality of today.
