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The secret about Victoria is that she got woke and went broke. It’s a tale as old as time and one that we’ve seen play out repeatedly; where companies foolishly latch on to social and politcal agendas, and as a result, their bottom line suffers.
But the story of Victoria’s downfall is truly mind blowing. Never has a company put their entire “branding” through a wood-chipper with such reckless abandon as the insane folks at Victoria’s Secret did.
And it all started thanks to Jeffrey Epstein…
Les Wexner practically made his living off of branding towards young women, and it worked. Extremely well.
First with The Un-Limited Store, then with Express, Bath & Body Works, Abercrombie & Fitch and later on his sole purpose and most successful endeavor in retail, Victoria’s Secret and PINK. Once Victoria’s Secret’s brand image grew, they were able to hold a fashion show with models who quickly grew attention for the purpose of being a Victoria’s Secret model, known as “angels”.
Once the Victoria’s Secret Angels got their wings, the brand exploded.
It was Mr. Wexner’s close ties to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein that would come back to bite him hardest and basically topple his empire.
As Jeffrey Epstein became a household name for all the wrong reasons, Les Wexner’s image also began circling the drain. As more and more people discovered Les and Jeffrey were thick as thieves, sales at Victoria’s Secret plummeted. Eventually, Les stepped down as CEO from Victoria’s Secret… but that’s when the real trouble started.
Prior to Wexner’s exit, he was pushing the “woke” stuff pretty hard as well. He claimed VS needed to “change and grow” and as a result, he canceled the famous Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
Later, the company would also dump the “supermodel angels.”
But things got even woker.
This very catchy and damning song called “Victoria’s Secret” came out and went mega-viral:
The company, desperate to distance themselves even further from the sexy bombshell image, went in a totally new and arguably insane direction under new “woke 2.0” CEO Martin Waters.
Seemingly overnight, VS went from hot and sexy to fat and dumpy; or as corporate America likes to label it: a size inclusive environment for women.
Blech.
Whatever you want to call it, it sucked and it failed for the most obvious of reasons.
For example: would you rather watch stunning, and drop-dead-gorgeous Candice Swanepoel strut down the catwalk like a living-breathing fantasy:
Or watch pudgy ordinary-looking women you see at the grocery store every day, awkwardly waddle around like newborn calfs in granny-panties and sensible heels?
Chances are both men and women would prefer to see the fantasy girl.. And that’s just one reason why the new “fat-inclusive” marketing plan from VS flopped. From a branding perspective, women don’t want to be reminded of who they are, they want to be teased, tempted and challenged to be something better and sexier.
And VS fed that fantasy beautifully. If anything, VS should have doubled-down on the “sexy” after Les Wexner departed, but they didn’t.
Victoria’s Secret learned the hard and expensive way that abandoning your customer base is never a good idea. Their sales kept tanking.
When the final tally was in, second-quarter 2022 sales fell 6%, a bit worse than expected. The outlook for the top line of the earnings statement for the third quarter was pegged at a high-single-digit sales drop.
The trend has clearly been going in the wrong direction. That was highlighted in the third quarter of 2022, with an actual sales decline of 9%. Sure, that was within the range of guidance, but it was now at the “low end” of the range. The 2022 fourth-quarter guidance was again for a high-single-digit sales decline.
It would have been a smarter marketing move to continue with their current branding and sexy marketing, while also offering plus sizes.
However, VS didn’t go that sensible route. Instead, they threw out the baby with the bathwater and now, the struggling company is scrambling to make a comeback and just announced they’re resurrecting their famous fashion show.
Are they finally dumping the fatties and bringing back the hot and sexy angel models?
That remains to be seen…
Victoria’s Secret plans to bring back its annual fashion show after a four-year hiatus, CFO Tim Johnson said in the 2022 earnings call on Friday.
“We’re going to continue to lean into the marketing spend to invest in the business, both at top-of-funnel and also to support the new version of our fashion show, which is to come later this year,” Johnson said.
The company previously mentioned resurrecting the over-the-top show that often involved lingerie-clad models strutting in extravagant ensembles during their investor day in October.
“At VS&Co, we are always innovating and ideating in all spheres of the business to continue to put our customer at the center of all we do and reinforce our commitment to championing women’s voices and their unique perspectives,” Victoria’s Secret told Fox News Digital in a statement on Saturday, confirming the planned reinvention of the show.
“As we’ve previously shared, our new brand projection and mission will continue to be our guiding principle. This will lead us into new spaces like reclaiming one of our best marketing and entertainment properties to date and turning it on its head to reflect who we are today. We’re excited to share more later this year.”
If VS resurrects the fashion show by slapping “angel wings” on a bunch of fatties, they’ll be signing their own corporate “death certificate.”
However, if they bring back the drop dead gorgeous supermodels, and treat their customer base with the respect they deserve, the company has a solid chance at a comeback.
It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
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