Victoria’s Secret - What’s Going On?
Has Victoria’s Secret gone too sexy and lost it’s core business? Several blogs and articles are claiming this to be the case. Due to it’s success with "Pink," the stores now have a decidedly young and very sexy feel when you walk in. Many long-standing customers now feel they are "too old" to be shopping at Victoria’s Secret and are going elsewhere.
"We’ve so much gotten off our heritage … too sexy, and we use the word sexy a lot and really have forgotten the ultra feminine," said Sharen Turney, Victoria’s Secret’s chief executive. "I feel so strongly about us getting back to our heritage and really thinking in terms of ultra feminine and not just the word ’sexy’ and becoming much more relevant to our customer," Turney said. The new goals of Victoria’s Secret are to down-play "sexy" and focus on sophistication. "We will also reinvent the sleepwear business and focus on product quality," she said. "Our assortment will return to an ultra feminine lingerie brand to meet her needs and expectation." So what was the wake-up call for Victoria’s Secret? Their 4th quarter in 2007. Sales slipped and profits fell by 12%. Management has informed Wall Street to expect below expectation performance in the first quarter of 2008. 
When a downward trend appears, management tends to go running back to the core concept. Victoria’s Secret was started in 1977 in San Francisco by Roy Raymond in an effort to create a lingerie shop that both men and women would feel comfortable shopping in. The idea was to give the store a British feel and make the customer feel like they were one of the "upper crust" shoppers. The stores were filled with dark woods, elegant fixtures, carpeting, furniture and thoughtful staff. A lot of change is going to need to take place to get Victoria’s Secret back on its original message.
I agree that Victoria Secrets has changed over the last couple of years. When I started wearing their bras I could get them in the store. Now if you need a 40 you can only order them. Their product has been good for me except their sizing is very limited that now I am faced with looking for a different brand to get a better fit. Their sales won’t be going up if they keep making changes like this instead of adding more sizing options.
Victoria Secrts bra is the first underwire bra I have found that does not hurt or poke or pinch me. It make it hard for me to go looking for a different brand when I had lots of trouble in the past getting a good fit.
The cup size on my Victoria Secret bra have never been right and I put up with it but not the straps keep slipping so I have to make some sort of a change. Wish I didn’t.
Comment by Cheree Morey
July 12th, 2008 @ 11:15 am
An important point needs to be made here. Victoria’s Secret is retailer of lingerie. Most of their offerings are made through private label channels. Therefore, several companies make their products. This is why there is not a consistent fit across their offering.
Comment by Tomima
July 17th, 2008 @ 10:02 am