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Victoria’s Secret to embrace ‘sexiness’ again, admits ‘woke’ not enough to ‘carry the day’

October 18, 2023 | | Print Article

To stave off going broke, a famed lingerie brand backpedaled on going woke in an attempt to find the balance claiming, “Sexiness can be inclusive.”

On the heels of their “Dumbest. Brand. Strategy. Ever,” Victoria’s Secret’s projected revenue has reportedly left them abandoning some of their alphabet soup-induced moves for a return to runway Angels readily identifiable as supermodels.

On Thursday during a presentation to investors in New York, the lingerie chain’s brand president for Victoria’s Secret and Pink, Greg Unis, spoke to the overhaul of their image during the past two years described by BusinessOfFashion.com’s Cathaleen Chen as once “hyper-sexualised.”

Having lost considerable revenue as a result, Unis set a vision for the future seemingly molding the image of the past with the marketing of the present and pushed the message, “Sexiness can be inclusive. Sexiness can celebrate the diverse experiences of our customers and that’s what we’re focused on.”

As the largest underwear retailer, in fiscal year 2020 Victoria’s Secret brought in about $7.5 billion in revenue before switching to a plan that brought men who think they’re women and activist soccer player Megan Rapinoe as brand ambassadors. Even before a steady decline projected revenue of $6.2 billion, down five percent from the year prior, it was understood angry feminists promoting sexy lingerie was the “Dumbest. Brand. Strategy. Ever.”

However, that wasn’t the only profit-losing move made as Unis pointed toward a return to swim- and activewear to reclaim lost market shares and drive consumers back into their revamped brick-and-mortar locations.

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“When we exited the swim business, we didn’t lose the customer, but what we did lose was the trip she made to buy swim apparel and also spent on core,” he told investors.

At one time, Victoria’s Secret held 16 percent of the sports bra market garnering $500 million from their activewear collection, but they had since fallen to four percent.

Other signs that the company is striving to bring back popularity came with the launch of “Victoria’s Secret: The Tour ’23” on Amazon Prime Video with the likes of Lily Aldridge, Hailey Bieber, Doja Cat described by Chen as “somewhere in between the personification of male lust of the brand’s aughts-era heyday and the inclusive utopia promoted by its many disruptors,” with plus-size models becoming a mainstay.

“Despite everyone’s best endeavors, it’s not been enough to carry the day,” chief executive Martin Waters said Thursday of the woke efforts that, Chen wrote, brought “favourable reviews from online critics (but) never translated into sales.”

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“We’ve been insufficiently differentiated in this difficult market. [But] our ambition of being the world’s leading fashion retailer of intimates apparel is unchanged,” added Waters.

The moves came after previous brand CEO Amy Hauk had announced her resignation effective March 31, 2023 after only taking the role in July 2022 when 160 employees had been let go at the Ohio corporate headquarters.

As the brand aims to surpass $7 billion in revenue once more, the next nearest competitor appears to be the Kim Kardashian co-founded SKIMS shapewear brand projected at $750 million in sales this year. One analyst during the investor presentation was said to have commented, “Have you seen their knit dresses? I own four of them.”

Kevin Haggerty
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