AP Photo/Mark Lennihan
- Victoria’s Secret is the largest lingerie retailer in the US and has been for several decades.
- But after achieving explosive success in the late 1990s and 2000s, the brand has struggled in more recent years and has been accused of losing relevance.
- Here’s the story of the rise — and more recent fall — of the brand.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the US who hasn’t come into contact with Victoria’s Secret in one way or another.
Since the late 1990s, Victoria’s Secret has been one of the best-known and most talked-about brands in the country — increasingly, not in ways that it might hope for.
It has had a powerful role in defining what sexy is in the modern day via its racy lingerie and runway shows. In its heyday, these enabled the company to achieve blockbuster sales and reach global status.
But increasingly, the tide seems to be turning. Sales have slipped, customers are complaining that quality has dropped, and analysts are becoming more skeptical about its future if it refuses to adapt in an era of #MeToo.
Find out more about how the company achieved success —and stumbled more recently — below:
Victoria’s Secret was founded in 1977 by American businessman Roy Raymond.
Wikimedia Commons
Inspired by an uncomfortable trip to a department store to buy underwear for his wife, Raymond set out to create a place where men would feel comfortable shopping for lingerie. He wanted to create a women’s underwear shop that was targeted at men.
He named the brand after the Victorian era in England, wanting to evoke the refinement of this period in his lingerie.
Victoria’s Secret
His vision was summed up by Slate’s Naomi Barr in 2013: "Raymond imagined a Victorian boudoir, replete with dark wood, oriental rugs, and silk drapery. He chose the name ‘Victoria’ to evoke the propriety and respectability associated with the Victorian era; outwardly refined, Victoria’s ‘secrets’ were hidden beneath."
He went on to open a handful of Victoria’s Secret stores and launched its famous catalog.
By 1982, the company was making more than $4 million in annual sales, but according to reports, it was nearing bankruptcy at the time. It was at this point that Les Wexner swooped in.
Getty/Astrid Stawiarz / Stringer
Source: Slate
Wexner, who founded L Brands (formerly Limited Brands) was already making a name for himself in the retail world as he gradually built up an impressive empire.
By June 1982, The Limited — which had previously acquired Express and Lane Bryant — was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. One month later, under Wexner’s leadership, the company acquired Victoria’s Secret’s six stores and its catalog for $1 million.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
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- More than 6,200 stores are closing in 2019 as the retail apocalypse drags on — here’s the full list
- How Whole Foods went from a hippie natural foods store to Amazon’s $13.7 billion grocery weapon
SEE ALSO: A company that’s taking on Victoria’s Secret with $35 bras is homing in on its biggest weakness
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Mary Hanbury)