The Victoria’s Secret brand is a leading American lingerie, apparel, and beauty retailer. The company is famous for its high-profile marketing, which began with a catalog. Then, a fashion show featuring supermodels, or Angels, followed. Since then, the company has grown to over 2,000 stores worldwide. Here are some of the company’s secrets. Read on for the scoop! But be sure to read the entire article for more info!
The name Victoria’s Secret is a play on the taboo nature of lingerie and underwear. The company’s founders were Americans Roy Raymond and Gaye Raymond. Their desire to provide nice underwear for their wife led them to start a business that focuses on the intimates. They were looking for a way to give their wife something nice and special but couldn’t find anything that they liked. The two felt uncomfortable at underwear stores, and the company was born.
The Victoria’s Secret brand’s history has a troubled past. Its connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been linked to allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct. Wexner’s close friend, Epstein, used his company’s cache to meet underage girls. Alicia Arden thought the encounter was a Victoria’s Secret catalog model job interview, but after meeting Epstein in a hotel room, she was assaulted.
The Victoria’s Secret brand began in 1977 with a single store in San Francisco. The following year, the first catalog was released, featuring a sensual Victoria and a modern feminist. In 1982, Ron Raymond sold the business to The Limited, Inc. and grew Victoria’s Secret into one of the largest lingerie retailers in the US. It now has over 600 stores nationwide and over $2 billion in sales. In the 1990s, the brand started to cement its image as a luxury brand.
The company’s response to the scandal has been equally as shocking. A former executive, Sharleen Ernest, said that the company has been “stigmatized” and that she would never be considered for the Victoria’s Secret catwalk. The company has since apologized for the misconduct and has settled with the woman. So far, the company is paying out a settlement to the woman who was wrongfully treated by an underwear salesperson.
Angels and Demons documents the blunders of Victoria’s Secret. In addition to its disastrous foray into the junior market with Pink, Victoria’s Secret tried to reinvent itself with a hypersexual approach to develop a female brand. It featured twenty-something models in erotic schoolgirl outfits and larger-than-life lollipops, and a commercial that included children’s toys. However, these were just two of the many missteps of the Victoria’s Secret brand.
Intimate Brands, Inc. became incorporated in May 1995 and has been a great success. Victoria’s Secret stores and the catalog account for 47 percent of all revenue generated by Intimate Brands, Inc. In 1997, Victoria’s Secret stores captured fourteen percent of the $10 billion U.S. lingerie market, while the Victoria’s Secret Catalogue accounted for six percent. So far, the company has proven its value.