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Wikipedia

Victoria's Secret

December 12, 2023

This article is about the American retailer. For other uses, see Victoria's Secret (disambiguation).

Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer. Founded in 1977 by Roy and Gaye Raymond,[6][7] the company's five lingerie stores were sold to Les Wexner in 1982.[8] Wexner rapidly expanded into American shopping malls, growing the company into 350 stores nationally with sales of $1 billion by the early 1990s when Victoria's Secret became the largest lingerie retailer in the United States.[9]

Victoria's Secret & Co.
Lexington Ave storefront New York, NY
TypePublic
IndustryApparel
FoundedJune 12, 1977; 46 years ago (1977-06-12)
Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto, California, U.S.[1]
Founders
Headquarters
Reynoldsburg, Ohio
,
U.S.
Number of locations
1,070 (2020)
775 (by 2021)
Areas served
Primarily US and Canada
Key people
  • Martin Walters (CEO)[3]
  • Greg Unis (president)
  • Dein Boyle (COO)
Products
Revenue US$11.84 billion (2021)[4]
US$1.58 billion (2021)[4]
US$844 million (2021)[4]
Total assets US$11.57 billion (2021)[4]
Total equity –US$662 million (2021)[5]
DivisionsPink
Victoria's Secret Beauty
Victoria's Secret Lingerie
Websitevictoriassecret.com

From 1995 through 2018, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was a major part of the brand's image featuring an annual runway spectacle of models promoted by the company as fantasy Angels.[9] The 1990s saw the company's further expansion throughout shopping malls along with the introduction of the 'miracle bra', the new brand Body by Victoria, and the development of a line of fragrances and cosmetics. In 2002 Victoria's Secret announced the launch of PINK, a brand that was aimed to appeal to teenagers.[10][11] Starting in 2008, Victoria's Secret expanded internationally, with retail outlets within international airports, franchises in major cities overseas, and in company-owned stores throughout Canada and the UK.[12]

By 2016, Victoria's Secret's market share began to decline due to competition from other brands that embraced a wider range of sizes[13] and a growing consumer preference for athleisure.[14] The company canceled the circulation of their catalog in 2016. The brand struggled to maintain its market position following criticism and controversy over the unsavory behavior and business practices of corporate leadership under Wexner and Ed Razek.[15][16][17] As of May 2020, with over 1,070 stores, Victoria's Secret remained the largest lingerie retailer in the United States.[14][9][18]

History edit

1977–1981 edit

Victoria's Secret was founded by Roy Raymond, and his wife, Gaye Raymond,[2][6][7] on June 12, 1977.[19][8] The first store was opened in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California.[8] Years earlier, Raymond was embarrassed when purchasing lingerie for his wife at a department store. Newsweek reported Roy Raymond stating: "When I tried to buy lingerie for my wife, I was faced with racks of terry-cloth robes and ugly floral-print nylon nightgowns, and I always had the feeling the department store saleswomen thought I was an unwelcome intruder."[20] Raymond reportedly spent the next eight years studying the lingerie market.[21][2]

At the time when the Raymonds founded Victoria's Secret, the undergarments market in the U.S. was dominated by pragmatic items from Fruit of the Loom, Hanes, and Jockey, often sold in packs of three at department stores, while lingerie was reserved for special occasions such as one's honeymoon.[22] Considered niche products, lingerie items (such as lacy thongs and padded push-up bras) were only found in specialty shops like Frederick's of Hollywood, located "alongside feathered boas and provocative pirate costumes".[22] In 1977, Raymond borrowed $40,000 from family and $40,000 from a bank to establish Victoria's Secret: a store in which men could feel comfortable buying lingerie.[8][23] The store was named in reference to Queen Victoria and the associated refinement of the Victorian era, while the "secret" was hidden underneath the clothes.[23]

Victoria's Secret grossed $500,000 in its first year of business,[8] enough to finance the expansion from a headquarters and warehouse to four new store locations[24] and a mail-order operation.[8] The fourth store, added in 1982 at 395 Sutter Street in San Francisco,[25] operated at that location until 1990, when it was moved to the larger Powell Street frontage of the Westin St. Francis.[26]

In April 1982, Raymond sent out his 12th catalog at a cost to customers of $3 (equivalent to $9.1 in 2022); catalog sales accounted for 55% of the company's $7 million annual sales that year.[25] Victoria's Secret was a minor player in the underwear market at this time, with the business described as "more burlesque than Main Street."[27]

1982–1990 edit

In 1982, Victoria's Secret had grown to five stores, a 40-page catalog, and was grossing $6 million annually.[8] Raymond sold the company to Les Wexner, creator of Limited Stores Inc of Columbus, Ohio, for $1 million.[8][28] In 1983, Wexner revamped Victoria's Secret's sales model towards a greater focus on female customers.[29] Victoria's Secret transformed into a mainstay that sold broadly accepted underwear with "new colors, patterns and styles that promised sexiness packaged in a tasteful, glamorous way and with the snob appeal of European luxury" meant to appeal to female buyers.[29] To further this image, the Victoria's Secret catalog continued the practice that Raymond began:[30] listing the company's headquarters on catalogs at a fake London address, with the real headquarters in Columbus, Ohio.[29] The stores were redesigned to evoke 19th century England.

The New York Times reported in 1982 that the financial success of the Victoria's Secret catalog influenced other catalogs by presenting lingerie as "romantic and sensual but tasteful", "in which models are photographed in ladylike poses against elegant backgrounds."[25] Howard Gross became president in 1985.[31] In October of that year, the Los Angeles Times reported that Victoria's Secret was stealing market share from department stores;[32] in 1986, Victoria's Secret was the only national chain devoted to lingerie.[33]

The New York Times reported that Victoria's Secret swiftly expanded to 100 stores by 1986.[34] and described it in 1987 as a "highly visible leader" that used "unabashedly sexy high-fashion photography to sell middle-priced underwear."[35] In 1990, analysts estimated that sales had quadrupled in four years, making it one of the fastest growing mail-order businesses.[36] Sales and profits from the catalog continued to expand due to the addition of clothing, swimwear and shoes and wider circulation.[citation needed]

Cynthia Fedus-Fields oversaw the company's direct business, including its catalog, from the mid-1980s until 2000.[37]  During her tenure, total revenues increased to nearly $1 billion.[37] In 1987, Victoria's Secret was reported to be among the bestselling catalogs.[38][39]

1991–2005 edit

Victoria's Secret experienced quality problems with their product in the early 1990s and was working to resolve the issues.[40][41] In 1991, Howard Gross was assigned to fix the L Brands subsidiary Limited Stores.[42] In 1993, Business Week reported that both divisions suffered.[40] Gross was succeeded by Grace Nichols, who worked to improve the product quality.[42] The company's margins tightened, resulting in a slower growth of profits.[40]

Victoria's Secret expanded beyond apparel in the 1990s with the launch of their own line of fragrances in 1991, followed by their entrance into the billion-dollar cosmetics market in 1998.[43]

Victoria's Secret introduced the 'Miracle Bra' in 1993, selling two million within the first year.[44] When faced with competition from Sara Lee's WonderBra a year later in 1994, the company responded with a TV campaign.[44] At the same time, in 1994, Wexner discussed the creation of a company fashion event with Ed Razek. The first Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, held in 1995 in New York, became a mainstay for the company's image for the next 23 years.

By 1998, Victoria's Secret's market share of the intimate apparel market was 14 percent[45][11] and the company also entered the $3.5 billion cosmetic market.[46] The following year, in 1999, the company added the Body by Victoria line.[47] The catalog had achieved "an almost cult-like following".[48] In May 2000, Cynthia Fedus-Fields stepped down as CEO after delivering record profits in 1999 and early 2000.[citation needed] Fedus-Fields later stated that, up until the point of her departure, the company was guided by sensibilities of what a European woman would choose to wear.[37] After her departure in 2000, the brand pursued an image that was "much more blatantly sexy."[37]

In May 2000, Wexner installed Sharen Jester Turney, previously of Neiman Marcus Direct, as the new chief executive of Victoria's Secret Direct to turn around catalog sales that were lagging behind other divisions.[49] Forbes reported Turney stating, "We need to quit focusing on all that cleavage."[49] In 2000, Turney began to redefine Victoria's Secret catalog from "breasts—spilling over the tops of black, purple and reptile-print underthings" to one that would appeal to an "upscale customer who now feels more comfortable buying La Perla or Wolford lingerie.";[49] "dimming the hooker looks" such as "tight jeans and stilettos"; and moving from "a substitute for Playboy in some dorm rooms," to something closer to a Vogue lifestyle layout, where lingerie, sleepwear, clothes and cosmetics appear throughout the catalog.[49] Beginning in 2000, Grace Nichols, CEO of Victoria's Secret Direct, led a similar change at Victoria's Secret's stores—moving away from an evocation of 1800s England (or a Victorian bordello).[49]

2006–2020 edit

 
Victoria's Secret storefront in Columbus, Ohio, 2012

By 2006, Victoria's Secret's 1,000 stores across the United States accounted for one third of all purchases in the intimate apparel industry. [50] In May 2006, Wexner promoted Turney from the Victoria's Secret catalog and online units to lead the whole company.[27] In 2008, she acknowledged "product quality that doesn't equal the brand's hype."[51] In September 2006, Victoria's Secret reportedly tried to make their catalog feel more like magazines by head-hunting writers from Women's Wear Daily.[52]

The company had about a third of the market share in its category in 2013.[11]

In February 2016, Turney stepped down as CEO of Victoria's Secret after being in the business for a decade.[53][54][55] Victoria's Secret was split into three divisions: Victoria's Secret Lingerie, Victoria's Secret Beauty, and Pink, each with a separate CEO.[56] In 2016, direct sales only grew 1.6% and fell by 7.4% in the last quarter of the year, typically a high revenue period due to the holidays. The company discontinued its use of a print catalog and dropped certain categories of clothing such as swimwear.[57] Sales revenue continued to stagnate and drop in early 2017.[58]

In late 2018, CEO Jan Singer resigned amid declining sales.[59] The Wall Street Journal reported that only one quarter showed an increase in same-store sales between 2016 and 2018.[60] Singer's announcement came one week after CMO Ed Razek made a controversial comment that the company does not cast transgender or plus-size models in its annual fashion show "because the show is a fantasy."[61] After a 40% stock plunge in a single year, Victoria's Secret announced the closure of 53 stores in the U.S. in 2019, as well as the relaunch of its swimwear line.[62] L Brands, the parent company of Victoria's Secret, came under public pressure in 2019 from an activist shareholder of Barington Capital Group, L.P. who took issue with the performance of Razek and urged the company to update its brand image and switch up its predominantly male board of directors.[63]

In August 2019, chief marketing officer, Ed Razek, resigned following a disastrous Vogue interview in which he made inflammatory statements about transgender models.[64] Also in 2019, executive vice president April Holy stepped down after 16 years.[65][66] In November 2019, Victoria's Secret announced it would no longer hold the annual fashion show featuring its angels, indicating a major change in marketing strategy.[67]

External video
  How Victoria's Secret revolutionized lingerie — then fell behind CNBC, 2019, 10:54

In January 2020, L Brands chairman and CEO Lex Wexner was in talks to step down.[68] Reports of widespread bullying and harassment at Victoria's Secret surfaced in February 2020.[16][69] On February 1, 2020, The New York Times published an exposé on "the culture of misogyny" at Victoria's Secret, which painted a picture of long-time influential executive Ed Razek's rampant sexual misconduct.[16]

The company announced a sale in February 2020 to private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $525 million, with L Brands retaining a 45% minority stake.[70][71] On April 22, 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that Sycamore Partners wanted out of the deal which included exceptions for a pandemic.[72][73] The deal ultimately fell through. Wexner stepped down but maintains a role as chairman emeritus.

In June 2020, a shareholder filed a lawsuit against the company for inaction following reports of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation at Victoria's Secret.[74]

Shareholders of parent company L Brands filed a complaint in the Court of Chancery of Delaware on January 14, 2021, stating that former chair Wexner, among others, created an "entrenched culture of misogyny, bullying and harassment" and was aware of abuses being committed by accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, which breached his fiduciary duty to the company, causing devaluation of the brand. The complaint also names Wexner's wife, Abigail, current chair, Sarah E. Nash, and former marketing officer, Ed Razek, whose "widely known misconduct" was long allowed at the company.[75]

2021–present edit

 
VS & Co logo after split from L Brands

In 2021, after the resignation of Razek as well as the sale of the company by Wexner, Victoria's Secret's new ownership and management implemented policy changes and new partnerships with a number of new spokeswomen including Megan Rapinoe, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Naomi Osaka.[76][77] Wexner's parent company L Brands spun Victoria's Secret off to become an independent business (trading on the NYSE as VSCO) on August 3, 2021.[78] Following this brand positioning, Victoria's Secret reported sales increase in all three completed quarters of 2021.[79][80]

Martin Waters was named CEO in 2021, replacing Stuart Burgdorfer who had served as interim CEO.[81] In July 2022, Victoria's Secret named Amy Hauk chief executive of both the Victoria's Secret and Pink brands.[82]

In November 2022, it was announced Victoria's Secret has acquired the New York-headquartered lingerie brand, Adore Me for US$400 million.[83]

In October 2023, several media outlets reported about Victoria's Secret planning on reverting their rebranding and going back to their marketing strategy before. The decision was made after initial sales increase of the rebranding turned into plunging sales.[84][85]

Products edit

 
Victoria's Secret lingerie, store display in Seattle in 2008

In addition to the primary brand of lingerie for Victoria's Secret, the company has secondary product lines: namely, activewear known as Victoria sports, swimwear, and a beauty division with fragrances, make-up, accessories, and other bath and body products.

The swimwear, introduced in 2002,[86] was made available until April 2016, when the company announced that the line would end and be replaced by a new line of activewear.[87] The swim line was relaunched in November 2018.[88] In March 2019, the swim line was made available in shops.[62]

In 2010, Victoria's Secret launched the 'Incredible' bra.[89] The company released the Victoria's Secret Designer Collection in 2012, described by Vogue as the company's "first high end lingerie line."[90] In 2016, Victoria's Secret confined the elimination of swimwear, apparel, shoes, and accessories.[91] In 2017, the company began to put more emphasis on bralettes (bras without underwire, often intended to be worn visibly) and sports bras (under the Victoria Sport label) to appeal to a younger customer base.[92]

In 2019, Victoria's Secret relaunched its product line of eyewear and footwear, in hopes of boosting struggling sales for the brand.[62]

In October 2021, Pink launched a line of reusable period panties.[93][94]

In 2022, Victoria's Secret & Co. announced they would no longer use cashmere in their product lines.[95]

Operating divisions edit

 
Victoria's Secret store, New York

The Victoria's Secret brand is organized into three divisions: 'Victoria's Secret Stores' (physical locations), 'Victoria's Secret Direct' (online and catalog operations), and 'Victoria's Secret Beauty' (bath and cosmetics).[9] The change was made in 2016 by Wexner to "refocus on core business" and it required each division to have its own CEO.[9][91]

Physical locations edit

The physical store locations were an important part of establishing the brand and remained concentrated in the United States from 1977 until the early 2000s.

Victoria's Secret stores took over the lingerie market during the 1980s by using a fabricated sense of Britain, featuring this romantic styling and soft classical music.[45][96] In the early years, Wexner himself was involved in carefully orchestrating store interior design through the use of English floral wallpaper circa 1890, gilded fixtures, classical music, soft lighting, the scent of old-fashioned sachet, and elegant perfume bottles that "look like your grandmother's crystal".[97]

 
August 2011 map of store locations in the United States

During the 1990s, in-store sales at Victoria's Secret increased by 30% after the company tracked and applied data analysis of where specific styles, sizes, and colors were selling.[98] The decade also brought an expansion of store size to triple from 1,400 square feet (130 m2) to an average 4,500 square feet (420 m2).[99] The trend continued into 2002 when the average Victoria's Secret store was 6,000 square feet (560 m2).[100][101]

In 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that the company continued the practice of putting on "a British air—or what the Ohio-based chain thinks Americans believe is British. Boudoirish. Tony. Upscale."[102]

By 2010, there were 1,000 Victoria's Secret lingerie stores and 100 independent Victoria's Secret Beauty Stores in the United States, mostly in shopping centers, then offering bras, panties, hosiery, cosmetics, and sleepwear.[103]

International stores edit

The international expansion of Victoria's Secret stores began in 2008.[12] As of 2016, L Brands maintained control of operations at company-owned stores in Canada, the UK, and China but relied on franchises elsewhere in the world for its Victoria's Secret Beauty & Accessory (VSBA) locations.[12][104]

Canada edit

The drive for growth coupled with a maturing American retail market led to a shift towards expansion, first into Canada.[103][105] In 2010, the first Canadian store opened in Edmonton, Alberta. In 2012 Victoria's Secret opened stores in Nova Scotia and Quebec.[106] Several of the company's stores in Canada are considered large by retail standards and span more than 10,000 square feet (930 m2) each. As of 2020, the company's Canadian locations included cities in all ten provinces, from British Columbia all the way to the Maritimes. However, the company announced, in May 2020, plans to permanently shutter 13 of its 38 Canadian stores, representing a loss of one third of the Canadian fleet.[107]

United Kingdom edit

Victoria's Secret opened a store at the Westfield Shopping Centre, Stratford, London in July 2012.[108] Their flagship 40,386-square-foot- (3,752.0 m2) store on New Bond Street, London followed in August 2012.[109] Locations in the United Kingdom include the cities of Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol, Westfield London, Bluewater, Brent Cross and Glasgow.[citation needed] As of June 2020, there were 25 stores in the United Kingdom.[110] That same month, Retail Dive reported that as the brand's UK arm filed the "equivalent of Chapter 11" bankruptcy, as it struggled with falling sales, profits, and market share.[111]

China edit

In 2016, it was reported that L Brands fully purchased 26 stores back from its franchise partners in China.[104] The company announced plans to expand on the existing 26 Victoria's Secret Beauty & Accessory (VSBA) stores (boutiques which sold beauty products in airports or malls), through the addition of flagship stores in Shanghai and Beijing.[104]

Reuters reported that, as of June 2020, Victoria's Secret had two dozen stores in Greater China.[112] That same month, the company permanently closed its 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) flagship store in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong after only two years of operation.[113][114]

On January 25, 2022, Victoria's Secret announced a Joint venture partnership agreement with Regina Miracle International (Holdings) Limited. Under the terms of the agreement, Victoria's Secret will own 51% of the joint venture and Regina Miracle will own 49%. CEO Martin Waters commented, "I am delighted to announce this partnership with Regina Miracle, who has been a valued merchandise supplier partner for more than twenty years. Together with Regina Miracle, we aim to grow the China business through joint investment in product development, distribution, and marketing. We expect the partnership will positively impact the speed and agility of the business to benefit consumers and provide us with a platform for a strong future in this important market."[115]

Victoria's Secret Direct edit

Catalog (1977 - 2016) edit

Prior to the emergence of e-commerce, the company's catalogs were a key aspect of successfully marketing a product considered risqué to consumers in the privacy of their own homes. According to Joseph Sugarman, the 1979 catalog was "a lot more sensuous" and took the form of "an upmarket version of a Frederick's of Hollywood lingerie catalog."[116]

The New York Times reported that the success of Victoria's Secret catalogs influenced others to present lingerie as "romantic and sensual but tasteful" with models photographed in elegant settings. The company was known for accepting phone orders at any hour which helped it establish dominance of the lingerie market. The Los Angeles Times described the catalog in 2000 as having achieved "an almost cult-like following."[citation needed] The company was mailing more than 400 million catalogs annually in 2010.[117]

In May 2016, the brand decided to discontinue the catalog which had run at a cost of $125 million to $150 million annually due to concern that catalogs had grown stale as a marketing device and confidence that sales would not be affected.[118]

E-commerce edit

Victoria's Secret spent three years building an e-commerce website that was officially launched on December 4, 1998. Following heavy promotion of the 1999 fashion show, the website experienced high traffic volumes, with visitors enduring "slowdowns and bottlenecks" while viewing the first online fashion show on February 3, 1999, the largest online streaming event to date, reaching an estimated 1.5 million viewers.[119][120] Ad placement in the Wall Street Journal and a 30-minute TV spot during the Super Bowl contributed to drive record numbers of visitors to the website.[119]

Victoria's Secret Beauty edit

In 1998, Intimate Brands Inc., the parent company of Victoria's Secret, created a new entity: Intimate Beauty Corporation.[121] The goal for Intimate Beauty Corporation was to manage and develop the bath, fragrance and cosmetic products for Victoria's Secret.[121] By 2006 the Victoria's Secret Beauty division had reported sales of nearly US$1 billion.[122] The company sought to expand its beauty and accessories stores at airports around the world in the early 2010s.[123]

Franchise locations worldwide (VSBA) edit

Victoria's Secret Beauty opened a provisional UK boutique at Heathrow Airport in 2005 through partnership with World Duty Free.[124]

In 2010, Victoria's Secret expanded with Victoria's Secret Beauty & Accessory (VSBA) franchises internationally. That year M.H. Alshaya Co. opened the first Victoria's Secret store in the Marina Mall in Kuwait, selling cosmetics and accessories but not the company's lingerie line.[125] Two VSBA stores were opened in the early 2010s at Schiphol International Airport, Netherlands.[126][127] That same year the first Latin American franchise store opened in Isla Margarita, Venezuela, followed by a store in Bogota, Colombia, in July 2012.[128] An additional store opened in the Multiplaza Mall in San Salvador, El Salvador in 2012.[129]

A Caribbean location opened in November 2011 at Plaza Las Americas in San Juan, Puerto Rico[130] followed by a store in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic at the Agora,[131] and Sambil Santo Domingo[132] malls in 2012. In July 2012 the first Polish store opened at the Złote Tarasy shopping mall in Warsaw, also operated by M.H. Alshaya Co.[133]

A Serbian store opened in January 2014 at the Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade.[134]

As of 2016, L Brands had more than 370 VSBA franchise shops worldwide, with the company's largest international market reportedly in Turkey and the Middle East.[104]

Corporate affairs edit

Ownership and name edit

The company's business name changed from Victoria's Secret, Inc. to Victoria's Secret Stores, Inc., after the 1982 sale to Wexner. In 2005, the name was revised to Victoria's Secret Stores, LLC.[citation needed]

Victoria's Secret was originally owned by The Limited.[135] Victoria's Secret's parent company was Intimate Brands, a separately traded entity with Ed Razek as president.[27][136] In 2002, Intimate Brands was combined with the Limited, then renamed Limited Brands.[137]

By 2006, the majority of the revenue for Limited Brands came from Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works.[138]

In July 2007, Limited Brands sold a 75% interest in Limited Stores and Express to Sun Capital Partners, in order to focus on expanding their Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works units.[139] The sale resulted in Limited Brands taking a $42 million after-tax loss.[138]

In 2013, parent company Limited Brands officially changed its name to L Brands.[140]

Victoria's Secret recorded peak worldwide net sales in 2016 of $7.78 billion.[141] In 2019, worldwide net sales had receded to $6.81 billion.[141]

Management structure edit

At 'Victoria's Secret Stores', Howard Gross was promoted to president of the division in 1985.[31] Grace Nichols succeeded Gross and led the division from 1991 through 2007.[142][143] Victoria's Secret Stores was helmed by Lori Greely from 2007 until 2013.[144]

Cynthia Fedus-Fields served as president and CEO and oversaw the Victoria's Secret Direct business, including its catalog, from the mid-1980s until 2000.[37] She was succeeded in May 2000 by Sharen Jester Turney as chief executive of the division.[49] Turney stepped down in 2016 and was succeeded by Jan Singer as CEO of Victoria's Secret Direct from 2016 to 2018.[145] John Mehas was appointed CEO starting in 2019.[146] He was replaced by Martin Waters in November 2020.[147]

Hired by L Brands in 1998, Robin Burns was CEO of Victoria's Secret Beauty until 2004.[148] Burns was succeeded in August 2004 by duo Jill Granoff, COO, and Sherry Baker, president.[149] In May 2006, Christine Beauchamp was named president and CEO of Victoria's Secret Beauty. Shashi Batra was appointed president of the division in 2009.[150] In November 2012 Susie Coulter became president of Victoria's Secret Beauty.[151] Greg Unis was hired to serve as CEO of the beauty division in 2016.[152]

Manufacturing and environmental record edit

In 2006, the Financial Times reported that Victoria's Secret paid factory workers $7 per day to make bras in Thailand.[153] The Huffington Post stated in 2011 that working conditions in factories producing Victoria's Secret items in Jordan were comparable to slave labor as a result of the Jordan–United States Free Trade Agreement, which retreated from standards established in the 1990s.[154] In 2012, Victoria's Secret was manufacturing bras in the South Indian city of Guduvanchery.[155][156]

In 2021, Victoria's Secret fronted the money to more than 1,250 Thai garment workers who were owed $8.3 million when their factory, Brilliant Alliance, closed after declaring bankruptcy.[157]

After years of pressure from environmentalists, Victoria's Secret and a conservation group reached an agreement to make the catalog more environmentally friendly in 2006.[158][159] Catalog wood pulp was required to contain 10 percent recycled paper and avoid source forests with woodland caribou habitats in Canada, unless certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.[160] The company bought organic and fair trade-grown cotton to make some of its panties in 2012.[161]

Marketing edit

 
Victoria's Secret visual merchandising with Angel wing display. Las Vegas, Nevada store, 2006

The mail order catalog was the primary form of marketing used by the company in the 1970s. Early catalogs featured lingerie-clad models holding violins and glasses of sherry.[162] Catalog marketing shifted towards female models accompanied by men for several years in the 1980s, a practice that was eventually abandoned by 1991.[162]

In the early 1980s, Victoria's Secret used FCB/Leber Katz Partners for the development of their brand, marketing, and advertising.[163] In 1989, FCB/Leber Katz Partners and Victoria's Secret executed a national advertising campaign with a ten-page glossy insert in the November issue of Elle, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Victoria, House Beautiful, Bon Appétit, New Woman, and People magazines.[99] Victoria's Secret used the insert to announce their expansion into the toiletries and fragrance business.[99] Prior to the insert, the company's growth had been driven by their catalog, sporadic ads in fashion publications, and word of mouth.[99]

Ed Razek joined in-house branding operations at the Limited in the 1980s and increasingly began to shape the marketing and branding at Victoria's Secret.[149] However, Razek credited Wexner as the creative force behind much of the marketing.[149] The company gained notoriety in the early 1990s after it began to hire supermodels for its advertising and fashion shows.[164] Well-known models hired in the early 1990s included Stephanie Seymour, Karen Mulder, Yasmeen Ghauri, and Jill Goodacre.[165][166] The models helped the brand gain an audience and were soon featured in televised commercials.

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was a major marketing tool used by L Brands from 1995 to 2018.[167][9] The show was a mix of "beautiful models scantily clad in lingerie" and A-list entertainers that over time became "less about fashion and more about show".[167] The 2000 fashion show in France was produced with the help of Harvey Weinstein.[149]

In 1999, a 30-second Super Bowl advertisement resulted in one million visits to the company's website within an hour of airing.[168]

Victoria's Secret sued a strip-mall store in Elizabethtown, Kentucky called Victor's Little Secret over the issue of trademark dilution.[169] On March 4, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Victoria's Secret in Moseley v. V Secret Catalogue, Inc. on the grounds that there was insufficient proof of actual harm to the trademark.[169]

In 2004, Victoria's Secret presented an uncharacteristic advertisement with Bob Dylan as an alternative means of promoting the brand.[170][171][172] Razek, then chief creative officer, credited Wexner himself with the idea to cast Dylan in a commercial.[171] The ad proved to be memorable, but more out of a tendency to unsettle and baffle viewers familiar with Dylan.[170][171][172]

Victoria's Secret TV commercials, directed by Michael Bay, were released in 2010 and 2012 with mixed results, regarded by critics as macho and misguided.[173][174][16]

In 2014, the company created a campaign to market its Body bra line called The Perfect Body that elicited substantial controversy for supporting only a limited and unhealthy body type.[175]

Victoria's Secret announced the appointment of Raul Martinez as head creative director in December 2020.[176] Martinez, formerly of Condé Nast, took on the role following the departure of chief executive John Mehas who stepped down in November 2020.[176]

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show edit

Main article: Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
 
Kelly Gale at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, 2014

The first Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was held in 1995 and was broadcast on primetime American television.[177] The fashion show, overseen by Ed Razek, was described by Newsweek as "a combination of self-assured strutting for women and voyeuristic pleasures for men" that made lingerie mainstream entertainment.[178]

Ken Weil, vice president at Victoria's Secret, and Tim Plzak, responsible for IT at Victoria's Secret's parent company Intimate Brands, led Victoria's Secret's first-ever online streaming of their fashion show in 1999.[136] The 18 minutes webcast streamed February 2, 1999, was at the time the Internet's "biggest event" since inception.[136] The 1999 webcast was reported as a failure by a number of newspapers on account of some user's inability to watch the show featuring Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, and Stephanie Seymour[179] as a result of Victoria's Secret's technology falling short being able to meet the online user demand resulting in network congestion and users who could see the webcast receiving jerky frames.[136] In all, the company's website saw over 1.5 million visits, a number significantly higher than the 250,000 and 500,000 simultaneous viewers that Broadcast.com, the website hosting the show, was able to handle.[180] In total, 1.5 million viewers either attempted or viewed the webcast.[181]

The 1999 webcast served to create a database for Victoria's Secret of over 500,000 current and potential customers by requiring users to submit their contact details to view the webcast.[136] The next spring Victoria's Secret avoided technical issues by partnering with Broadcast.com, America Online, and Microsoft.[136]

By 2011, the budget for the fashion show was $12 million up from the first show's budget of $120,000.[182] In November 2019, Victoria's Secret canceled its runway show. In July 2021, the company said there are plans to relaunch the show, but without the Victoria's Secret Angels.[183]

Victoria's Secret Angels edit

Main article: List of Victoria's Secret models

The company's Angels underwear collection was marketed in 1997 by a TV commercial that included supermodels Helena Christensen, Karen Mulder, Daniela Peštová, Stephanie Seymour, and Tyra Banks. In the commercial, the Angels appear in a white cloudscape in dialog with "God", played by Welsh singer Tom Jones, widely known for his fans' tradition of tossing their panties at him during shows.[184] The spoof proved popular and the Angels, as characters, became a regular feature of the advertising as brand ambassadors. The term "Angel" soon became synonymous with the brand.

Official Angels have greater responsibilities than other runway models for the brand, as the Angels are obliged to appear in marketing campaigns, talk shows, major runway shows, and the annual fashion show.[185] The Angels are contracted spokesmodels for the brand, but the company is not transparent about the terms of these contracts.[185] In 1998, the Angels made their runway debut at Victoria's Secret's 4th annual fashion show, (Chandra North filled in for Christensen).[186][187] The brand's Fashion Show and the Angels were closely connected through 2018, the final year that event was held. Some of the early Victoria's Secret Angels included Inés Rivero and Laetitia Casta.[188]

In 2004, the company did not hold a fashion show due fallout from the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy, and instead alternately marketed the brand via a tour called Angels Across America.[189] Victoria's Secret sent its five contract models (Banks, Klum, Bündchen, Lima, and Ambrosio) out for the event.

Victoria's Secret's Angels continued to be featured in popular culture, and were chosen to be part of People magazine's annual "100 Most Beautiful People in the World" in 2007.[190] The Angels became the first trademark awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on November 13, 2007, with Klum, Lima, Ambrosio, Kurkova, Goulart, Ebanks, Marisa Miller, and Miranda Kerr at hand.[191] Alongside new Angel Doutzen Kroes, they also took part in the grand reopening of the Fontainebleau in Miami in 2008.[192]

In 2009, the brand held a nationwide competition for a new Runway Angel.[193] Thousands of contestants applied; Kylie Bisutti prevailed as the winner but soon grew disillusioned and parted ways with the brand.[194] Ellingson, Kroes, and Kloss departed after the 2014 fashion show.[195][196]

Several promotional tours featuring the Angels have been organized by the brand. These included the 2010 Bombshell tour,[197] the 2012 VSX tour,[198] and the 2013 Swim tour.[199][200] In 2015, Angels featured on the brand's first Swim Special were Elsa Hosk, Martha Hunt, Jac Jagaciak, Stella Maxwell, Lais Ribeiro, and Jasmine Tookes, along with model Joan Smalls.[201][202]

In 2019, new Angels Leomie Anderson, Grace Elizabeth, Alexina Graham, and Barbara Palvin, were added to the roster. Palvin made her fashion show debut with Victoria's Secret in 2012, not appearing again until 2018, while Graham, (the first redheaded Angel) walked in both 2017 and 2018.[203][204] Anderson began walking in 2015, while Elizabeth (a PINK spokesmodel, 2016 - 2019) walked her first Victoria's Secret show in 2016.[205][206]

The Victoria's Secret brand has had at least 3 dozen official Angels (as of 2020)[207] [a] Other notable spokesmodels for the brand have included Claudia Schiffer,[208] Eva Herzigová,[186] Oluchi Onweagba, Jessica Stam, Ana Beatriz Barros,[209] and Bregje Heinen,[210] as well as celebrities such as Taylor Momsen.[211]

In 2021, the Angels were discontinued in favor of a new concept known as the "VS Collective", which features a more diverse array of models and influencers as spokespeople, such as photographer Amanda de Cadenet, Adut Akech, actress and Miss World 2000 Priyanka Chopra, Paloma Elsesser, soccer player Megan Rapinoe, and Valentina Sampaio—the first openly transgender model to be featured on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.[212]

Pink spokesmodels edit

Main article: Pink (Victoria's Secret)

Criticisms and controversies edit

Harassment and abuse edit

In 2019, nonprofit advocacy group Model Alliance and several other publications reported on initiatives underway in California, New York and the United States aiming to protect models from harassment and sexual abuse.[245][246][16][247]

Silencing of harassment complaints edit

After Razek left Victoria's Secret in 2019, Monica Mitro, a high-ranking executive at the company reported she had been repeatedly verbally abused by Razek during his time there. Mitro was executive vice president of public relations for the brand and was heavily involved in the production of its annual fashion show, having been one of the public faces of the brand. The day after Mitro made her allegations, she showed up to work to find she had been locked out of the building and placed on administrative leave. Though the brand claimed this decision was made prior to Mitro lodging her complaint, many believed this was a retaliatory action by the company and in late 2019 Mitro indicated she was pursuing legal action against her dismissal. It was reported in 2020 that she had settled with the brand for an undisclosed sum.[248]

Connections with Jeffrey Epstein edit

Les Wexner, who founded the Victoria's Secret along with Bath & Body Works, Inc. was reportedly having direct ties with Jeffrey Epstein, an American sex offender and a pedophile, which he met sometime around 1986.[citation needed] Wexner was also reported giving Epstein attorney powers, and have been reportedly shacked up in his "Wexner Xanadu", which is a property of Les Wexner located in Ohio. Wexner also reportedly given Epstein his money, an Upper East Side townhouse (which later sold for $51 million[249]), and a Boeing 727 owned by L Brands.[250]

Racism and corporate apologies edit

The company has faced a number of major complaints of racism, profiling, and discrimination[16] by both managers and employees, with several recurring issues being raised by former employees, the federal government, state governments, and customers in the United States.[251][252] Each time, Victoria's Secret management or a corporate spokesperson has issued an apology and disavowed the discriminatory actions of any individual employee.[253] Victoria's Secret has changed some employment practices, and settled some of the cases, including a $12 million settlement in California and New York reached in 2017,[254] and a $179,300 settlement with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.[255]

Influence on socio-cultural body image norms edit

In the 2008 academic research article "Victoria's Dirty Secret: How Sociocultural Norms Influence Adolescent Girls and Women", authors from Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo[256] stated: "Women's body dissatisfaction is influenced by socio-cultural norms for ideal appearance that are pervasive in society and particularly directed at women", cautioning that the marketing practices of Victoria's Secret, delivered through TV commercials, ads, and magazines send a message to girls and women that their models are a realistic standard of beauty, concluding that "Exposure to societal messages that reflect the socio-cultural norm for ideal appearance has a negative effect on women."[256]

Use of cultural stereotypes edit

During the 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, the segment 'Wild Things' caused controversy due to the "tribal style" outfits on display. The most notable of these was worn by Afro-Brazilian model Emanuela De Paula who, alongside a group of dancers, was painted with black lines, meant to depict tribal body art. This outfit received backlash from the media, not only for appropriating African culture but for the racist connotations associated with dressing a woman of color in animal print lingerie and body art and branding her a 'Wild Thing'. No apology was released by the brand.[257]

In 2012, the company drew criticism for a lingerie collection offer for sale on their website that was titled 'Go East', with a tagline that pledged to women the capacity to "indulge in touches of eastern delight with lingerie inspired by the exquisite beauty of secret Japanese gardens."[258][259] The collection included a 'Sexy Little Geisha' outfit that was pulled by the company after critics described the items as "stereotypical images that use racist transgression to create an exotic edge."[260] The Wall Street Journal confirmed that the geisha outfit was "accessorized with a miniature fan and a kimono-esque obi sash" and the Asian-themed collection "that traded in sexualized, generic pan-Asian ethnic stereotypes" was removed by the company.[261][262]

At the 2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, an outfit in the 'Calendar Girls' segment caused controversy. The outfit, worn by Karlie Kloss, was meant to represent November and the American holiday of Thanksgiving, but featured a Native American headdress alongside an animal print bikini. This caused outrage among members of the Native American community, who stated that the headdress depicted had deep cultural significance and was only worn by certain notable war chiefs and warriors. After media backlash over the offensiveness of the outfit and the uncomfortable position that the brand put Kloss in, the outfit was cut from the show's final broadcast. Kloss apologized for the incident via Twitter and the brand later made a statement of apology.[263]

At the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, the brand was accused of cultural appropriation during the segment entitled 'The Road Ahead' which drew inspiration from both Chinese and Mexican culture. Kendall Jenner's flame tail wings, Elsa Hosk's dragon costume, and Adriana Lima's embroidered thigh-high boots caused an uproar, as some media and fans believed it was inappropriate for women of other descents to wear items important to Chinese culture. Victoria's Secret claimed it included this segment in the 2016 show because of their recent expansion into the Chinese market, and believed a segment featuring Chinese garments, as well as Liu Wen and Ming Xi, two popular Chinese models, would be a good way to appeal to their new Chinese customer base. No apology or statement was released from the brand.[264]

In the 2017 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, the brand faced further controversy and allegations of cultural appropriation. The criticism was directed at fashions in the 'Nomadic Adventures' segment that appropriated Native American and Indigenous African cultures.[265] Nylon magazine suggested that the company had learned nothing from previous, similar incidents.[266]

Transgender models edit

In a November 2018 interview with Vogue, Victoria's Secret president Ed Razek stated (when discussing diversity in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show): "Shouldn't you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don't think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy. It's a 42-minute entertainment special. That's what it is."[267] These comments received immediate backlash from many in the modeling community, including transgender model Carmen Carrera, Kendall Jenner, then Angel Lily Aldridge, and former Angel Karlie Kloss.[268]

Razek later issued an apology, stating "My remark regarding the inclusion of transgender models in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show came across as insensitive. I apologize. To be clear, we would absolutely cast a transgender model for the show."[268]

In August 2019, the brand cast its first openly transgender Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio, who was hired to work for PINK.[269] That same month, Razek stepped down.[270] In 2022, the brand hired Emira D'Spain as their first Black transgender model.[271] In 2023, the brand hired Alex Consani to be a part of the Victoria Secret rebrand in the 2023 fashion show.[272]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ There have been various instances where the fashion show credits included models who were not Angels but were prominently featured by the brand, such as Candice Swanepoel, Lindsay Ellingson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Erin Heatherton, and Behati Prinsloo in 2009, Lais Ribeiro in 2011, PINK model Elsa Hosk in 2013 and Hosk, Ribeiro, Jasmine Tookes, Martha Hunt, and Stella Maxwell in 2014. All of them later went on to become Angels.
  2. ^ Most Angels started working with the company years prior to signing an Angel contract. Listed above are the dates of first published or aired campaigns or, by default, first runway show or event.
  3. ^ Contracted as a replacement Angel for Helena Christensen during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 1998 and released immediately afterwards

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December 12, 2023
victoria, secret, this, article, about, american, retailer, other, uses, disambiguation, american, lingerie, clothing, beauty, retailer, founded, 1977, gaye, raymond, company, five, lingerie, stores, were, sold, wexner, 1982, wexner, rapidly, expanded, into, a. This article is about the American retailer For other uses see Victoria s Secret disambiguation Victoria s Secret is an American lingerie clothing and beauty retailer Founded in 1977 by Roy and Gaye Raymond 6 7 the company s five lingerie stores were sold to Les Wexner in 1982 8 Wexner rapidly expanded into American shopping malls growing the company into 350 stores nationally with sales of 1 billion by the early 1990s when Victoria s Secret became the largest lingerie retailer in the United States 9 Victoria s Secret amp Co Lexington Ave storefront New York NYTypePublicTraded asNYSE VSCOS amp P 600 componentIndustryApparelFoundedJune 12 1977 46 years ago 1977 06 12 Stanford Shopping Center Palo Alto California U S 1 FoundersRoy RaymondGaye Raymond 2 HeadquartersReynoldsburg Ohio U S Number of locations1 070 2020 775 by 2021 Areas servedPrimarily US and CanadaKey peopleMartin Walters CEO 3 Greg Unis president Dein Boyle COO ProductsLingerieunderwearcosmeticsfragrancesRevenueUS 11 84 billion 2021 4 Operating incomeUS 1 58 billion 2021 4 Net incomeUS 844 million 2021 4 Total assetsUS 11 57 billion 2021 4 Total equity US 662 million 2021 5 DivisionsPinkVictoria s Secret BeautyVictoria s Secret LingerieWebsitevictoriassecret wbr comFrom 1995 through 2018 the Victoria s Secret Fashion Show was a major part of the brand s image featuring an annual runway spectacle of models promoted by the company as fantasy Angels 9 The 1990s saw the company s further expansion throughout shopping malls along with the introduction of the miracle bra the new brand Body by Victoria and the development of a line of fragrances and cosmetics In 2002 Victoria s Secret announced the launch of PINK a brand that was aimed to appeal to teenagers 10 11 Starting in 2008 Victoria s Secret expanded internationally with retail outlets within international airports franchises in major cities overseas and in company owned stores throughout Canada and the UK 12 By 2016 Victoria s Secret s market share began to decline due to competition from other brands that embraced a wider range of sizes 13 and a growing consumer preference for athleisure 14 The company canceled the circulation of their catalog in 2016 The brand struggled to maintain its market position following criticism and controversy over the unsavory behavior and business practices of corporate leadership under Wexner and Ed Razek 15 16 17 As of May 2020 update with over 1 070 stores Victoria s Secret remained the largest lingerie retailer in the United States 14 9 18 Contents 1 History 1 1 1977 1981 1 2 1982 1990 1 3 1991 2005 1 4 2006 2020 1 5 2021 present 2 Products 3 Operating divisions 3 1 Physical locations 3 1 1 International stores 3 1 1 1 Canada 3 1 1 2 United Kingdom 3 1 1 3 China 3 2 Victoria s Secret Direct 3 2 1 Catalog 1977 2016 3 2 2 E commerce 3 3 Victoria s Secret Beauty 3 3 1 Franchise locations worldwide VSBA 4 Corporate affairs 4 1 Ownership and name 4 2 Management structure 4 3 Manufacturing and environmental record 5 Marketing 5 1 Victoria s Secret Fashion Show 5 2 Victoria s Secret Angels 5 2 1 Pink spokesmodels 6 Criticisms and controversies 6 1 Harassment and abuse 6 1 1 Silencing of harassment complaints 6 1 2 Connections with Jeffrey Epstein 6 1 3 Racism and corporate apologies 6 2 Influence on socio cultural body image norms 6 3 Use of cultural stereotypes 6 4 Transgender models 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 External linksHistory edit1977 1981 edit Victoria s Secret was founded by Roy Raymond and his wife Gaye Raymond 2 6 7 on June 12 1977 19 8 The first store was opened in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto California 8 Years earlier Raymond was embarrassed when purchasing lingerie for his wife at a department store Newsweek reported Roy Raymond stating When I tried to buy lingerie for my wife I was faced with racks of terry cloth robes and ugly floral print nylon nightgowns and I always had the feeling the department store saleswomen thought I was an unwelcome intruder 20 Raymond reportedly spent the next eight years studying the lingerie market 21 2 At the time when the Raymonds founded Victoria s Secret the undergarments market in the U S was dominated by pragmatic items from Fruit of the Loom Hanes and Jockey often sold in packs of three at department stores while lingerie was reserved for special occasions such as one s honeymoon 22 Considered niche products lingerie items such as lacy thongs and padded push up bras were only found in specialty shops like Frederick s of Hollywood located alongside feathered boas and provocative pirate costumes 22 In 1977 Raymond borrowed 40 000 from family and 40 000 from a bank to establish Victoria s Secret a store in which men could feel comfortable buying lingerie 8 23 The store was named in reference to Queen Victoria and the associated refinement of the Victorian era while the secret was hidden underneath the clothes 23 Victoria s Secret grossed 500 000 in its first year of business 8 enough to finance the expansion from a headquarters and warehouse to four new store locations 24 and a mail order operation 8 The fourth store added in 1982 at 395 Sutter Street in San Francisco 25 operated at that location until 1990 when it was moved to the larger Powell Street frontage of the Westin St Francis 26 In April 1982 Raymond sent out his 12th catalog at a cost to customers of 3 equivalent to 9 1 in 2022 catalog sales accounted for 55 of the company s 7 million annual sales that year 25 Victoria s Secret was a minor player in the underwear market at this time with the business described as more burlesque than Main Street 27 1982 1990 edit In 1982 Victoria s Secret had grown to five stores a 40 page catalog and was grossing 6 million annually 8 Raymond sold the company to Les Wexner creator of Limited Stores Inc of Columbus Ohio for 1 million 8 28 In 1983 Wexner revamped Victoria s Secret s sales model towards a greater focus on female customers 29 Victoria s Secret transformed into a mainstay that sold broadly accepted underwear with new colors patterns and styles that promised sexiness packaged in a tasteful glamorous way and with the snob appeal of European luxury meant to appeal to female buyers 29 To further this image the Victoria s Secret catalog continued the practice that Raymond began 30 listing the company s headquarters on catalogs at a fake London address with the real headquarters in Columbus Ohio 29 The stores were redesigned to evoke 19th century England The New York Times reported in 1982 that the financial success of the Victoria s Secret catalog influenced other catalogs by presenting lingerie as romantic and sensual but tasteful in which models are photographed in ladylike poses against elegant backgrounds 25 Howard Gross became president in 1985 31 In October of that year the Los Angeles Times reported that Victoria s Secret was stealing market share from department stores 32 in 1986 Victoria s Secret was the only national chain devoted to lingerie 33 The New York Times reported that Victoria s Secret swiftly expanded to 100 stores by 1986 34 and described it in 1987 as a highly visible leader that used unabashedly sexy high fashion photography to sell middle priced underwear 35 In 1990 analysts estimated that sales had quadrupled in four years making it one of the fastest growing mail order businesses 36 Sales and profits from the catalog continued to expand due to the addition of clothing swimwear and shoes and wider circulation citation needed Cynthia Fedus Fields oversaw the company s direct business including its catalog from the mid 1980s until 2000 37 During her tenure total revenues increased to nearly 1 billion 37 In 1987 Victoria s Secret was reported to be among the bestselling catalogs 38 39 1991 2005 edit Victoria s Secret experienced quality problems with their product in the early 1990s and was working to resolve the issues 40 41 In 1991 Howard Gross was assigned to fix the L Brands subsidiary Limited Stores 42 In 1993 Business Week reported that both divisions suffered 40 Gross was succeeded by Grace Nichols who worked to improve the product quality 42 The company s margins tightened resulting in a slower growth of profits 40 Victoria s Secret expanded beyond apparel in the 1990s with the launch of their own line of fragrances in 1991 followed by their entrance into the billion dollar cosmetics market in 1998 43 Victoria s Secret introduced the Miracle Bra in 1993 selling two million within the first year 44 When faced with competition from Sara Lee s WonderBra a year later in 1994 the company responded with a TV campaign 44 At the same time in 1994 Wexner discussed the creation of a company fashion event with Ed Razek The first Victoria s Secret Fashion Show held in 1995 in New York became a mainstay for the company s image for the next 23 years By 1998 Victoria s Secret s market share of the intimate apparel market was 14 percent 45 11 and the company also entered the 3 5 billion cosmetic market 46 The following year in 1999 the company added the Body by Victoria line 47 The catalog had achieved an almost cult like following 48 In May 2000 Cynthia Fedus Fields stepped down as CEO after delivering record profits in 1999 and early 2000 citation needed Fedus Fields later stated that up until the point of her departure the company was guided by sensibilities of what a European woman would choose to wear 37 After her departure in 2000 the brand pursued an image that was much more blatantly sexy 37 In May 2000 Wexner installed Sharen Jester Turney previously of Neiman Marcus Direct as the new chief executive of Victoria s Secret Direct to turn around catalog sales that were lagging behind other divisions 49 Forbes reported Turney stating We need to quit focusing on all that cleavage 49 In 2000 Turney began to redefine Victoria s Secret catalog from breasts spilling over the tops of black purple and reptile print underthings to one that would appeal to an upscale customer who now feels more comfortable buying La Perla or Wolford lingerie 49 dimming the hooker looks such as tight jeans and stilettos and moving from a substitute for Playboy in some dorm rooms to something closer to a Vogue lifestyle layout where lingerie sleepwear clothes and cosmetics appear throughout the catalog 49 Beginning in 2000 Grace Nichols CEO of Victoria s Secret Direct led a similar change at Victoria s Secret s stores moving away from an evocation of 1800s England or a Victorian bordello 49 2006 2020 edit nbsp Victoria s Secret storefront in Columbus Ohio 2012By 2006 Victoria s Secret s 1 000 stores across the United States accounted for one third of all purchases in the intimate apparel industry 50 In May 2006 Wexner promoted Turney from the Victoria s Secret catalog and online units to lead the whole company 27 In 2008 she acknowledged product quality that doesn t equal the brand s hype 51 In September 2006 Victoria s Secret reportedly tried to make their catalog feel more like magazines by head hunting writers from Women s Wear Daily 52 The company had about a third of the market share in its category in 2013 11 In February 2016 Turney stepped down as CEO of Victoria s Secret after being in the business for a decade 53 54 55 Victoria s Secret was split into three divisions Victoria s Secret Lingerie Victoria s Secret Beauty and Pink each with a separate CEO 56 In 2016 direct sales only grew 1 6 and fell by 7 4 in the last quarter of the year typically a high revenue period due to the holidays The company discontinued its use of a print catalog and dropped certain categories of clothing such as swimwear 57 Sales revenue continued to stagnate and drop in early 2017 58 In late 2018 CEO Jan Singer resigned amid declining sales 59 The Wall Street Journal reported that only one quarter showed an increase in same store sales between 2016 and 2018 60 Singer s announcement came one week after CMO Ed Razek made a controversial comment that the company does not cast transgender or plus size models in its annual fashion show because the show is a fantasy 61 After a 40 stock plunge in a single year Victoria s Secret announced the closure of 53 stores in the U S in 2019 as well as the relaunch of its swimwear line 62 L Brands the parent company of Victoria s Secret came under public pressure in 2019 from an activist shareholder of Barington Capital Group L P who took issue with the performance of Razek and urged the company to update its brand image and switch up its predominantly male board of directors 63 In August 2019 chief marketing officer Ed Razek resigned following a disastrous Vogue interview in which he made inflammatory statements about transgender models 64 Also in 2019 executive vice president April Holy stepped down after 16 years 65 66 In November 2019 Victoria s Secret announced it would no longer hold the annual fashion show featuring its angels indicating a major change in marketing strategy 67 External video nbsp How Victoria s Secret revolutionized lingerie then fell behind CNBC 2019 10 54In January 2020 L Brands chairman and CEO Lex Wexner was in talks to step down 68 Reports of widespread bullying and harassment at Victoria s Secret surfaced in February 2020 16 69 On February 1 2020 The New York Times published an expose on the culture of misogyny at Victoria s Secret which painted a picture of long time influential executive Ed Razek s rampant sexual misconduct 16 The company announced a sale in February 2020 to private equity firm Sycamore Partners for 525 million with L Brands retaining a 45 minority stake 70 71 On April 22 2020 The Wall Street Journal reported that Sycamore Partners wanted out of the deal which included exceptions for a pandemic 72 73 The deal ultimately fell through Wexner stepped down but maintains a role as chairman emeritus In June 2020 a shareholder filed a lawsuit against the company for inaction following reports of harassment discrimination and retaliation at Victoria s Secret 74 Shareholders of parent company L Brands filed a complaint in the Court of Chancery of Delaware on January 14 2021 stating that former chair Wexner among others created an entrenched culture of misogyny bullying and harassment and was aware of abuses being committed by accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein which breached his fiduciary duty to the company causing devaluation of the brand The complaint also names Wexner s wife Abigail current chair Sarah E Nash and former marketing officer Ed Razek whose widely known misconduct was long allowed at the company 75 2021 present edit nbsp VS amp Co logo after split from L BrandsIn 2021 after the resignation of Razek as well as the sale of the company by Wexner Victoria s Secret s new ownership and management implemented policy changes and new partnerships with a number of new spokeswomen including Megan Rapinoe Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Naomi Osaka 76 77 Wexner s parent company L Brands spun Victoria s Secret off to become an independent business trading on the NYSE as VSCO on August 3 2021 78 Following this brand positioning Victoria s Secret reported sales increase in all three completed quarters of 2021 79 80 Martin Waters was named CEO in 2021 replacing Stuart Burgdorfer who had served as interim CEO 81 In July 2022 Victoria s Secret named Amy Hauk chief executive of both the Victoria s Secret and Pink brands 82 In November 2022 it was announced Victoria s Secret has acquired the New York headquartered lingerie brand Adore Me for US 400 million 83 In October 2023 several media outlets reported about Victoria s Secret planning on reverting their rebranding and going back to their marketing strategy before The decision was made after initial sales increase of the rebranding turned into plunging sales 84 85 Products edit nbsp Victoria s Secret lingerie store display in Seattle in 2008In addition to the primary brand of lingerie for Victoria s Secret the company has secondary product lines namely activewear known as Victoria sports swimwear and a beauty division with fragrances make up accessories and other bath and body products The swimwear introduced in 2002 86 was made available until April 2016 when the company announced that the line would end and be replaced by a new line of activewear 87 The swim line was relaunched in November 2018 88 In March 2019 the swim line was made available in shops 62 In 2010 Victoria s Secret launched the Incredible bra 89 The company released the Victoria s Secret Designer Collection in 2012 described by Vogue as the company s first high end lingerie line 90 In 2016 Victoria s Secret confined the elimination of swimwear apparel shoes and accessories 91 In 2017 the company began to put more emphasis on bralettes bras without underwire often intended to be worn visibly and sports bras under the Victoria Sport label to appeal to a younger customer base 92 In 2019 Victoria s Secret relaunched its product line of eyewear and footwear in hopes of boosting struggling sales for the brand 62 In October 2021 Pink launched a line of reusable period panties 93 94 In 2022 Victoria s Secret amp Co announced they would no longer use cashmere in their product lines 95 Operating divisions edit nbsp Victoria s Secret store New YorkThe Victoria s Secret brand is organized into three divisions Victoria s Secret Stores physical locations Victoria s Secret Direct online and catalog operations and Victoria s Secret Beauty bath and cosmetics 9 The change was made in 2016 by Wexner to refocus on core business and it required each division to have its own CEO 9 91 Physical locations edit The physical store locations were an important part of establishing the brand and remained concentrated in the United States from 1977 until the early 2000s Victoria s Secret stores took over the lingerie market during the 1980s by using a fabricated sense of Britain featuring this romantic styling and soft classical music 45 96 In the early years Wexner himself was involved in carefully orchestrating store interior design through the use of English floral wallpaper circa 1890 gilded fixtures classical music soft lighting the scent of old fashioned sachet and elegant perfume bottles that look like your grandmother s crystal 97 nbsp August 2011 map of store locations in the United StatesDuring the 1990s in store sales at Victoria s Secret increased by 30 after the company tracked and applied data analysis of where specific styles sizes and colors were selling 98 The decade also brought an expansion of store size to triple from 1 400 square feet 130 m2 to an average 4 500 square feet 420 m2 99 The trend continued into 2002 when the average Victoria s Secret store was 6 000 square feet 560 m2 100 101 In 2000 the Los Angeles Times reported that the company continued the practice of putting on a British air or what the Ohio based chain thinks Americans believe is British Boudoirish Tony Upscale 102 By 2010 there were 1 000 Victoria s Secret lingerie stores and 100 independent Victoria s Secret Beauty Stores in the United States mostly in shopping centers then offering bras panties hosiery cosmetics and sleepwear 103 International stores edit The international expansion of Victoria s Secret stores began in 2008 12 As of 2016 update L Brands maintained control of operations at company owned stores in Canada the UK and China but relied on franchises elsewhere in the world for its Victoria s Secret Beauty amp Accessory VSBA locations 12 104 Canada edit The drive for growth coupled with a maturing American retail market led to a shift towards expansion first into Canada 103 105 In 2010 the first Canadian store opened in Edmonton Alberta In 2012 Victoria s Secret opened stores in Nova Scotia and Quebec 106 Several of the company s stores in Canada are considered large by retail standards and span more than 10 000 square feet 930 m2 each As of 2020 update the company s Canadian locations included cities in all ten provinces from British Columbia all the way to the Maritimes However the company announced in May 2020 plans to permanently shutter 13 of its 38 Canadian stores representing a loss of one third of the Canadian fleet 107 United Kingdom edit Victoria s Secret opened a store at the Westfield Shopping Centre Stratford London in July 2012 108 Their flagship 40 386 square foot 3 752 0 m2 store on New Bond Street London followed in August 2012 109 Locations in the United Kingdom include the cities of Leeds Manchester Sheffield Birmingham Bristol Westfield London Bluewater Brent Cross and Glasgow citation needed As of June 2020 update there were 25 stores in the United Kingdom 110 That same month Retail Dive reported that as the brand s UK arm filed the equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it struggled with falling sales profits and market share 111 China edit In 2016 it was reported that L Brands fully purchased 26 stores back from its franchise partners in China 104 The company announced plans to expand on the existing 26 Victoria s Secret Beauty amp Accessory VSBA stores boutiques which sold beauty products in airports or malls through the addition of flagship stores in Shanghai and Beijing 104 Reuters reported that as of June 2020 update Victoria s Secret had two dozen stores in Greater China 112 That same month the company permanently closed its 50 000 square feet 4 600 m2 flagship store in Causeway Bay Hong Kong after only two years of operation 113 114 On January 25 2022 Victoria s Secret announced a Joint venture partnership agreement with Regina Miracle International Holdings Limited Under the terms of the agreement Victoria s Secret will own 51 of the joint venture and Regina Miracle will own 49 CEO Martin Waters commented I am delighted to announce this partnership with Regina Miracle who has been a valued merchandise supplier partner for more than twenty years Together with Regina Miracle we aim to grow the China business through joint investment in product development distribution and marketing We expect the partnership will positively impact the speed and agility of the business to benefit consumers and provide us with a platform for a strong future in this important market 115 Victoria s Secret Direct edit Catalog 1977 2016 edit Prior to the emergence of e commerce the company s catalogs were a key aspect of successfully marketing a product considered risque to consumers in the privacy of their own homes According to Joseph Sugarman the 1979 catalog was a lot more sensuous and took the form of an upmarket version of a Frederick s of Hollywood lingerie catalog 116 The New York Times reported that the success of Victoria s Secret catalogs influenced others to present lingerie as romantic and sensual but tasteful with models photographed in elegant settings The company was known for accepting phone orders at any hour which helped it establish dominance of the lingerie market The Los Angeles Times described the catalog in 2000 as having achieved an almost cult like following citation needed The company was mailing more than 400 million catalogs annually in 2010 117 In May 2016 the brand decided to discontinue the catalog which had run at a cost of 125 million to 150 million annually due to concern that catalogs had grown stale as a marketing device and confidence that sales would not be affected 118 E commerce edit Victoria s Secret spent three years building an e commerce website that was officially launched on December 4 1998 Following heavy promotion of the 1999 fashion show the website experienced high traffic volumes with visitors enduring slowdowns and bottlenecks while viewing the first online fashion show on February 3 1999 the largest online streaming event to date reaching an estimated 1 5 million viewers 119 120 Ad placement in the Wall Street Journal and a 30 minute TV spot during the Super Bowl contributed to drive record numbers of visitors to the website 119 Victoria s Secret Beauty edit In 1998 Intimate Brands Inc the parent company of Victoria s Secret created a new entity Intimate Beauty Corporation 121 The goal for Intimate Beauty Corporation was to manage and develop the bath fragrance and cosmetic products for Victoria s Secret 121 By 2006 the Victoria s Secret Beauty division had reported sales of nearly US 1 billion 122 The company sought to expand its beauty and accessories stores at airports around the world in the early 2010s 123 Franchise locations worldwide VSBA edit Victoria s Secret Beauty opened a provisional UK boutique at Heathrow Airport in 2005 through partnership with World Duty Free 124 In 2010 Victoria s Secret expanded with Victoria s Secret Beauty amp Accessory VSBA franchises internationally That year M H Alshaya Co opened the first Victoria s Secret store in the Marina Mall in Kuwait selling cosmetics and accessories but not the company s lingerie line 125 Two VSBA stores were opened in the early 2010s at Schiphol International Airport Netherlands 126 127 That same year the first Latin American franchise store opened in Isla Margarita Venezuela followed by a store in Bogota Colombia in July 2012 128 An additional store opened in the Multiplaza Mall in San Salvador El Salvador in 2012 129 A Caribbean location opened in November 2011 at Plaza Las Americas in San Juan Puerto Rico 130 followed by a store in Santo Domingo Dominican Republic at the Agora 131 and Sambil Santo Domingo 132 malls in 2012 In July 2012 the first Polish store opened at the Zlote Tarasy shopping mall in Warsaw also operated by M H Alshaya Co 133 A Serbian store opened in January 2014 at the Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade 134 As of 2016 update L Brands had more than 370 VSBA franchise shops worldwide with the company s largest international market reportedly in Turkey and the Middle East 104 Corporate affairs editOwnership and name edit The company s business name changed from Victoria s Secret Inc to Victoria s Secret Stores Inc after the 1982 sale to Wexner In 2005 the name was revised to Victoria s Secret Stores LLC citation needed Victoria s Secret was originally owned by The Limited 135 Victoria s Secret s parent company was Intimate Brands a separately traded entity with Ed Razek as president 27 136 In 2002 Intimate Brands was combined with the Limited then renamed Limited Brands 137 By 2006 the majority of the revenue for Limited Brands came from Victoria s Secret and Bath amp Body Works 138 In July 2007 Limited Brands sold a 75 interest in Limited Stores and Express to Sun Capital Partners in order to focus on expanding their Victoria s Secret and Bath amp Body Works units 139 The sale resulted in Limited Brands taking a 42 million after tax loss 138 In 2013 parent company Limited Brands officially changed its name to L Brands 140 Victoria s Secret recorded peak worldwide net sales in 2016 of 7 78 billion 141 In 2019 worldwide net sales had receded to 6 81 billion 141 Management structure edit At Victoria s Secret Stores Howard Gross was promoted to president of the division in 1985 31 Grace Nichols succeeded Gross and led the division from 1991 through 2007 142 143 Victoria s Secret Stores was helmed by Lori Greely from 2007 until 2013 144 Cynthia Fedus Fields served as president and CEO and oversaw the Victoria s Secret Direct business including its catalog from the mid 1980s until 2000 37 She was succeeded in May 2000 by Sharen Jester Turney as chief executive of the division 49 Turney stepped down in 2016 and was succeeded by Jan Singer as CEO of Victoria s Secret Direct from 2016 to 2018 145 John Mehas was appointed CEO starting in 2019 146 He was replaced by Martin Waters in November 2020 147 Hired by L Brands in 1998 Robin Burns was CEO of Victoria s Secret Beauty until 2004 148 Burns was succeeded in August 2004 by duo Jill Granoff COO and Sherry Baker president 149 In May 2006 Christine Beauchamp was named president and CEO of Victoria s Secret Beauty Shashi Batra was appointed president of the division in 2009 150 In November 2012 Susie Coulter became president of Victoria s Secret Beauty 151 Greg Unis was hired to serve as CEO of the beauty division in 2016 152 Manufacturing and environmental record edit In 2006 the Financial Times reported that Victoria s Secret paid factory workers 7 per day to make bras in Thailand 153 The Huffington Post stated in 2011 that working conditions in factories producing Victoria s Secret items in Jordan were comparable to slave labor as a result of the Jordan United States Free Trade Agreement which retreated from standards established in the 1990s 154 In 2012 Victoria s Secret was manufacturing bras in the South Indian city of Guduvanchery 155 156 In 2021 Victoria s Secret fronted the money to more than 1 250 Thai garment workers who were owed 8 3 million when their factory Brilliant Alliance closed after declaring bankruptcy 157 After years of pressure from environmentalists Victoria s Secret and a conservation group reached an agreement to make the catalog more environmentally friendly in 2006 158 159 Catalog wood pulp was required to contain 10 percent recycled paper and avoid source forests with woodland caribou habitats in Canada unless certified by the Forest Stewardship Council 160 The company bought organic and fair trade grown cotton to make some of its panties in 2012 161 Marketing edit nbsp Victoria s Secret visual merchandising with Angel wing display Las Vegas Nevada store 2006The mail order catalog was the primary form of marketing used by the company in the 1970s Early catalogs featured lingerie clad models holding violins and glasses of sherry 162 Catalog marketing shifted towards female models accompanied by men for several years in the 1980s a practice that was eventually abandoned by 1991 162 In the early 1980s Victoria s Secret used FCB Leber Katz Partners for the development of their brand marketing and advertising 163 In 1989 FCB Leber Katz Partners and Victoria s Secret executed a national advertising campaign with a ten page glossy insert in the November issue of Elle Vogue Vanity Fair Victoria House Beautiful Bon Appetit New Woman and People magazines 99 Victoria s Secret used the insert to announce their expansion into the toiletries and fragrance business 99 Prior to the insert the company s growth had been driven by their catalog sporadic ads in fashion publications and word of mouth 99 Ed Razek joined in house branding operations at the Limited in the 1980s and increasingly began to shape the marketing and branding at Victoria s Secret 149 However Razek credited Wexner as the creative force behind much of the marketing 149 The company gained notoriety in the early 1990s after it began to hire supermodels for its advertising and fashion shows 164 Well known models hired in the early 1990s included Stephanie Seymour Karen Mulder Yasmeen Ghauri and Jill Goodacre 165 166 The models helped the brand gain an audience and were soon featured in televised commercials The Victoria s Secret Fashion Show was a major marketing tool used by L Brands from 1995 to 2018 167 9 The show was a mix of beautiful models scantily clad in lingerie and A list entertainers that over time became less about fashion and more about show 167 The 2000 fashion show in France was produced with the help of Harvey Weinstein 149 In 1999 a 30 second Super Bowl advertisement resulted in one million visits to the company s website within an hour of airing 168 Victoria s Secret sued a strip mall store in Elizabethtown Kentucky called Victor s Little Secret over the issue of trademark dilution 169 On March 4 2003 the U S Supreme Court ruled against Victoria s Secret in Moseley v V Secret Catalogue Inc on the grounds that there was insufficient proof of actual harm to the trademark 169 In 2004 Victoria s Secret presented an uncharacteristic advertisement with Bob Dylan as an alternative means of promoting the brand 170 171 172 Razek then chief creative officer credited Wexner himself with the idea to cast Dylan in a commercial 171 The ad proved to be memorable but more out of a tendency to unsettle and baffle viewers familiar with Dylan 170 171 172 Victoria s Secret TV commercials directed by Michael Bay were released in 2010 and 2012 with mixed results regarded by critics as macho and misguided 173 174 16 In 2014 the company created a campaign to market its Body bra line called The Perfect Body that elicited substantial controversy for supporting only a limited and unhealthy body type 175 Victoria s Secret announced the appointment of Raul Martinez as head creative director in December 2020 176 Martinez formerly of Conde Nast took on the role following the departure of chief executive John Mehas who stepped down in November 2020 176 Victoria s Secret Fashion Show edit Main article Victoria s Secret Fashion Show nbsp Kelly Gale at the Victoria s Secret Fashion Show 2014The first Victoria s Secret Fashion Show was held in 1995 and was broadcast on primetime American television 177 The fashion show overseen by Ed Razek was described by Newsweek as a combination of self assured strutting for women and voyeuristic pleasures for men that made lingerie mainstream entertainment 178 Ken Weil vice president at Victoria s Secret and Tim Plzak responsible for IT at Victoria s Secret s parent company Intimate Brands led Victoria s Secret s first ever online streaming of their fashion show in 1999 136 The 18 minutes webcast streamed February 2 1999 was at the time the Internet s biggest event since inception 136 The 1999 webcast was reported as a failure by a number of newspapers on account of some user s inability to watch the show featuring Tyra Banks Heidi Klum and Stephanie Seymour 179 as a result of Victoria s Secret s technology falling short being able to meet the online user demand resulting in network congestion and users who could see the webcast receiving jerky frames 136 In all the company s website saw over 1 5 million visits a number significantly higher than the 250 000 and 500 000 simultaneous viewers that Broadcast com the website hosting the show was able to handle 180 In total 1 5 million viewers either attempted or viewed the webcast 181 The 1999 webcast served to create a database for Victoria s Secret of over 500 000 current and potential customers by requiring users to submit their contact details to view the webcast 136 The next spring Victoria s Secret avoided technical issues by partnering with Broadcast com America Online and Microsoft 136 By 2011 the budget for the fashion show was 12 million up from the first show s budget of 120 000 182 In November 2019 Victoria s Secret canceled its runway show In July 2021 the company said there are plans to relaunch the show but without the Victoria s Secret Angels 183 Victoria s Secret Angels edit Main article List of Victoria s Secret models The company s Angels underwear collection was marketed in 1997 by a TV commercial that included supermodels Helena Christensen Karen Mulder Daniela Pestova Stephanie Seymour and Tyra Banks In the commercial the Angels appear in a white cloudscape in dialog with God played by Welsh singer Tom Jones widely known for his fans tradition of tossing their panties at him during shows 184 The spoof proved popular and the Angels as characters became a regular feature of the advertising as brand ambassadors The term Angel soon became synonymous with the brand Official Angels have greater responsibilities than other runway models for the brand as the Angels are obliged to appear in marketing campaigns talk shows major runway shows and the annual fashion show 185 The Angels are contracted spokesmodels for the brand but the company is not transparent about the terms of these contracts 185 In 1998 the Angels made their runway debut at Victoria s Secret s 4th annual fashion show Chandra North filled in for Christensen 186 187 The brand s Fashion Show and the Angels were closely connected through 2018 the final year that event was held Some of the early Victoria s Secret Angels included Ines Rivero and Laetitia Casta 188 In 2004 the company did not hold a fashion show due fallout from the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy and instead alternately marketed the brand via a tour called Angels Across America 189 Victoria s Secret sent its five contract models Banks Klum Bundchen Lima and Ambrosio out for the event Victoria s Secret s Angels continued to be featured in popular culture and were chosen to be part of People magazine s annual 100 Most Beautiful People in the World in 2007 190 The Angels became the first trademark awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on November 13 2007 with Klum Lima Ambrosio Kurkova Goulart Ebanks Marisa Miller and Miranda Kerr at hand 191 Alongside new Angel Doutzen Kroes they also took part in the grand reopening of the Fontainebleau in Miami in 2008 192 In 2009 the brand held a nationwide competition for a new Runway Angel 193 Thousands of contestants applied Kylie Bisutti prevailed as the winner but soon grew disillusioned and parted ways with the brand 194 Ellingson Kroes and Kloss departed after the 2014 fashion show 195 196 Several promotional tours featuring the Angels have been organized by the brand These included the 2010 Bombshell tour 197 the 2012 VSX tour 198 and the 2013 Swim tour 199 200 In 2015 Angels featured on the brand s first Swim Special were Elsa Hosk Martha Hunt Jac Jagaciak Stella Maxwell Lais Ribeiro and Jasmine Tookes along with model Joan Smalls 201 202 In 2019 new Angels Leomie Anderson Grace Elizabeth Alexina Graham and Barbara Palvin were added to the roster Palvin made her fashion show debut with Victoria s Secret in 2012 not appearing again until 2018 while Graham the first redheaded Angel walked in both 2017 and 2018 203 204 Anderson began walking in 2015 while Elizabeth a PINK spokesmodel 2016 2019 walked her first Victoria s Secret show in 2016 205 206 The Victoria s Secret brand has had at least 3 dozen official Angels as of 2020 update 207 a Other notable spokesmodels for the brand have included Claudia Schiffer 208 Eva Herzigova 186 Oluchi Onweagba Jessica Stam Ana Beatriz Barros 209 and Bregje Heinen 210 as well as celebrities such as Taylor Momsen 211 In 2021 the Angels were discontinued in favor of a new concept known as the VS Collective which features a more diverse array of models and influencers as spokespeople such as photographer Amanda de Cadenet Adut Akech actress and Miss World 2000 Priyanka Chopra Paloma Elsesser soccer player Megan Rapinoe and Valentina Sampaio the first openly transgender model to be featured on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 212 Nationality Name Contract b First hiring Runway shows 213 nbsp United States Stephanie Seymour 1997 2000 187 1992 1995 2000 nbsp Denmark Helena Christensen 1997 1998 187 186 1996 214 1996 1997 nbsp Netherlands Karen Mulder 1997 2000 187 1992 215 1996 2000 nbsp Czech Republic Daniela Pestova 1997 2003 187 1996 216 1998 2001 nbsp United States Tyra Banks 1997 2005 187 217 1996 1996 20032005Chandra North 1998 187 c 1998 1997 1998 nbsp Argentina Ines Rivero 1998 1999 187 1998 1998 2001 nbsp France Laetitia Casta 1998 2000 187 1997 1997 2000 nbsp Germany Heidi Klum 1999 2010 citation needed 1997 citation needed 1997 200320052007 2009 host only in 2006 nbsp Brazil Gisele Bundchen 2000 2007 187 1999 1999 20032005 2006Adriana Lima 2000 2018 187 1999 218 1999 20032005 20082010 2018Alessandra Ambrosio 2004 2017 219 220 2000 2000 20032005 2017 nbsp Czech Republic Karolina Kurkova 2005 2008 187 221 2000 2000 20082010 nbsp Cayman Islands Selita Ebanks 2005 2009 187 2004 2005 2010 nbsp Brazil Izabel Goulart 2005 2008 187 2004 2005 2016 nbsp United States Marisa Miller 2007 2010 187 2002 222 2007 2009 nbsp Australia Miranda Kerr 2007 2013 187 223 2005 2006 20092011 2012 nbsp Netherlands Doutzen Kroes 2008 2014 224 225 226 2004 2005 20062008 20092011 2014 nbsp Namibia Behati Prinsloo 2009 2019 227 2007 2007 20152018 nbsp United Kingdom Rosie Huntington Whiteley 2010 2011 187 2005 228 2006 2010 nbsp South Africa Candice Swanepoel 2010 2018 2007 2007 20152017 2018 nbsp United States Chanel Iman 2010 2012 187 2008 229 2009 2011Erin Heatherton 2010 2013 187 2008 2008 2013Lily Aldridge 2010 2018 230 231 2008 2009 2017Lindsay Ellingson 2011 2014 187 2006 2007 2014Karlie Kloss 2013 2015 232 233 2011 2011 20142017 nbsp Russia Kate Grigorieva 2015 2016 202 234 2014 2014 2016 nbsp United States Taylor Hill 2015 2021 202 235 2014 2014 2018 nbsp Sweden Elsa Hosk 2015 2020 235 202 2011 2011 2018 nbsp United States Martha Hunt 2015 2020 201 202 2012 2013 2018 nbsp Poland Jac Jagaciak 2015 2016 201 202 234 2013 2013 2015 nbsp New Zealand Stella Maxwell 2015 2021 235 202 2014 2014 2018 nbsp Brazil Lais Ribeiro 2015 2021 235 202 2010 2010 20112013 2018 nbsp Portugal Sara Sampaio 2015 2021 235 202 2012 2013 2018 nbsp Netherlands Romee Strijd 2015 2021 235 202 2014 2014 2018 nbsp United States Jasmine Tookes 2015 2021 235 202 2012 2012 2018 nbsp Denmark Josephine Skriver 2016 2021 236 235 2013 2013 2018 nbsp Hungary Barbara Palvin 2019 2021 204 235 2011 20122018 nbsp United Kingdom Alexina Graham 2019 2021 203 235 2017 2017 2018Leomie Anderson 2019 2021 205 235 2015 2015 2018 nbsp United States Grace Elizabeth 2019 2021 206 235 2016 2016 2018Pink spokesmodels edit Main article Pink Victoria s Secret Nationality Name Contract nbsp Brazil Alessandra Ambrosio 2004 2005 237 nbsp Australia Miranda Kerr 2006 2007 238 nbsp Namibia Behati Prinsloo 2008 2011 239 240 nbsp Sweden Elsa Hosk 2011 2014 241 nbsp United States Rachel Hilbert 2015 2016 242 nbsp United States Zuri Tibby 2016 2019 243 nbsp United States Grace Elizabeth 2016 2019 244 Criticisms and controversies editHarassment and abuse edit In 2019 nonprofit advocacy group Model Alliance and several other publications reported on initiatives underway in California New York and the United States aiming to protect models from harassment and sexual abuse 245 246 16 247 Silencing of harassment complaints edit After Razek left Victoria s Secret in 2019 Monica Mitro a high ranking executive at the company reported she had been repeatedly verbally abused by Razek during his time there Mitro was executive vice president of public relations for the brand and was heavily involved in the production of its annual fashion show having been one of the public faces of the brand The day after Mitro made her allegations she showed up to work to find she had been locked out of the building and placed on administrative leave Though the brand claimed this decision was made prior to Mitro lodging her complaint many believed this was a retaliatory action by the company and in late 2019 Mitro indicated she was pursuing legal action against her dismissal It was reported in 2020 that she had settled with the brand for an undisclosed sum 248 Connections with Jeffrey Epstein edit Les Wexner who founded the Victoria s Secret along with Bath amp Body Works Inc was reportedly having direct ties with Jeffrey Epstein an American sex offender and a pedophile which he met sometime around 1986 citation needed Wexner was also reported giving Epstein attorney powers and have been reportedly shacked up in his Wexner Xanadu which is a property of Les Wexner located in Ohio Wexner also reportedly given Epstein his money an Upper East Side townhouse which later sold for 51 million 249 and a Boeing 727 owned by L Brands 250 Racism and corporate apologies edit The company has faced a number of major complaints of racism profiling and discrimination 16 by both managers and employees with several recurring issues being raised by former employees the federal government state governments and customers in the United States 251 252 Each time Victoria s Secret management or a corporate spokesperson has issued an apology and disavowed the discriminatory actions of any individual employee 253 Victoria s Secret has changed some employment practices and settled some of the cases including a 12 million settlement in California and New York reached in 2017 254 and a 179 300 settlement with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 255 Influence on socio cultural body image norms edit In the 2008 academic research article Victoria s Dirty Secret How Sociocultural Norms Influence Adolescent Girls and Women authors from Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo 256 stated Women s body dissatisfaction is influenced by socio cultural norms for ideal appearance that are pervasive in society and particularly directed at women cautioning that the marketing practices of Victoria s Secret delivered through TV commercials ads and magazines send a message to girls and women that their models are a realistic standard of beauty concluding that Exposure to societal messages that reflect the socio cultural norm for ideal appearance has a negative effect on women 256 Use of cultural stereotypes edit During the 2010 Victoria s Secret Fashion Show the segment Wild Things caused controversy due to the tribal style outfits on display The most notable of these was worn by Afro Brazilian model Emanuela De Paula who alongside a group of dancers was painted with black lines meant to depict tribal body art This outfit received backlash from the media not only for appropriating African culture but for the racist connotations associated with dressing a woman of color in animal print lingerie and body art and branding her a Wild Thing No apology was released by the brand 257 In 2012 the company drew criticism for a lingerie collection offer for sale on their website that was titled Go East with a tagline that pledged to women the capacity to indulge in touches of eastern delight with lingerie inspired by the exquisite beauty of secret Japanese gardens 258 259 The collection included a Sexy Little Geisha outfit that was pulled by the company after critics described the items as stereotypical images that use racist transgression to create an exotic edge 260 The Wall Street Journal confirmed that the geisha outfit was accessorized with a miniature fan and a kimono esque obi sash and the Asian themed collection that traded in sexualized generic pan Asian ethnic stereotypes was removed by the company 261 262 At the 2012 Victoria s Secret Fashion Show an outfit in the Calendar Girls segment caused controversy The outfit worn by Karlie Kloss was meant to represent November and the American holiday of Thanksgiving but featured a Native American headdress alongside an animal print bikini This caused outrage among members of the Native American community who stated that the headdress depicted had deep cultural significance and was only worn by certain notable war chiefs and warriors After media backlash over the offensiveness of the outfit and the uncomfortable position that the brand put Kloss in the outfit was cut from the show s final broadcast Kloss apologized for the incident via Twitter and the brand later made a statement of apology 263 At the 2016 Victoria s Secret Fashion Show the brand was accused of cultural appropriation during the segment entitled The Road Ahead which drew inspiration from both Chinese and Mexican culture Kendall Jenner s flame tail wings Elsa Hosk s dragon costume and Adriana Lima s embroidered thigh high boots caused an uproar as some media and fans believed it was inappropriate for women of other descents to wear items important to Chinese culture Victoria s Secret claimed it included this segment in the 2016 show because of their recent expansion into the Chinese market and believed a segment featuring Chinese garments as well as Liu Wen and Ming Xi two popular Chinese models would be a good way to appeal to their new Chinese customer base No apology or statement was released from the brand 264 In the 2017 Victoria s Secret Fashion Show the brand faced further controversy and allegations of cultural appropriation The criticism was directed at fashions in the Nomadic Adventures segment that appropriated Native American and Indigenous African cultures 265 Nylon magazine suggested that the company had learned nothing from previous similar incidents 266 Transgender models edit In a November 2018 interview with Vogue Victoria s Secret president Ed Razek stated when discussing diversity in the Victoria s Secret Fashion Show Shouldn t you have transsexuals in the show No No I don t think we should Well why not Because the show is a fantasy It s a 42 minute entertainment special That s what it is 267 These comments received immediate backlash from many in the modeling community including transgender model Carmen Carrera Kendall Jenner then Angel Lily Aldridge and former Angel Karlie Kloss 268 Razek later issued an apology stating My remark regarding the inclusion of transgender models in the Victoria s Secret Fashion Show came across as insensitive I apologize To be clear we would absolutely cast a transgender model for the show 268 In August 2019 the brand cast its first openly transgender Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio who was hired to work for PINK 269 That same month Razek stepped down 270 In 2022 the brand hired Emira D Spain as their first Black transgender model 271 In 2023 the brand hired Alex Consani to be a part of the Victoria Secret rebrand in the 2023 fashion show 272 See also edit nbsp Companies portal nbsp Fashion portal nbsp Ohio portalList of Victoria s Secret models Victoria s Secret Swim SpecialNotes edit There have been various instances where the fashion show credits included models who were not Angels but were prominently featured by the brand such as Candice Swanepoel Lindsay Ellingson Rosie Huntington Whiteley Erin Heatherton and Behati Prinsloo in 2009 Lais Ribeiro in 2011 PINK model Elsa Hosk in 2013 and Hosk Ribeiro Jasmine Tookes Martha Hunt and Stella Maxwell in 2014 All of them later went on to become Angels Most Angels started working with the 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s Secret Names Josephine Skriver an Angel Vogue Conde Nast Archived from the original on December 3 2016 Retrieved February 19 2016 Victoria s Secret Targets College Women NBC News July 29 2004 Retrieved November 11 2011 Miranda Kerr Launches Victoria s Secret New Pink Bdy Organic and Natural Body Care Collection Zimbio com March 10 2009 Archived from the original on October 6 2012 Barnett Leisa May 27 2008 Victoria s Pick Vogue UK Conde Nast Retrieved November 3 2012 Kaunitz Kate March 15 2010 Behati Prinsloo Opens PINK Fashionista Retrieved October 18 2012 Lewis Casey November 3 2012 Supermodel Elsa Hosk on Her Favorite Sports Style Essentials and Advice For Breaking Into The Business Teen Vogue United States Conde Nast Rachel Hilbert Is the New Face of Victoria s Secret Pink See the Pics United States E Online June 10 2015 Scharf Lindzi August 24 2016 Victoria s Secret s Newest Model Zuri Tibby Was Discovered at a Mall United States Yahoo Style Rutherford Chrissy April 10 2019 Exclusive Grace Elizabeth Is Now a Victoria s Secret Angel Harper s BAZAAR Retrieved June 20 2020 2019 Model Alliance Press Model Alliance 2019 Retrieved November 27 2019 Feitelberg Rosemary October 2 2018 California Lawmakers Pass Talent Protections Act to Help Models and Entertainers Fight Sexual Harassment and Eating Disorders Women s Wear Daily Archived from the original on February 23 2019 Retrieved November 27 2019 Stewart James B February 3 2020 A Top L Brands Executive Complained of Harassment Then She Was Locked Out The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved June 9 2020 Stewart James B February 3 2020 A Top L Brands Executive Complained of Harassment Then She Was Locked Out The New York Times Retrieved May 13 2020 Jeffrey Epstein s Upper East Side Townhouse Has Sold for 51 Million Town amp Country March 17 2021 Retrieved February 14 2023 McCreesh Shawn June 29 2022 How Leslie Wexner Helped Create Jeffrey Epstein Intelligencer Retrieved February 14 2023 EEOC Sues Retailer Victoria s Secret Los Angeles Times August 14 2002 Retrieved June 8 2020 VICTORIA S SECRET SUED BY EEOC FOR RACIAL RELIGIOUS BIAS Chapman Bridget June 7 2018 Woman says she was racially profiled at Victoria s Secret in Collierville WREG News Memphis Bell June July 14 2017 Victoria s Secret to Pay 12 Million to California On Call Workers SHRM Archived from the original on August 5 2020 Retrieved June 7 2020 Dreiband Eric 2003 Office of General Counsel Fiscal Year 2003 Annual Report EEOC gov Archived from the original on January 22 2019 Retrieved March 5 2020 In EEOC v Victoria s Secret Stores Inc the EEOC alleged that defendant subjected charging party to a hostile working environment because of her race and religion Baptist and failed to accommodate her need to attend religious services As a result of the hostile working environment charging party quit her job The case was resolved through a consent decree which provides for payment of 179 300 to charging party a b Strahan E J Lafrance A Wilson A E Ethier N Spencer S J Zanna M P 2008 Victoria s dirty secret How sociocultural norms influence adolescent girls and women Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 34 2 288 301 doi 10 1177 0146167207310457 PMID 18212336 S2CID 1457893 Matera Avery November 7 2018 5 Times Victoria s Secret Was Accused of Cultural Appropriation Teen Vogue Alexander Ella August 2 2012 Angels Are Go Vogue Conde Nast Retrieved December 16 2012 Victoria s Secret Sexy Little Geisha Outfit Sparks Backlash The Huffington Post September 24 2012 Retrieved October 29 2012 Sauers Jenna September 26 2012 And Here We Have a Sexy Little Geisha Outfit From Victoria s Secret Jezebel Retrieved October 29 2012 Yang Jeff September 17 2012 Why the Rise of Asia In Fashion Isn t As Beautiful As It Seems Wall Street Journal No SpeakEasy United States Dow Jones amp Company Inc Retrieved October 29 2012 Alexander Ella September 25 2012 Victoria s Secret Geisha Outfit Faces Criticism Vogue Conde Nast Retrieved December 16 2012 Hall John November 13 2012 Victoria s Secret Apologizes for Offense Caused by Using Native American Headdress on Model Wearing High Heels and Leopard Print Underwear The Independent Archived from the original on August 17 2022 Retrieved June 7 2020 Matera Avery December 1 2016 Some Chinese Viewers Are REALLY Upset About the Victoria s Secret Fashion Show Teen Vogue Retrieved June 7 2020 Heller Susanna November 27 2017 Every time Victoria s Secret has been accused of cultural appropriation in its annual fashion show Insider Retrieved June 7 2020 Nazim Hafeezah November 21 2017 Victoria s Secret Still Hasn t Learned That Cultural Appropriation Is Wrong Nylon Retrieved June 8 2020 We re Nobody s Third Love We re Their First Love The Architects of the Victoria s Secret Fashion Show Are Still Banking on Bombshells Vogue Retrieved November 13 2018 a b Victoria s Secret Faces Backlash After Exec s Comments About Trans and Plus Size Models The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved November 13 2018 Valentina Sampaio Becomes First Transgender Model for Victoria s Secret Georgia Voice August 5 2019 Retrieved August 5 2019 Victoria s Secret CMO Ed Razek quits days after first trans model is hired Retail Gazette August 7 2019 Retrieved August 7 2019 Meet Emira D spain The First Black Transgender Model To Work With Victoria s Secret Nylon March 7 2022 Alex Consani Insider View of The Tour 23 set External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Victoria s Secret category Official website Business data for Victoria s Secret Inc BloombergGoogleReutersSEC filingsYahoo Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Victoria 27s Secret amp oldid 1189002772, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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