Victoria's Secret was founded in 1977, and since then, it's become a worldwide success.
But after decades as a top lingerie retailer, the brand's parent company has been announcing
the closure of dozens of stores.
Has Victoria's Secret lost its mojo?
In April 2019, Victoria's Secret parent company L Brands announced that Victoria's Secret
would be closing 53 stores across North America throughout the year.
For those not following the company closely, the news likely came as a shock.
After all, the lingerie brand has been the number one of its kind for years.
However, as Business Insider reported, the planned store closings were the result of
the company's steadily declining performance across the board.
The 2019 announcement came on the heels of a similar one in 2018 in which the company
revealed plans to shutter 30 stores across the country.
Previously, the chain had averaged around 15 store closings per year, with the sudden
jump caused by slumping sales.
In November 2018, Ed Razek, the chief marketing officer of L Brands, made a splash in the
headlines for controversial comments he delivered during an interview with Vogue.
Razek faced difficult questions regarding the ever-evolving market of women's wear and
why Victoria's Secret has largely remained stagnant in terms of the type of women they
choose to market to and represent.
While explaining why the company doesn't feature larger women or transgender women in its yearly
fashion show, Razek shot down the idea, saying,
"It is the World Series of intimate apparel.
It is the Super Bowl of underpants."
Razek also threw shade at ThirdLove, an online women's wear retailer that offers an array
of sizes for just about every body type, saying,
Razek also spoke dismissively in the Vogue interview about the possibility of including
plus-size models in the fashion show.
But those comments did nothing but further prove a growing suspicion that the world-famous
lingerie brand is more out of touch than ever before.
His claim of consumers having no interest in seeing plus-size bodies represented is
simply untrue.
That's evidenced by the success that plus-size women's wear retailer Lane Bryant saw after
relaunching its mega-popular #ImNoAngel campaign in 2017.
The company made a splash with this campaign by airing an ad during the 2017 Primetime
Emmy Awards that featured plus-size models of different shapes and sizes urging women
to own their cellulite, tummy flab, and stretch marks.
During its heyday, Victoria's Secret was famous for its sultry selection of bras, underwear,
and lingerie sets.
Of course, many of its pieces were decidedly not appropriate for everyday wear.
But the brand solidified itself as the go-to place to purchase special date-night surprises,
sexy loungewear, and Christmas gifts you probably wouldn't want to open in front of the whole
family.
However, nothing stays the same forever.
While feeling bold and sexy might've been a priority for consumers ten or fifteen years
ago, comfort and ease-of-wear are now more important considerations for women shopping
for undergarments.
A 2018 Forbes article cited a blog post from a former professional bra fitter who revealed
that Victoria's Secret bra fitters reportedly aren't certified, leading to inaccurate measurements
and discomfort.
Major celebrities have apparently had enough with Victoria's Secret as well.
And in the age of social media, they can easily start a ripple effect among their followers
by voicing their opinions and bringing to light their own issues with the retailer.
In November 2017, the day before the Victoria's Secret fashion show was set to film, plus-size
model Ashley Graham took to Instagram to post a lingerie-clad photo of herself strutting
down a runway, complete with a photoshopped pair of angel wings.
Without taking an outright jab at Victoria's Secret, Graham proved that any body type is
worthy of angel status, not just the unattainable airbrushed bodies of Victoria's Secret models.
In 2018, plus-size model Tess Holliday left some choice words on Twitter for Ed Razek
following his Vogue interview.
Along with declining sales and controversial comments, Victoria's Secret is also struggling
with a sullied reputation in consumers' eyes.
In a November 2018 article, The New York Times noted that Victoria's Secret is still the
leading U.S. lingerie brand.
But it also cited a consumer study from September 2017 that found that 68 percent of consumers
like the brand, quote, "less than they used to," and a whopping 60 percent of consumers
think that Victoria's Secret feels "forced" or "fake."
Heidi Zak, chief executive officer of ThirdLove, told the Times that she often felt embarrassed
after shopping at Victoria's Secret.
As she explained it,
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