Not too long ago, women's unmentionables were, well, unmentioned.
"Newforms are designed in two lengths: regular and short.
So you need never complain about a Newform slip showing beneath your dress."
Back then, there were only a few styles to pick from — and the stuff in department
stores was frilly, floral, or just plain boring.
That was, until...
"I like strapless."
"Yeah?
Maybe a bandeau."
"A little off the shoulder."
"Super comfy."
Since it was founded in the late 1970s, Victoria's Secret has transformed the way women wear
underwear, and even how we talk about it.
But beyond those teenie-weenie bikinis, lie a whole lotta "secrets" you might not know.
Awkward!
There wouldn’t be a Victoria's Secret if it weren’t for one devoted husband.
According the Daily Mail, Roy Raymond, a California-based entrepreneur with an MBA from Stanford University,
came up with the original concept.
In 2012, Roy’s wife Gaye told the Daily Mail, "Our original idea was to have a store
where men felt comfortable shopping for lingerie.
It all began when Roy went shopping for me, and felt out of place in a lingerie store."
"It is a bit nipple-y out.
I mean, nippy out.
Haha, what am I saying, nipple?
There is a nip in the air though."
"Can I take something out for you?"
Roy hated the floral print nightgowns, the fluorescent lights, and the judge-y looks
of the saleswomen.
So instead of leaving with a teddy, he walked away with a great idea: a sensual store
where men can buy lingerie for the women in their lives.
Retail appeal
Roy began to flesh out the details of this innovative new enterprise, choosing the name
"Victoria's Secret" from the idea that even respectable women of the Victorian era had
their secrets.
His wife Gaye recalled, "The Victoria's Secret we founded was an upscale, sophisticated lingerie
store that I designed to look like a Victorian drawing room, complete with Oriental rugs
and antique armoires displaying the wares.
I remember making the velvet curtains for the first changing rooms.
We used a lot of silk and natural fibers in our lingerie, and it was very high quality."
"Gracious!"
Decor diss
When the original location opened its doors in 1977, it was an automatic hit.
But its decor left much to be desired.
The eventual owner of Victoria's Secret, Les Wexner, said, "It was a small store, and it
was Victorian — not English-Victorian, but brothel-Victorian with red velvet sofas."
Despite the tacky decor, Wexner saw potential.
A very successful Ohio businessman, Wexner already owned The Limited, and would later
add Express, Lane Bryant, Bath & Body Works, and Limited Too to his retail empire.
Wexner added, "There was very nice lingerie, and I hadn't seen anything like it in the
U.S. I saw ingredients in it.
What if we mixed it up differently?"
The business nearly bombs
Roy Raymond met Wexner during the '70s.
During that time the two became friends.
And when Victoria's Secret began to flounder in 1982, Roy called Wexner in, to help.
Though Vicky's was making more than $4 million in annual sales, the business was on the brink
of bankruptcy.
So, Wexner bought the entire business for one million bucks.
Bras for men?
Under Roy's leadership, Victoria’s Secret was geared toward men feeling comfortable
about buying women's lingerie.
But Wexner soon found out that by making men more comfy, women were left out.
"From the first time I laid eyes on a brassiere, I was enthralled."
"Hmm."
Wexner said, "Most of the women that I knew...would rather wear lingerie...but there were no lingerie
stores.
I thought if we could develop price points and products that have a broader base of customer,
it could be something big."
"What’s that smell?"
"Cologne?"
"No."
"Opportunity."
"No, money."
"Ah."
Victoria who?
Wexner's next move was to put a face to the Victoria name.
According to the book Trading Up: Why Consumers Want New Luxury Goods — and How Companies
Create Them, Wexner created a backstory for brand’s fictitious founder.
"Victoria" was an English-French model who was sophisticated and nice.
She started selling sensual undergarments on Sloane Street in London, an exclusive shopping
area known for high-end fashions.
Wexner described, "It was like the making of a movie or telling a story to children.
The story was so believable and engaging that our marketing people, merchandising people,
store people, and store designers could get involved in it and tell it themselves."
"Yes, go ahead."
"Oh.
They’re real"
"Told ya."
Different kind of bombshell
As the myth of Victoria grew, original founder, Roy Raymond, lost his identity.
He used the money from selling Vicky's to start a new children's store, but it went
bankrupt.
Because Roy tangled his personal finances and business finances, he and his wife also
lost two homes and a car.
His wife Gaye said, "He went through a couple of business failures and I think he suffered
depression.
He borrowed a lot of money from his mother.
He was trying to start another company but things didn't go well, and he saw only one
way out."
Shortly after divorcing Gaye in 1993, Roy jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge, leaving
behind two children.
Total transformation
The same year Roy took his own life, Victoria's Secret was becoming the number one lingerie
retailer in America.
But despite its monumental success, Roy and Gaye felt the brand had strayed from their
original intentions.
Gaye said, "It's no longer high-end fashion focused on fit, quality, and fiber, but it's
now more popular, with a lower price and aimed at a far younger crowd.
Roy and I used to have our regrets about how much it had changed from our original vision.
Yet they've done a great job making it a commercial success."
"And we can build this thing together, standing strong forever.
Nothing’s gonna stop us now!"
Tricky minx
While Victoria's Secret may no longer feature a brothel-like decor, some things haven't
changed.
The shopping experience is still kinda geared toward men.
According to 2014 Business Insider report, employees are trained to treat male customers
with a little more special attention.
But don't take it personally, ladies.
An anonymous employee claimed that they do this to get men to buy more.
The worker continued, saying, "Men...would buy anything in order to get out of the store
as quickly as possible.
That means they would spend more money.
Women are more value-oriented, and so we...show them deals.
Men would buy a couple of $50 bras without questioning us because they felt awkward."
"How much you want?"
"How much you got?"
"$400."
"Gimme all of it."
Redefining
Though Victoria's Secret has a stronghold on the women's lingerie market — 35 percent
in 2014 — the company has faced some challenges.
At the company's annual meeting in 2016, Wexner said, "Results weren't to expectations.
I know I'm a hard grader.
As good as the performance was, I thought Victoria's Secret was stalling out."
Wexner cut jobs, and discontinued their clothing lines, a swimsuit line, and much of their
online shoe retail.
Now, the company is shifting focus to lingerie, beauty, and its Pink line.
As women are moving away from the push-up bra for more natural silhouettes, Victoria's
Secret continues to reinvent its brand, with new and creative ways for women to define
their hotness.
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