Lingerie of shame: why Victoria's Secret stores are closing in the US
'10.03.2019'
Source: Delfi.lv
It became apparent that the world's most famous lingerie brand is failing to recover from the blow after a controversial interview with Vogue US in November 2018. Officials then said they would not recruit plus-size and transgender models, and just four months later, the brand that is creating the “fairy tale on the catwalk” had to face a harsh reality.
Numerous sources report that Victoria's Secret lingerie brand will close 53 in its US stores, writes delfi.lv. This week, Bloomberg confirmed that the brand’s management published an official statement, which indicated the addresses of boutiques, which will soon be eliminated.
In 2018, Goldman Sachs obtained the unusual results of its annual research on the needs of millenial consumers. It turned out that Victoria's Secret became the favorite brand of fashionable representatives of this generation. Yet world-famous supermodels and pop stars who annually take part in the show have a considerable influence on a huge audience of users, so the brand did not justifiably change this approach from the end of 90's.
Another fact can be called surprising - although many people declare their love for aesthetics of bright pink boutiques and their universal brilliance, most of them added that they rarely make purchases from Victoria's Secret. In July, 2018, shares of the company that owns the brand L Brands, fell on the stock exchange by 12%, and subsequently by 55% - before it became known that the glamorous retailer could not increase its profits even during the season of large summer discounts. Then, analysts strongly advised stockholders not to wait until the crisis passes, and to sell them as soon as possible. In August of the same year, the brand announced the closure of 20 stores in the United States.
Official data on intermediate sales figures have not yet been reported this year, but they are unlikely to provide consolation to the brand’s employees.
The main event, which is held for the benefit of VS sales and grows in price and scale every year, is, of course, an annual fashion show. The most famous models of the world and guest music performers, a long, shining podium with thousands of sparkles, and general fun, youth and sexuality. Who would not want to be closer to this world, just go to one store? Traditionally, it is on the wave of success after the show (as it takes place in November) that the brand manages to significantly increase its income.
Other times, you have to rely on standard “profitable holidays” like Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Christmas.
The idea to hold the 2017 show in Shanghai was born for a reason - the brand needed to increase sales in the Chinese market, which is now “saving” more than one eminent fashion house, provided that in the West they spend less on wardrobe items. In total, the company spent $ 26,4 million on transportation, payment of fees to those who worked on the show, security and rent. This amount may seem unreasonably high, but the former president and CEO of the brand Sharon Terney told the Forbes portal that all the costs of the show are paid off without all sorts of problems: "This is not as much as it might seem, and it pays off in five times."
The contract of any model participating in the show includes active coverage of the event in their accounts on social networks. And if Candice Swanepoel, Elsa Hosk and Bella Hadid are on your catwalk, there is no doubt about a large reach.
The popularity of the brand on social networks can be ensured not only by its models - last Halloween, angel outfits from previous shows turned into costumes for the sisters of the Kardashian-Jenner clan. The resulting photos of the "family passage" of Courtney, Kim, Chloe, Kendall and Kylie were seen by a total of almost 500 million girls' followers on Instagram.
From the point of view of advertising campaigns, it's difficult to find fault with Victoria's Secret, but in 2019, it is difficult to make an impression of the brand without evaluating its philosophy.
Models on the catwalk sell not so much bralettes and thongs as a way of life - 10 years ago, girls with “classic” beauty with bodies carved in the gym, beach styling and self-tanning could sell anything. Critics of the brand, whose number, in contrast to revenue, is growing significantly every year, already speak of the brand as a real dinosaur of the industry.
The VS leadership tried to enter a new world of tolerance and inclusion in its own way, however, their notions about what consumers in the US want to see are extremely outdated. Most fans made this conclusion after an interview with representatives of the brand, which American Vogue published on November 8, on the day of the 2018 show of the year. Last November, the list of participants was saturated with girls with different skin colors, but the organizers could not show any models larger than S (plus size).
The chief designers of the brand, Ed Razek and Monica Mitro, provoked a real scandal when they told the gloss that the fashion for “plus size” was long gone, but there was no question of making a transgender model an angel.
“If you want to know if we were thinking of letting a transgender model on the show, or we were considering casting plus size models, then we thought about it,” Razek said.
These reflections clearly did not lead to anything good, but the way the modeler argued his position instantly dropped the entire strategy on 20 years ago.
He said that the show Victoria's Secret, unique in its kind, is engaged in a demonstration of the world of dreams, where social or political problems do not matter.
After these words, it was already possible to stop queuing at the entrance, at least in the United States - the fight for equal rights and the general trend towards inclusivity cannot be written off, even if the sexiest women on the planet smile from your advertising banners.
