- Victoria’s Secret is returning to their old playbook as their recent push into DEI correlates with falling sales
Victorias Secret has vowed to ditch ‘woke’ policies and get back to its roots- after seeing sales plummet.
The lingerie brand ended its annual fashion show in 2019, got rid of its VS Angels, made its board of directors mostly female, and moved to emphasize inclusivity with transgender, LGBTQ and more diverse spokesmodels.
Executives have vowed to bring back the brands iconic ‘sex appeal’ and ditch Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies that saw the iconic Angeles replaced with plus sized and transgender models.
As it is…
The groups chief executive has said: ‘Despite everyone’s best endeavours and some really, really good initiatives …it’s not been enough to carry the day.
‘The reality is we all know the performance of the company and so there must be something that’s not going to plan’.
In 2020 the brand had sales of $7.5 billion.
2021 sales were $6.7 billion.
In 2022 sales were down to $6.34 billion. The 2023 sales projection predicts a 5% drop in the last year.
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New plan in the old book
A presentation to investors last week showed Victoria’s Secret aims to improve its profitability with investments in new categories, including activewear and swimsuits; updating its existing 1,400 stores; and opening hundreds of new locations outside of North America.
There’ll also be a concerted effort to compete with brands like ThirdLove, Parade, Aerie, Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty and Kim Kardashian’s Skims line.
‘Sexiness can be inclusive,’ said Greg Unis, brand president of Victoria’s Secret and Pink, according to Business Of Fashion.
‘Sexiness can celebrate the diverse experiences of our customers and that’s what we’re focused on.’