Be part of a Victoria’s Secret Runway is the dream of any model, Gisele Bündchen, Heidi Kluim, Adriana Lima, owners of spectacular bodies have been for a long time the center of its marketing campaigns, but do women want to buy what they wear now? We don’t think so.
Will Victoria’s Secret need to adapt to a new image, that of real women? Are images without photoshot the way to go?
Victoria’s Secret will close 20 stores before the end of the year. Among the 20 are six Victoria’s Secret stores that were closed earlier this year already, but L Brands did not specify which other outlets will close their doors definitely over the next few months. There are also plans to open three new stores this year.
Consistently stagnant Victoria’s Secret sales have led Randal Konik, an analyst at New York-based financial services firm Jefferies, to predict in July that the game is over for brand.
Victoria’s Secret had trouble selling merchandise in the month of June, even when it was at a discount, according to a media report.
Same-store sales at the retail chain were down 1% for the month, with increases in the beauty segment offset by declines in lingerie and the Pink brand.
L Brands, the owner of the brand, also announced on Wednesday that Denise Landman, CEO of Victoria’s Secret Pink, will step down later this year. The Pink brand, which previously served as a sort of life jacket for Victoria’s Secret, has also struggled recently.
Landman will be replaced by Amy Hauk, who currently serves as president of merchandising and product development at Bath & Body Works, owned by L Brands.