[shadha]

Victoria's Secret is 'too sexy,' says brand's chief executive

by The Star-Ledger Business Desk
Thursday February 28, 2008, 12:12 PM

The chief executive of the Victoria's Secret lingerie chain -- known for its provocative, televised fashion shows and eye-popping stores -- admitted something shocking Thursday morning: The brand has become "too sexy," according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

"We have so much gotten off our heritage," said Sharen Turney, chief executive of Victoria's Secret, during an analyst call with investors.

"We use the word 'sexy' a lot and have gotten off 'ultra-feminine'," said Ms. Turney, explaining that she wants to bring more-sophisticated, higher-quality products back to Victoria's Secret stores.

But that will be a huge task. Victoria's Secret has shifted drastically from its image in the 1990s, when working women shopped its pastel-painted stores for stylish but practical bras and underwear. Back then, classical music played quietly in the background, while saleswomen discreetly offered help.

Today, Victoria's Secret stores have been remodeled, lacquered black with neon-pink accents. Pounding music pumps through the loudspeakers. The brand has added new merchandise lines that are much less modest than its traditional styles. Malls routinely endure protests from parents who are outraged by the stores' window displays, which often feature suggestively posed mannequins in over-the-top lingerie.

Victoria's Secret is owned by Limited Brands Inc., which on Wednesday reported a 12% decline in net income for its fiscal fourth quarter. Sales at stores open at least a year dropped 8% at Victoria's Secret, as the weak economy and stale product offerings kept customers from spending.

Victoria's Secret is beset by improved competition all sides. Discounters and department stores, such as Target Corp., J.C. Penney Co. and Kohl's Corp., have been revamping their lingerie offerings. Teen chains such as American Eagle Outfitters Inc. have gone after the business, too. The latest entry is Gilly Hicks, a small intimate-apparel chain just launched by Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

One of the reasons Victoria's Secret got off track, Ms. Turney said, was the success of its Pink brand, which is aimed at college students. As younger shoppers were drawn to Victoria's Secret stores, snapping up Pink underwear and pajamas, too many other product lines in the store were redesigned to target that same customer, Ms. Turney said. "All the brands got really young," she said.

Victoria's Secret has been pouring money into a major program of remodeling and enlarging stores. While the refurbished stores have produced sales gains, Ms. Turney said, they haven't performed as well as the retailer had hoped.

Ms. Turney said Victoria's Secret still plans to hold a fashion show this year to kick off the holidays, but it may look different. "We want to continue to re-invent the fashion show," she said.

She pointed to the company's recent Super Bowl television commercial, which she described as "less seductive," as the future direction of the brand.

SOURCE
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I disagree and if anything I thought VS was becoming tacky with some of their styles.


shadha-

[Timbit]

I think the more pressing issue is their manufacturing practices.
Jonathan Tasini: Victoria's Secret, Slave Labor And So-Called "Free Trade" - Business on The Huffington Post

[Jamroll]

Good call. They should get rid of sexy lingerie.

[Deel]

Originally Posted by Jamroll

Good call. They should get rid of sexy lingerie.

sure. just don't take away my lovely scented lotions

[ChotooMotoo]

Originally Posted by Jamroll

Good call. They should get rid of sexy lingerie.

I think you're just jealous that there isn't a line of non-gay looking, sexy shorts for men.

I think their adds are too sexy, but why would you want the underwear to be less sexy? Isn't that the point of sexy underwear, you wear it and feel sexy even if you're wearing overlarge paint covered sweatpants and haven't showered in a week? Or maybe they want to appeal to a different clientelle, and word has it that lots of ho's buy their stuff? I dunno.

[shadha]

Well on tv the lady said that they want to appeal to the move average woman...which was pretty vague but she sort of touched on what the average woman would be comfortable wearing.


shadha-

[sumiyia]

hmmm.. interesting...

[ChotooMotoo]

Originally Posted by shadha

Well on tv the lady said that they want to appeal to the move average woman...which was pretty vague but she sort of touched on what the average woman would be comfortable wearing.


shadha-

They need to increase their size range offerings, and improve quality as well. Why pay $50 for a bra whose wire pops out after a week (when you've been properly fitted, and take care of them, that shouldn't happen) when you can pay $20 and buy a platex bra from Target which you can wear for a year? The wire problem is what turned me off from the really expensive bras.

[shadha]

I don't buy their bras--- way toooo overpriced for me, so I can't comment on their quality. Though in regards to their lingerie, I think it's of excellent quality, well worth the money, and I thought they had a vast size range?

The problem I think they are facing is not that their clothing is too sexy, it's just too overpriced when compared to their competitors who are now offering almost equally as sexy but at a far lower price.


shadha-

[Variable]

Originally Posted by Jamroll

Good call. They should get rid of sexy lingerie.

so... granny-panties then?

Originally Posted by shadha

I don't buy their bras--- way toooo overpriced for me, so I can't comment on their quality. Though in regards to their lingerie, I think it's of excellent quality, well worth the money, and I thought they had a vast size range?

The problem I think they are facing is not that their clothing is too sexy, it's just too overpriced when compared to their competitors who are now offering almost equally as sexy but at a far lower price.


shadha-

I'm picturing you standing in front of a flip chart with a pointer and a serious expression, explaining a graph with price on the Y axis, and sexy on the x axis.

[shadha]

Hahaha.


shadha-

[zakk]

I think their advertising is a bit much, but the actual product isn't as tacky-sexy as some other stores. But, yeah, they are pretty expensive.

[SisterSheila]

Salaams,

Personally I LOVE VS ..I'm a VIP Angel Card holder.

I do agree that the Victoria's Secret image has shifted from sophisticated sexy to the over the top sexy. I recently visited one of the new remodeled stores and it was really over the top and very reminiscent of Fredricks of Hollywood store which are known to be more risque.

As far as price goes, I've always found VS to be quality, but I also consider newport-news.com the like "Target" version of VS and metrostyle.com is like the Walmart version...lol.so basically i'm saying you can find the same looks for better prices.

[Jamroll]

Originally Posted by Variable

so... granny-panties then?

Women should dress modestly at all time. AT ALL TIMES!!

[SisterSheila]

Originally Posted by Jamroll

Women should dress modestly at all time. AT ALL TIMES!!

okaaayyy...calm down..... woooooosah it out before your smiley gets a hernia