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Victoria's Secret, based on the idea that men should feel more comfortable buying the women of their lives, is trying to redefine itself as a brand designed for female customers. But it's a difficult message to convey when most of your executives are men.
"The company firmly believes that we must evolve," said John Mehas, general manager of Victoria's Secret Lingerie, during a Q & A session at the annual Columbus Investor Day in Toronto. # 39; Ohio. "We must be led by her, for her."
Parent L Brands Inc. presented Tuesday a multi-part – albeit vague – plan to transform Victoria's Secret: a more inclusive, up-to-date branding strategy, a renewed in-store experience and a redesign of marketing still in the making. development course that has been successful in alienating the basic buyers.
The irony did not escape the shareholders who raised the issue with Bloomberg News during a break. Of the 11 speakers at the L Brands event, with the exception of an introduction by Amie Preston from investor relations, only three were women. And only one gave a presentation: Amy Hauk, CEO of Victoria's Secret Pink Line.
Investor reactions
An investor, who asked not to be named, said on the sidelines of the event that he was in Ohio with his counterparts to determine if current management could successfully recast the the brand, especially since the management team is mainly composed of men. He called the shortage of women with strikes.
Another attendee at the meeting asked during a Q & A session why the company had chosen Mehas rather than a woman to lead the lingerie industry. The Wexner, founder of L Brands, pointed out that all brand leaders were previously women. "John is the first guy, so we do not want to discriminate," he told the listeners. Mehas then gave a second answer to the question, before Hauk intervened: "As a woman, I would like to comment," she said to a laughter from the audience, before talking about the changing customer of Pink.
Victoria's Secret is trying to reconnect with more and more women-oriented rivals who favor women's empowerment and various body types, such as Aerie and ThirdLove, rather than the traditionally sexy and skinny Victoria's Secret aesthetic. This hurt comparable sales, a key measure in the retail trade, which fell for five consecutive quarters in the underwear chain.
True, the group has taken steps toward a redesign: the company announced in May that it would pull off its network television fashion show after 23 years. Ed Razek, who created the annual event of the chain with the characteristic image of models in lingerie with angel wings, left the summer. Earlier this year, activist investor Barington Capital Group LP lobbied for change and successfully appointed two new women to the board, bringing the share of women directors to more than 40%.
& # 39; Sick & # 39; Epstein
Nevertheless, society must continue to undermine its overtly sexualized heritage. The founder of the chain, Roy Raymond, had the original idea to create a women's lingerie store after he went to a department store to buy lingerie for his wife in the 1970s. did not like this experience and felt that there should be a place where men would be comfortable shopping for women's underwear. That did not help the brand earlier this year when Wexner's ties with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein were scrutinized.
Wexner used Epstein as a personal fund manager for years, establishing a close enough relationship for Epstein to buy his manor house in Manhattan before breaking his bonds more than a decade ago.
"It's something that bothers me even though I'm trapped by someone who was so sick, so cunning, so depraved. But that's a thing of the past, "Wexner, 82, said in his opening remarks.
For now, investors seem willing to wait a little longer to see if Victoria's Secret can reverse the drop in sales and reorganize its obsolete image. The lingerie brand is determined to reduce its discounts and is about to redesign marketing to adapt the changing customer vision to what is sexy, according to the presentations of the leaders of the company.
Learn from missteps
Shares of L Brands rose Tuesday, a sign that investors are giving the company the benefit of the doubt. However, the company lacked detail and the fact that its marketing is still in its infancy – despite years of market share loss – could be a cause for concern.
Hauk acknowledged that the company was "too slow to change" with its customers, adding that Pink had since managed to reduce inventory choices, refocus on students, turn to sportswear and include more diverse models in its marketing. She sees the division's sportswear generating $ 1 billion in sales by 2022.
"We are determined to take advantage of some mistakes," she said.
For sister brand Victoria's Secret, the turnaround plan is not as defined. "Amy and the team are a little ahead of us," said Mehas about the redesign of marketing.
"It is possible to step back and make the brand evolve," he added during the last question-and-answer session. The Victoria's Secret client "has made it very clear what she would like to see from us: inclusivity, #metoo, different model profiles, rethinking the series and that we are quite The problem is that it's a fine line to rethink the next evolution of the brand, and we think what it looks like. "
–Bloomberg News
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