For decades, Victoria's Secret dictated what the world considered sexy. Its glossy catalogs, million-dollar Fantasy Bras, and theatrical runway productions dominated global culture. Yet by the late 2010s, the once-untouchable lingerie titan hit a wall. Sales plummeted, public backlash mounted, and cultural relevance evaporated as consumers rejected the brand's narrow definition of beauty. Understanding how the company built its empire—and why it nearly collapsed—offers a masterclass in modern retail missteps.
The core driver of the downfall wasn't just changing fashion trends; it was corporate stubbornness. While competitors like Aerie and Savage X Fenty embraced size inclusivity, comfort, and diverse body types, Victoria's Secret clung to an exclusionary fantasy engineered for the male gaze. Combined with toxic internal leadership, missed shifts in digital shopping, and the death of the traditional American mall, the brand's paradise crumbled.
The Genesis: How Roy Raymond Reinvented Lingerie
In 1977, a Stanford MBA graduate named Roy Raymond walked into a department store to buy his wife lingerie. He felt humiliated, alienated by fluorescent lights, and bored by the practical, unappealing choices available. He spotted a gap in the market for a high-end store where men could feel comfortable shopping for intimate apparel.
Raymond borrowed $40,000, secured another $40,000 from family, and opened the first Victoria's Secret in Palo Alto, California. The store was designed to look like a Victorian boudoir, featuring dark wood, red velvet walls, and classical music. It was built explicitly to cater to men buying gifts, not necessarily to the comfort or preferences of the women wearing the garments.
Despite early novelty, Raymond's business model was financially unstable and teetered on bankruptcy. In 1982, retail tycoon Leslie Wexner—founder of The Limited—spotted the brand. Wexner recognized that Raymond was targeting the wrong demographic. He bought the company for $1 million and completely flipped the strategy.
The Golden Era and the Power of the Fantasy
Wexner shifted the focus from male buyers to female consumers, introducing bright, wearable, everyday lingerie paired with aggressive mall expansion. By the 1990s, Victoria's Secret was a juggernaut. The introduction of the iconic "Angels" in 1999 cemented the brand's cultural dominance.
- The Catalog Engine: Millions of households received glossy mailers featuring supermodels in tropical locations, establishing an aspirational lifestyle standard.
- The Annual Fashion Show: Launched in 1995, the event evolved into a multi-million-dollar pop-culture television spectacle watched by over 12 million people at its 2012 peak.
- The Fantasy Bra: Encrusted with millions of dollars in precious gems, this marketing stunt generated massive free press every holiday season.
For nearly twenty years, this formula printed money. The company commanded over thirty percent of the US intimate apparel market. But invulnerability bred complacency.
Cracks in the Paradise: The Turning Point
The decline didn't happen overnight. It was triggered by a mix of shifting consumer values, poor retail fundamentals, and tone-deaf leadership.
Rejection of the Male Gaze
By the mid-2010s, the cultural conversation around femininity shifted dramatically. The rise of body positivity and the fourth-wave feminist movement meant consumers no longer wanted to buy underwear designed primarily to appeal to men.
While shoppers craved comfort, breathability, and functional everyday wear, Victoria's Secret continued pushing push-up bras, heavy padding, and hyper-sexualized marketing. In 2018, Chief Marketing Officer Ed Razek gave a tone-deaf interview to Vogue stating that the brand had no interest in featuring transgender or plus-size models because "the show is a fantasy". The backlash was swift, permanent, and disastrous for public relations.
Cultural Scandals and Toxic Culture
The brand's external image crisis was compounded by internal rot. Investigations by major publications revealed a deep-seated culture of misogyny, bullying, and harassment perpetuated by top executives. Furthermore, Leslie Wexner’s long-standing, tangled financial ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—who had managed a significant portion of Wexner’s personal wealth—cast a dark shadow over the corporate hierarchy.
Retail and Strategic Blunders
Beyond branding, leadership made critical operational errors:
- Mall Dependency: The company relied heavily on physical retail footprints inside declining American indoor malls just as e-commerce startups gained momentum.
- Discontinuing Core Profit Drivers: In a bizarre strategic shift, leadership cut profitable categories like swimwear and apparel in 2016, alienating loyal shoppers.
- Margin Erosion: As sales slipped, the brand panicked, leaning heavily into sitewide clearance sales and couponing that devalued the premium image.
The Rise of Inclusive Competitors
Victoria's Secret left a massive vacuum in the market, which agile competitors rushed to fill. Brands like American Eagle's Aerie proved that comfort, unretouched photos, and body diversity could drive massive revenue growth. Simultaneously, Rihanna's Savage X Fenty entered the market with a revolutionary focus on inclusivity across all sizes, genders, and backgrounds.
Consumers voted with their wallets. Between 2018 and 2020, annual revenue dropped by billions, and parent company L Brands faced mounting pressure to spin off or sell the lingerie division.
Can the Brand Stage a Permanent Comeback?
In 2021, Victoria's Secret officially separated from Bath & Body Works to operate as an independent public company. Leadership initiated a drastic corporate overhaul. They replaced the "Angels" with the "VS Collective"—a diverse group of accomplished women, including soccer star Megan Rapinoe and actress Priyanka Chopra, chosen for their achievements rather than their measurements.
The company also reintroduced swimlines, acquired tech-forward intimates brands like Adore Me to bolster e-commerce, and brought back a reimagined version of its fashion show with a greater focus on global creative diversity.
Whether these changes can fully restore its former monopoly remains to be seen. The lingerie landscape is no longer a monarchy; it's a crowded, highly competitive democracy. Yet, the brand's survival strategy proves that even the most rigid corporate giants can be forced to listen when the market demands evolution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who originally founded Victoria's Secret?
Roy Raymond founded the company in 1977 in Palo Alto, California, because he felt embarrassed buying lingerie in traditional department stores. He sold it to Leslie Wexner in 1982.
When did the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show end?
The televised annual fashion show was cancelled in 2019 following years of plummeting viewership, increasing social backlash, and sliding sales. The company brought back a revamped version of the format years later.
What caused the sharp decline in sales?
Sales dropped due to a combination of factors: failing to adapt to body-positive trends, clinging to outdated mall-retail models, executive scandals, and alienating core shoppers by dropping popular product categories like swimwear.
How did competitors beat Victoria's Secret?
Brands like Aerie and Savage X Fenty capitalized on the shift toward inclusivity, comfort, unretouched imagery, and diverse sizing, capturing market share from a brand perceived as out of touch.
Is Victoria's Secret a standalone company today?
Yes. In 2021, it completed its spin-off from L Brands to become an independent publicly traded company, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker VSCO.
