Park University

How Millennials Influenced Victoria’s Secret Extreme Rebrand

Rafaela Gama da Silva

MBA576

06/22/2021

Michael Alva
 The lingerie giant extreme rebrand: Featuring women famous for their achievements and
not their body proportion

Success in the appeal industry isn’t easy. The statistics show companies strategies have

focused on social media to attract not only millennials, but also generation Z. Social media is

their biggest influencer when it comes to purchasing fashionable or sustainable clothing, and the

customer satisfaction is then seen on Instagram where recommendation heavily influences the

millennials' opinion (Bloom, 2018).

Millennials and Zers have grown up experiencing diversity, and they feel

overwhelmingly positive about it (McDowell, 2016). As caviar, fashion brands like Victoria

secret one of the most successful companies in the retail industry helped to shape society’s view

of female sexuality and beauty ideals. Victoria’s Secret is famous for featured scantily clad

supermodels with curves that epitomized a certain widely accepted stereotype of femininity.

However, last week the company acknowledged that its marketing and products are outdated.

The brand value eroded and a slew of competitors grew in part by positioning themselves as the

anti-Victoria’s Secret, complete with more typical women’s bodies and a focus on inclusivity

and diversity. The market changes and millennials are often known to promote social awareness

as part of their work-life. Diversity and inclusion are often top priorities. They want to support a

company that embraces, men and women of all races and understand that often this leads to more

ideas and collaboration in the long run.

“When the world was changing, we were too slow to respond,” said Martin Waters, the

former head of Victoria’s Secret’s international business who was appointed chief executive of

the brand in February and chose Ms. Rapinoe and Ms. Chopra Jonas to be the face for the VS

Collective product lines. “We needed to stop being about what men want and to be about what
women want.” In response to the customer demand. For the first time, Victoria’s Secret unveiled

a Mother’s Day campaign last month that featured a pregnant model, it will soon begin selling

nursing bras, — which have typically been a size 32B. The company will come in new shapes

and sizes.

Imminent Risk: Declining Market Share

 The company discounted 77% of its assortment in 2020— at a higher average discount rate

than competitors to maximize inventory turn-over and profits.

From the manufacturing standpoint, VS also needed to redesign its operations. Since the

retailer not only included new sizes to the portfolio but also decided to invest heavily in

activewear known as Victoria sports, loungewear, sleepwear. The new strategy focused on

inventory management, over inventory and overproduction, and reducing high production costs

were proposed. The entire supply chain, machinery, workers were affected, especially the set-up

time, takt time on the shop floor. The operation manager must be dynamic and open to change

per market demand by integrating, optimizing, and coordinating business processes for the long,

medium, and short term.

 During COVID-19, Victoria’s Secret saw revenues continuously decline, and business

deals fall through. In the meanwhile, millennials customers were shopping online, and

challenging the status-quo; Unfortunately, the organizational change for Victoria’s Secret

happened too late considering their demand pattern. Providentially, the company is moving

toward the customer expectations. What will be the next move for VS? As a consultant I would

recommend the company to consider using recycled bottles to sell their fragrance and body care

line, following a “greener” strategy. Nowadays, it is paramount to businesses revamp their whole

way of thinking if they want to continue operating in the foreseeable future.

 Reference
Bloom, L.(2018). Millennials and Manufacturing. Retrieved from:

https://www.industryweek.com/talent/article/22026311/millennials-and-manufacturing-eight-

tips-to-attract-and-train-a-21st-century-workforce (Links to an external site.)

Friedman, V (2021). Victoria’s Secret Swaps Angels for ‘What Women Want.’ Will

They Buy It? . Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/16/business/victorias-secret-

collective-megan-rapinoe.html

McDowell, S. (2016) Josh McDowell Organization. 9 Important insights about

Generation Z. Retrieved

from https://www.josh.org/9-important-insights-generation-z/mwm_id=314044355904&mot=J7

9GNF&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI76CjkuWg6gIVCr7ACh2zbwJhEAAYASAAEgKY2_D_BwE

RetViews (2021). Victoria’s Secret vs. Competitors : How Can The Brand Regain its

Splendour? Retrieved from: https://retviews.com/blog/focus/victoria-s-secret-competitors/

Stevenson W. J. (2018). Operations Management. Thirteenth edition. New York,

McGraw-Hill.