THEY WENT WOKE AND YOU KNOW THE REST: Victoria’s Secret Falls Most Ever in Faltering Turnaround.
Underscoring the retailer’s struggle to gain relevance with customers, the company said Wednesday it expects net sales of $6 billion this year, weaker than last year. Thursday’s share decline is Victoria’s Secret’s largest since its July 2021 initial public offering, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The company’s pledges to improve sales “did not come to fruition,” JP Morgan analyst Matthew Boss wrote in a note Wednesday, downgrading the stock to underweight from neutral.
Victoria’s Secret has been working to attract and retain customers through initiatives like a rebranded fashion show and the expansion of swim and apparel categories, but the efforts have yet to pay off.
VS used to sell much more apparel — my wife loved their boots and oversized sweaters before they quit selling them more than ten years ago. But VS got out of apparel to focus on lingerie, which they then insisted on advertising using unattractive models.
After confusing and alienating their core buyers for so long, I’m not sure they can ever win them back.