Victoria’s Secret’s new CEO will be tasked with revamping an outdated retail playbook

The company revealed in a statement on Aug. 14 that Super will replace Martin Waters, who stepped down as CEO and a member of the effective immediately. Super will begin the position on Sept. 9. In the meantime, the retailer’s chief financial and administrative officer Tim Johnson, will serve as interim CEO. In the announcement, Donna James, chair of Victoria’s Secret, said that Super would “power the business’ next chapter and deliver the foremost tenet of our transformation strategy: accelerating growth in our core business in North America.”

Super must now refresh the cultural perception of Victoria’s Secret – a brand that’s still mostly known for predominantly white, stick-thin supermodels clad in G-strings and stilettos. That’ll be no easy feat as the millennial brand competes with rivals like Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty that have embraced inclusive marketing and diverse body types  – effectively positioning themselves as foils to Victoria’s Secret. Add in consecutive quarters of sluggish sales, and it’s clear the new CEO will be facing an uphill battle. 

Even though Super’s stint at Savage X Fenty was brief – she joined the company in June 2023 – her experience has generated optimism among retail analysts. Certainly, Victoria’s Secret wouldn’t be the first struggling brand to make a comeback, as mall retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch and Gap are in the middle of their own turnaround plans. But it remains to be seen if Super’s retail know-how will be enough to get shoppers back in its fleet of more than 1,350 stores. 

By appointing a top executive from Savage X Fenty, Victoria’s Secret is returning to its root appeal – that is, sexiness, but with a modern, more inclusive spin. “They’re going back to the DNA of the brand,” said Gabriella Santaniello, founder of consulting firm A Line Partners. “The customer is ready for Victoria’s Secret to make their comeback.”

The rise and fall of Victoria’s Secret 

Founded in 1977 as a store for men to buy lingerie, the retail billionaire Leslie Wexner bought Victoria’s Secret in 1982 and turned it into a cultural phenomenon that played a critical role in influencing beauty ideals at the time. In 1995, Victoria’s Secret debuted its fashion show, which launched the careers of models like Gisele Bündchen and Heidi Klum, and attracted millions of viewers. At Victoria’s Secret’s peak in 2016, the company’s revenues surpassed $7 billion. 

But the lingerie brand has been sputtering ever since. The fashion show that helped put it on the map faced criticism for its narrow portrayal of beauty standards. As a result, the retailer announced that it would retire its fashion show indefinitely in 2019, citing falling viewership. It didn’t help that Wexner came under fire in the media for his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He stepped down in 2020 due to the controversy. Meanwhile, Ed Razek, the brand’s former chief marketing officer, sparked social media backlash when he said plus-size and transgender models should not be cast in Victoria’s Secret’s fashion shows because they do not fit the brand’s idea of “fantasy.”

Victoria’s Secret has spent the last several years struggling to revamp its outdated image while fending off competition from upstart bra brands such as ThirdLove and Kim Kardashian’s Skims. Such brands have weakened Victoria’s Secret dominance in the lingerie industry by selling bras in a wider range of sizes and skin tones.

To Jessica Ramirez, retail research analyst at Jane Hali & Associates, the fall of Victoria’s Secret began in 2014 when Aerie, an intimate apparel sub-brand of American Eagle, said it would no longer retouch photos of models, making it one of the first lingerie retailers to do so. The brand became popular among young consumers as its body-positive messaging stood in stark contrast to Victoria’s Secret, which heavily featured manicured supermodels in its marketing.

“That was really a turning point in intimate marketing, and then you started having all these DTC brands that followed suit,” said Ramirez. “When Victoria’s Secret finally started doing it, too, at most five years ago, it [was] too late and it didn’t feel genuine.”

Rival Savage X Fenty, which burst onto the scene in 2018, also took aim at Victoria’s Secret with its own fashion shows, in which queer, transgender and BIPOC models have been prominently featured. Such efforts have paid off for Savage X Fenty. The company doesn’t disclose revenue figures, but in 2022, it was reportedly planning an initial public offering, potentially valuing the company at $3 billion or more, per Bloomberg. In 2022, Savage X Fenty also secured a $125 million investment to grow beyond its DTC model and open brick-and-mortar stores.

Super took over at Savage X Fenty after founder and business mogul Rihanna stepped down as CEO in 2023, during such time she oversaw the brand’s expansion efforts. Earlier this month, for example, Savage X Fenty entered into wholesale via Nordstrom, its first U.S. retail partner.

Victoria’s Secret has also made merchandising missteps. For example, in 2016, the brand stopped selling swimwear, a decision that further weakened sales. Victoria’s Secret reversed course in 2021 when it reintroduced swimwear in stores. On top of that, Victoria’s Secret was slow to adapt to consumer tastes, such as more casual bralettes and sports bras. Victoria’s Secret has built its empire on ultra-sexy push-up bras, and as shoppers stepped away from such styles, sales lagged, said Ramirez. 

Although Victoria’s Secret is past the peak of its popularity, the retailer still remains dominant in the lingerie business. In 2023, the company reported net sales of more than $6 billion, though a 3% decrease from the year before. By comparison, Aerie raked in in nearly $2 billion in revenue in 2023, up from 11% in 2022. One competitor may not be enough to completely topple Victoria’s Secret, but taken all together, it adds up. 

“Collectively, if you put them all together – Aerie, Savage X  Fenty, ThirdLove – they are having an impact on sales,” said Ramirez.

In 2021, Victoria’s Secret spun off from its parent company L Brands and became a separate publicly traded company. During his tenure as CEO of the company, Waters focused on refreshing Victoria’s Secret’s stores, which included whittling down its overall footprint, experimenting with off-mall formats and renovating existing stores. He also oversaw the hiring of more diverse models. However, these efforts haven’t paid off yet due to marketing inconsistencies, analysts say. 

“Victoria’s Secret kept changing the messaging,” said Santaniello. “One month they would be all about being all-natural, and then the next month it was back to the push-up bra.”

As part of its efforts to reach new audiences, Victoria’s Secret acquired DTC lingerie brand Adore Me in January 2023 for $400 million in upfront cash. Adore Me reported about $250 million in revenue in 2022. At the time, then-CEO Waters said in a statement, “Adore Me is a technology-led, digital-first innovator in the intimates category that will help us bring differentiated experiences to Victoria’s Secret and Pink customers.” However, the acquisition hasn’t helped Victoria’s Secret get its mojo back, analysts say.

“I think it was smart of Victoria’s Secret to acquire, as Adore Me has a history of being more inclusive, and the fact that they’re online-only and have a slightly different target audience gives Victoria’s Secret extended reach,” said Melissa Minkow, director of retail strategy at digital consultancy firm CI&T. “That said, I don’t think the acquisition can do much for Victoria’s Secret without the brand making it more explicit that they own Adore Me.”

In a bright spot, analysts believe it’s a positive sign that a woman will be at the helm of the company. That’s because Victoria’s Secret’s biggest competitors are either led by or founded by women, including ThirdLove, Savage X Fenty, Skims and Lively. Meanwhile, all of Victoria’s Secret’s CEOs have been male since the company went public. 

“Consumers are very well educated,” said Santaniello. “They’re on social media, they do their research, and it’s just about time.”

The timing is also fortuitous for a Victoria’s Secret comeback as other Y2K-era brands see renewed popularity among consumers, said Santaniello.

As she put it, “Everyone is a little bit nostalgic these days.”