We visited a Victoria's Secret store on the day that it announced dozens of closures. Here's what we found.
Advertisement
Mary Hanbury
Mar 1, 2019, 00:49 IST
Business Insider/Mary Hanbury
A Victoria's Secret store display in New York.
Advertisement
Victoria's Secret announced that it is closing 53 stores in North America this year.
Its parent company, L Brands, reported fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, and same-store sales at Victoria's Secret were down 3%.
The brand has struggled in recent years - sales have slipped, and its provocative ads are being criticized by some as beingtone deaf in the era of #MeToo.
We visited one of its stores to trial the shopping experience first hand.
Victoria's Secret announced Wednesday that it will be closing as many as 53 stores in North America this year. This follows 30 closings in 2018
The news came after the lingerie giant's parent company L Brands, released its fourth-quarter earnings results. Same-store sales for Victoria's Secret were down 3% for the quarter and overall for 2018.
A spokesperson for L Brands told Business Insider that the company has not yet released a list of store closings.
Advertisement
We visited one of its stores on Thursday morning to find out what it is like to shop there:
{{}}
The store we visited is located in downtown Manhattan, New York in the World Trade Center Westfield mall.
It lived up to expectations. Out first impression was good – the store was well organized and the inventory was neatly laid out. However, it wouldn't take much for this to descend into chaos; piles of inventory are a recipe for disaster in busier times.
Advertisement
We were also surprised to find that despite its the standard bulk buying deals on panties, there were no sales signs anywhere.
As well as scaling back on promotions, Burgdoerfer said the company is looking at all aspects of the marketing of the brand. "We are taking a fresh, hard look at everything," he said. "Everything is on the table."
Advertisement
The space was definitely modern and did feel a lot brighter than some of its other stores because of this. However, it still had Victoria's Secret's signature dark lighting and black painted walls.
Parts of the store felt more dated. It's boudoir-like fitting rooms, for example.
Advertisement
Dotted around the store are prominent displays of its signature "Push-Up" bra.
These racy silhouettes and neon colors are a far cry from the setup at rival underwear brands such as American Eagle's Aerie, which has achieved explosive growth in recent years.
Advertisement
To the side of the main store is a section devoted entirely to Victoria's Secret's teen-focused brand Pink. The lighting, music, and display style is completely different here.
Pink was once a sweet spot for Victoria's Secret but in recent years has also come under pressure and resorting to heavy discounting.
Advertisement
But there were no sale signs on display during this visit and this area of the store was also very well kept and easy to shop.
NewsletterSIMPLY PUT - where we join the dots to inform and inspire you. Sign up for a weekly brief collating many news items into one untangled thought delivered straight to your mailbox.