The Fall of Victoria’s Secret and the Rise of Aerie Was Inevitable
Appealing to men, to sell products to women is not a sustainable business strategy.
The Issue With Women’s Intimates
Victoria’s Secret once ruled the underwear industry. They convinced consumers that their brand was the epitome of femininity, through complicated lacey lingerie and supermodels in angel wings. But in recent years, its hold on the market has been in a steep decline. The downward trajectory of mall retailers, in general, has been noted as a huge contributing factor to this fall. However, an arguably even bigger contributing factor to the downfall of Victoria's Secret is the change in how women are using their money.
The brand Aerie is a perfect example of a mall retailer that has thrived in the last few years. Aerie has seen immense growth each quarter in recent years. The key difference that has separated them from other large intimates retailers is they brazenly cater to women. It shouldn’t be radical for a company selling products primarily to women, to solely cater to women. Yet for so long, lingerie brands have gone out of their way to appeal to men. Examples of this can be seen in Victoria's Secret’s dedication to recruiting bombshell supermodels for their annual fashion shows that…
