Victoria's Secret grossed $500,000 in its first year of business, enough to finance the expansion from a headquarters and warehouse to four new store locations and a mail-order operation. The store was named in reference to Queen Victoria and the associated refinement of the Victorian era, while the "secret" was hidden underneath the clothes. In 1977, Raymond borrowed $40,000 from family and $40,000 from a bank to establish Victoria's Secret: a store in which men could feel comfortable buying lingerie. Considered niche products, lingerie items (such as lacy thongs and padded push-up bras) were only found in specialty shops like Frederick's of Hollywood, located "alongside feathered boas and provocative pirate costumes". was dominated by pragmatic items from Fruit of the Loom, Hanes, and Jockey, often sold in packs of three at department stores, while lingerie was reserved for special occasions such as one's honeymoon. Īt the time when the Raymonds founded Victoria's Secret, the undergarments market in the U.S. Newsweek reported Roy Raymond stating: "When I tried to buy lingerie for my wife, I was faced with racks of terry-cloth robes and ugly floral-print nylon nightgowns, and I always had the feeling the department store saleswomen thought I was an unwelcome intruder." Raymond reportedly spent the next eight years studying the lingerie market. Years earlier, Raymond was embarrassed when purchasing lingerie for his wife at a department store. The first store was opened in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California. Victoria's Secret was founded by Roy Raymond, and his wife, Gaye Raymond, on June 12, 1977. As of May 2020, with over 1,070 stores, Victoria's Secret remained the largest lingerie retailer in the United States. The brand struggled to maintain its market position following criticism and controversy over the unsavory behavior and business practices of corporate leadership under Wexner and Ed Razek. The company canceled the circulation of their catalog in 2016. īy 2016, Victoria's Secret's market share began to decline due to competition from other brands that embraced a wider range of sizes and a growing consumer preference for athleisure. Starting in 2008, Victoria's Secret expanded internationally, with retail outlets within international airports, franchises in major cities overseas, and in company-owned stores throughout Canada and the UK. In 2002 Victoria's Secret announced the launch of PINK, a brand that was aimed to appeal to teenagers. The 1990s saw the company's further expansion throughout shopping malls along with the introduction of the 'miracle bra', the new brand Body by Victoria, and the development of a line of fragrances and cosmetics. įrom 1995 through 2018, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was a major part of the brand's image featuring an annual runway spectacle of models promoted by the company as fantasy Angels. Wexner rapidly expanded into American shopping malls, growing the company into 350 stores nationally with sales of $1 billion by the early 1990s when Victoria's Secret became the largest lingerie retailer in the United States. Founded in 1977 by Roy and Gaye Raymond, the company's five lingerie stores were sold to Leslie Wexner in 1982. Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer.
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