What Is Les Wexner’s Role in Building Victoria’s Secret?

You’ve probably bought from Victoria’s Secret. But have you ever wondered how it became a retail phenomenon? Behind that empire stands Lex Wexner, the retail genius who saw potential in a failing lingerie chain. But what exactly was Les Wexner’s role in building Victoria’s Secret? Let’s explore.

Wexner’s Acquisition Of The Brand

Spotting a unique market gap

Roy Raymond founded Victoria’s Secret in 1977 after feeling embarrassed purchasing lingerie for his wife in a department store. His original concept targeted male customers shopping for their partners. The stores featured Victorian-era aesthetics with dark wood and silk curtains.

By 1982, Raymond’s business was struggling financially. Wexner purchased Victoria’s Secret from Raymond for $1 million. The acquisition included just six stores and a catalog operation.

Wexner had already built another brand, The Limited, into a successful retail chain. His expertise centered on focused retail concepts targeting specific demographics. Raymond’s failing lingerie business presented an opportunity others couldn’t see.

Rebranding for mass appeal

Wexner’s strategy for building Victoria’s Secret started with shifting the target customer from men to women. Raymond had designed stores to make male shoppers comfortable. Wexner’s new strategy focused entirely on female customers buying for themselves.

Store design underwent a dramatic transformation. Wexner created an upscale boutique environment that made lingerie shopping feel luxurious. Soft lighting, elegant fixtures, and thoughtful merchandising replaced the original Victorian concept.

The brand messaging changed completely. Marketing emphasized how women felt in the lingerie rather than male approval. Product displays highlighted fashion and quality over pure functionality.

Investment in product quality

Wexner understood that lasting success could only come through consistent quality. As such, he worked to perfect the fabrics, move the fit towards excellence, and ensure that the lingerie was comfortable enough for daily wear. From this, he developed a seamless marriage of style and substance, ultimately synonymous with the brand.

Branding, marketing, and the Angels era

Building Victoria’s Secret afresh meant striking a careful balance between glamour, fantasy, and accessibility.

Marketing the dream, not just the product

Selling an image was the key to Wexner’s strategy. Catalog photography in his days became ever slicker and editorial, creating distance between a commercial product and a fashion magazine spread. The company did not just sell lingerie but an elegant, romantic lifestyle filled with allure.

Creating a consistent store experience

Every particular aspect of the store design was intentional. Soft lighting surrounded by plush interiors and signature fragrances created a sensory experience that made the act of shopping special. Repetition in those things across different locations gave the brand a more solid identity.

Emphasizing brand storytelling

Wexner understood the power of storytelling. The brand’s advertisements often told a story, a glamorous evening in Paris or at home. This consistency in branding encouraged customers to envision themselves in those moments. The storytelling approach amplified the emotional bond the customer had with the brand.

Building Victoria’s Secret: Global Expansion Strategies

Victoria’s Secret had been successful for several years as a brand enjoyed by US consumers.

Rapid store expansion

Victoria’s Secret started opening shops in malls across America in the late 1980s and the 1990s. Wexner appreciated the importance of eyeballing. As such, he ensured customers saw the brand while shopping in malls with huge visibility.

Dominating the lingerie market

Victoria’s Secret certainly secured its position as the quintessential American lingerie shopping spot thanks to Wexner’s high product variety and competitive pricing. By the end of the 1990s, the brand claimed a considerable lingerie market segment in the U.S.

Global reach

Victoria’s Secret went international, setting up flagship stores in fashion capitals like London, Dubai, and Shanghai. Such venues intensified sales and elevated the brand to a status of luxury with worldwide recognition.

Controversies and Decline in Recent Years

After attaining its iconic status, Victoria’s Secret had to rectify any scrutiny or cultural backlash that arose in the 2010s. Such controversies were strongly tied to Les Wexner’s leadership style and the brand’s unwillingness to adopt new consumer values.

Criticism of body image and inclusivity

For most of its history, Victoria’s Secret endorsed a very narrow definition of beauty. It glorified only tall, slim, and conventionally attractive models fitting into an identical mold. This image had a strong relevance for the 1990s and early 2000s. However, it seemed rather out of place in an era of body positivity and inclusiveness.

The likes of Aerie and Savage X Fenty mocked the brand by integrating body types, races, and gender identities in their campaigns. In contrast, Victoria’s Secret stuck to its guns and provided traditional marketing formats for over a decade.

In the mid-2010s, critics started hurling accusations against the company. They accused the brand of being tone-deaf. In fact, the once-beloved Angels began to be associated with unattainable and now-outdated ideals. Victoria’s Secret sales began to stagnate, thus causing erosion of the brand’s cultural dominance.

Connections to Jeffrey Epstein and leadership missteps

Wexner’s association with Jeffrey Epstein was highly controversial. Although Wexner denied any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities, the association cast an unmistakable pall on his reputation and that of Victoria’s Secret.

Divisions within the brand’s corporate leadership also manifested. Executives rejected suggestions for diversity in casting and marketing. For example, one high-ranking marketing officer was notorious for rejecting the very possibility of having transgender or plus-size models in the fashion show. Such comments triggered public outrage, thereby firmly entrenching the view that Victoria’s Secret was out of touch.

The annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, once an international spectacle, was the last great vestige that demonstrated this decline. Once adored for its glamor and cultural relevance, it fell under increasing ire for being sexist and out of touch. Ratings fell, and by 2019, it was officially cancelled. What had been the crowning jewel of the brand became a symbol of insufficiency.

Declining sales and financial struggles

As cultural criticism continued to grow, Victoria’s Secret could not escape the onslaught of its business challenges. Once a market leader in lingerie retail, it began losing sales due to fast-growing competition. Modern companies were willing to embrace a highly inclusive, dynamic, and digital-first strategy. Brands such as Aerie advertised unretouched models and inexpensive lingerie directly to Gen Z and millennial consumers who objected to the airbrushed perfection of Victoria’s Secret.

By 2016, sales had reduced, as store visits had declined alongside mall culture. Unfortunately, Victoria’s Secret couldn’t build a strong e-commerce presence to challenge its competitors. The cancellation of the fashion show format indicates both a cultural and financial shift; the costly event produced no return.

Towards the end of the 2010s, Victoria’s Secret was already on the verge of closing shops. The brand was also restructuring its operational functions and losing its market share. What had been Wexner’s prized possession was now a brand in crisis.

Legacy and Lasting Impact

Wexner’s contribution to the establishment of Victoria’s Secret transcends mere numbers. It, defined cultural perceptions on lingerie for decades.

Setting a new retail standard

Victoria’s Secret has set the standard for other retailers with its immersive store experience. The focus on atmosphere, story, and brand consistency has greatly impacted the larger fashion retail industry.

Globalizing American lingerie culture

Wexner expanded strategically to introduce American-style lingerie in communities outside the U.S. As such, he helped shape trends and consumer expectations in diverse global markets.

A complex but undeniable legacy

Victoria’s Secret has been troubled over the past few years. However, the brand’s rise under Wexner has remained a masterclass in retail vision, brand building, and cultural influence. His understanding of potential, building an identity, and then dominating the market has impacted the lingerie retail industry to date.

A cultural innovator

Because of Wexner’s strong marketing strategy, Victoria’s Secret became much more than simply a company selling undergarments- it was a cultural phenomenon. The fashion show, the Angels, and the catalogs all placed lingerie within mainstream fashion and entertainment.

For a long time, owning Victoria’s Secret products represented glamour, status, and femininity. Even the most critical of his detractors knew that Wexner was a master in storytelling and spectacle.

The bottom line    

Undeniably, Les Wexner’s role in building Victoria’s Secret cannot be overemphasized. He embodies vision, product development strategies, innovative marketing techniques, and risk-taking in retail experiments. Under Wexner’s leadership, the brand grew and reinvented retail. He blended aspiration with accessibility despite brand controversies and changing market pressures.