Legendary lingerie chain Victoria’s Secret said its sales took a nose dive after featuring woke soccer player Megan Rapinoe as a brand ambassador.
Following the news of poor sales, the company has announced that they’re going back to basics and steering clear of ‘woke’ ad campaigns.
The Washington Examiner reports:
Lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret plans to withdraw its attempt at being more inclusive with its marketing , reverting to its original reputation in the wake of decreased sales.
The brand, known for hiring beautiful models, has tried to diversify its models over the past few years, including plus-size and transgender representatives.
However, the rebrand attempt has not translated to increased sales , with the outlet’s projected revenue for this year at $6.2 billion, down by almost 20% compared to 2020’s $7.5 billion.
“Despite everyone’s best endeavors, it’s not been enough to carry the day,” Victoria’s Secret CEO Martin Waters said.
Part of the attempted rebrand included hiring Megan Rapinoe , an athlete and activist who has advocated transgender women competing in women’s sports, and Valentina Sampaio, who became the outlet’s first transgender model.
In the wake of Sampaio’s hiring, Ed Razek, former chief marketing officer of Victoria’s Secret, resigned from the outlet.
The New York Post reported:
Kathleen Chen said that the brand’s efforts to promote inclusivity – which included making LGBTQ pro women’s soccer player and outspoken leftist Megan Rapinoe, as well as a transgender woman, brand spokesmodels and getting rid of its famous “Angels” supermodels – gained “favorable reviews from online critics [but] never translated into sales.”
According to the numbers, the lingerie brand’s projected revenue for 2023 is $6.2 billion, which is 5% lower than it was last year, and even lower than 2020, when the brand’s revenue was $7.5 billion.
According to BusinessOfFashion, the company now aims to “Improve profitability and cross back over $7 billion in annual sales.”
The brand now plans to roll out activewear and swimwear, and pdate its existing stores.
“We’ve been insufficiently differentiated in this difficult market,” Waters said.
“(But) our ambition of being the world’s leading fashion retailer of intimate apparel is unchanged.”
The woke approach didn’t work!
In a stunning and innovative turn, Victoria’s Secret now decides that perhaps, prioritizing, attractive women might actually increase sales https://t.co/TpzVyEvIbn
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) October 18, 2023
Victoria’s Secret ditches prioritizing wokeness over ‘sexiness’ after sales drop https://t.co/A2NGnEa34z pic.twitter.com/3vOm2Pwrqo
— New York Post (@nypost) October 18, 2023
READ: Disney Has Lost Nearly $1 Billion on “Woke” Movies, according to Analysis
