Every girl remembers the first time they set foot into a Victoria's Secret PINK store.
The bright Victoria's Secret PINK sign at the entrance and the pink and white polka-dotted walls were a sight for sore eyes, and PINK's Sweet & Flirty body mist became the signature scent that loyally stuck with us from junior high through high school.
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Let's not forget the iconic foldover flare yoga pants with the colorful band and big PINK letters on the back. Of course, we would all pair them with a Pink-branded fitted T-shirt and a Pink-branded zip-up jacket.
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Victoria's Secret PINK basically became every school-age girl's uniform, and our biggest daily struggle was not getting dress-coded. We were willing to sacrifice everything for fashion because, at the end of the day, we were just girls.
These fond memories kept us coming back to our local mall and eventually led us to Victoria's Secret (VSCO) once we grew out of PINK's age range.
Although Victoria's Secret PINK was there with us through our hardest moments, we seemed to have lost touch with this loyal friend for a while until now.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show returns and becomes its most lucrative investment
In 2022, Victoria's Secret merged the operations of its namesake brand and PINK to improve profits by scaling back on PINK. This decision came as the company reported declining net sales of 4.5%, with comparable sales down 8% for the first quarter of 2022 compared to the year prior.
However, Victoria's Secret decided to return the brand to its roots by bringing back the iconic Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2024 after a six-year hiatus. The company wanted to focus on following and creating cultural moments through its marketing and products, which is something it was known for.
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This decision might have just been Victoria's Secret's best investment in years, as the fashion show helped gain new customers and reminded previous customers of why they once loved the brands so much.
"The fashion show introduced us to a new generation of consumers. We weren't on that radar, we hadn't been in the cultural conversation. And I think we came in and surprised her, and she was like, oh, I'm going to pay attention to this," said Victoria's Secret CEO Hillary Super during a conference call.
Victoria's Secret announces the separation of its brands to better target its audiences
The fashion show's success and immense reach caused the company to refocus on targeting Gen Z customers, which helped accelerate sales growth for this year's third fiscal quarter. Net sales increased by 6.5%, and comparable sales increased by 3% year over year, reflecting the strongest quarter in the last three years, driven by all regions, channels, and brands, especially PINK.
Although Victoria's Secret aims to attract a new generation, its customers are still attracted to the emotional aspect of its products and compelling brand story, which it recreated with the comeback of its fashion show.
The company's popularity resurgence caused it to rethink its operational strategies, prompting Victoria's Secret to announce that its namesake brand and PINK will no longer merge operations to differentiate the brands like they once did. This decision would allow the brands to further target their respective audiences through every aspect of their business, as they are generationally diverse.
Victoria's Secret becomes TikTok viral and gains a bigger social media audience
Not only was the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show a lucrative investment for driving sales, but it also crucially made social media a viable new marketing avenue for the company.
“The show drove brand relevance, putting VS at the center of culture and fashion conversations with about 34 billion media impressions, 4 billion social media impressions, and an increase of more than 4 million followers on TikTok,” said Super.
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The company's virality on TikTok changed the customer base and culture around PINK, allowing it to make business moves and improvements in real time. This kept it relevant against competitors and on-trend, allowing PINK to make decisions based on customers and their evolution.
In June, Victoria's Secret launched its loyalty program, and in just four months, it had the highest customer growth for the first time in several months, as it was only a month away from the re-emergence of the fashion show. The program now has approximately 35 million members who drive over 80% of weekly sales.
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