Victoria's Secret Pr Issue Research Paper

Executive Summary

Victoria’s Secret, the loved lingerie company, angered parents and received ample negative publicity after a series of unfortunate events. First, CFO, Stuart Burgdoerfer, made an incriminating statement that the PINK brand, supposedly aimed at college women, was in actuality meant to target 15-year-old girls. Next, PINK released its Spring Break collection, “Bright Young Things,” featuring too young models in too skimpy bikinis enticing even more of a reaction. Victoria’s Secret quickly responded by taking down the PINK ads and corresponding collection. While this has temporarily calmed protesters, many customers still believe that PINK targets and sexually exploits underage girls. If this issue remains unaddressed, the next protest could reach the company’s bottom-line and adversely affect all stakeholders involved.

Victoria’s Secret has many actions to choose from in order to address the situation. They can potentially choose any action from continuing to do nothing to completely reworking the PINK brand. Whatever they choose the choice will have both pros and cons for relevant stakeholders. In order to satisfy a majority of stakeholders, I recommend that the company create a new more modest brand for tweens and teens. This action gives younger consumers an alternative to the PINK brand that may also satisfy their conservative parents and gives the company a great opportunity for growth.

Victoria’s Secret Company Overview

Victoria’s Secret (VS), owned by Limited Brands Inc., is a leading company in the woman’s intimate and other apparel specialty retail industry. The company operates a number of product lines including intimate apparel brands (i.e. Angels, Body by Victoria, etc.), high-fashion apparel, VS’s PINK brand targeted at college-aged women 19 years and over, athletic apparel, swimwear, prestige fragrances and cosmetics, and famous supermodels and runway shows. VS sells its products in over 1,000 VS stores, primarily...