What is Victoria Secret going to do next?
Strategy of cultural reprogramming
Welcome to the Sociology of Business. In my last analysis, Volume/Value Dillemma, I introduced four strategies that balance volume and value scenarios. If you are on the Substack, join the chat. With one of the paid subscription options, join Paid Membership Chat, and with the free subscription, join The General Chat on The Sociology of Business WhatsApp group.
Victoria’s Secret recently reported its Q2 2025 results. They were good, with 3% increase in net sales, to $1.46BN, a 4% growth in comparable sales, and a 22% growth in international sales, leading the brand to increase its full year outlook for net sales to $6.4BN.
This is in the context of the world saturated with OnlyFans accounts, erotic fan fiction, free porn, hypersexualization and Gen Z sex recession, endless selfies, pervasive and openly discussed plastic surgery, Sabrina Carpenter videos, and a gigantic Kim Kardashian body in a bikini in the Times Square.
In this world of hypersexy images, Victoria’s secret should not only be doing well, it should be thriving.
“Okay but this time listen [to] us: we want the old glamour, the glitter, the amazing hair, VSFS 2008 make up (for example), WINGS!!” is just one of the comments on Victoria’s Secret Instagram account.
With 1380 retail stores, across 70 countries, Victoria’s Secret is still big. Like Nike, Levi’s or Apple, it is still synonymous with a category, and can revamp its cultural and business power.
The answer is cultural reprogramming.
Victoria’s Secret business longevity is rooted in diverse, varied and well-defined customer base; synchronized and consistent relationship with multiple creators and celebrities; a well-built, multifaceted entertainment program that goes beyond its annual show to keep its customers engaged throughout the year; a compelling retail experience; strong merchandising; versatile cultural products, from merch to collaborations to archive reissues; a clear creative and art direction, a defined and recognizable aesthetic territory, and a compelling and emotional brand promise.
Victoria’s Secret has yet to build its world.
(I personally and professionally love the idea of Victoria’s Secret continuing the tradition of American Sportswear. More than before, the brand now conveys the relaxed approach to life and is anchored in the idea of freedom, synonymous with the sexy and relaxed approach to life, comfort and chic, movement and confidence. This direction can evolve to embrace the seamlessness between one’s private and public lives, and the brand can grow into an entire philosophy, approach to dressing and a lifestyle).
Elements of Victoria’s Secret cultural reprogramming are:
Content, content, content. This is the age of supercontent. Everything is content, from products to experiences to people. Victoria’s Secret is consumed together with everything else in culture, at the same time and in the same format: images, reviews, dances, styling, tutorials, carousels, multimedia edits, longer-form videos, memes. The more memeable the product, the more discoverable it is. Content is all around, whether Victoria’s Secret owns it or not. Take advantage of it! Beyond short form social content, it can get into serialized, episodic content, native to Instagram and TikTok in tone of voice and format and held together with clear narrative arcs. Victoria’s Secret has yet to start thinking of itself as a production house that makes a movie or a series like Sephora did with “Faces of Music,” or that produces a movie, like Saint Laurent did with “Emilia Perez.” Additional approach is the rollout strategy, which builds excitement around its famous fashion show by marketing it like a movie, through teasers and trailers, memes and content snippets, VIP access, all the way through the opening night.
Catalog. Catalog is, of course, content but it is too valuable to be lumped in the paragraph above. Once upon a time Playboy featured serious journalism along with erotic imagery. Christopher Hitchens was right next to Playboy Bunnies. Abercrombie did something similar in 2003 when it had Slavoj Zizek, a famous postmodernist philosopher and Marxist cultural theorist, write copy for its raunchy Back to School Catalog. The opportunity is there for the taking - who are the contemporary cultural commentators to be featured next to the seasonal collection of lingerie?
Spectacle. “We want big hair, we want more glamor, we want more shine. We want more of it. We want all of it,” Victoria’s Secret young consumers are saying, per its CEO. We also live in the cultural moment where bigger is better. More is more. Winners-take-all. The ‘80s flashiness is back, as evidenced by the size of shoulder pads on the runways ever more exotic fashion show locations. Gen Z views shopping as one of the top entertainment activities, above playing video games. Spectacle today holds the attention monopoly, even if it is consumed through content snippets,
There is a lot more behind the paywall, choose one of the paid options to access.
