SWOT analysis of Victoria’s Secret

Victoria’s Secret is a designer and manufacturer of women’s innerwear and lingerie. The company also owns a line of makeup and cosmetics. The company which is owned by the L Brands Company was founded in the year 1977 by Roy Raymond and his wife Gaye in California. The brand is just as dreamy as it projects itself and the experience is made realizes even in their website VS All Access which has the complete collection of Victoria’s Angels including in-depth information, model photo shoots, pink carpet events, and store openings which are attended by stars.

The company which is a market leader in innerwear has around 1000 store in the United States alone and owns one-third of the world market in women lingerie. The primary product line is Pink a lingerie line dedicated to young women. The other products include swimwear, designer lingerie, every day innerwear, and makeup to suit every occasion as well as fragrances.

Victoria’s Secret has stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada and operates through franchises in the Asia Pacific and Europe. One of the pioneers in lingerie, the brand has served as an inspiration for regional companies.

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Strengths in the SWOT analysis of Victoria’s Secret

Strengths are defined as what each business does best in its gamut of operations which can give it an upper hand over its competitors. The following are the strengths of Victoria’s Secret :

Fashion Shows: Victoria’s Secret owes a major chunk of its success to the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show which is showcased in all leading fashion magazines and channels. The show not just showcases the latest collections of the season and an exorbitantly priced events in the fashion business.
Celebrity following: Quite contrary to other fashion brands which are endorsed by celebrities Victoria’s Secret is a brand that creates celebrities. Many of the models who showcased their products have become celebrities and the company always chooses their models in a manner which connect to their audience which is primarily women. The models act as the first point of trust between the lingerie brand and their customers.
Focus on customer engagement: The biggest strength of Victoria Secret is their long line of loyal customers which regularly invest in lingerie and innerwear from the brand. This is possible not just because of product quality but also because of the customer engagement initiatives adopted by the company.
Advertising strategy: Victoria’s Secret primarily because of the nature of their product line cannot rely on mainstream channels for advertising. However through advertisements in glossy fashion magazines and brand placements in movies Victoria’s Secret has been able to get into the minds of women audience.
Victoria’s Secret in-store experience: Women don’t prefer to shop at Victoria’s Secret because of the affordable price range, but because of the outstanding customer experience the brand promises. The pink wallpapers, the spacious and sexy fitting rooms, the expert and courteous staff and the high appetite for innovation complete the in-store experience.

Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Victoria’s Secret

Some of the key weaknesses of Victoria’s Secret are:

Negative association: Most women may not be comfortable shopping openly for lingerie and not sure about the need for using lingerie. This creates a lot of challenges for Victoria’s Secret in marketing the brand.
Brand migration: The company to beat cheaper competition started focusing on new product lines. Some of the latest introduction has got poor feedback from the market especially in terms of comfort. This has resulted in many of the loyal customers of the brand switching to other competing brands.
Poor penetration in tier 2 cities: Most of Victoria’s Secret customers reside in Tier 1 cities or metros. Thus most of their stores are located in cities and the penetration into smaller towns is extremely low for the brand. These regions are however being targeted by most markets.

Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Victoria’s Secret

Some of the opportunities include:

Growth potential in emerging markets: There is a huge potential today in emerging markets and growing income levels, increased urban population as well as changing gender equations amongst youngsters including openness to sexuality are trends which will fuel sales of lingerie.

Threats in the SWOT analysis of Victoria’s Secret

Some of the threats include:

Competition from online players: The main competitors of Victoria’s Secret are the online players. There have also been a lot of start-ups which have started foraying into the lingerie market.
Steals: There are a lot of brands which are cheap imitations of popular designer brands. People are reluctant to spend excessively on lingerie and thus prefer cheaper imitations.