Brand Marketing Report

The Basics of Report Writing (In an academic Structure)

Structure
-Beginning, middle and end
-Critically, needs to be logical in an order, recommendations are at the ends.
-Needs to critically analyse

Example
-Title Page
-Contents- Whats inside your report
-Introduction- What it's about, what you're writing about
-Mid Section of report- Deals with key issues, any analysis
-Conclusion
-Recommendations (from your report research and findings)
-Bibliography
-Appendices- All the evidence, try to refer this back to the main body (e.g. refer to appendix 5)

Title Page
-Institution Title
 (Title of piece)
-Name BA Hons
The candidate conforms that the work submitted is their own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of other (Date and Month)
-Insert date, month and year
-Word Count (2,700-3,300 Max) abstract or executive summary not included

Contents Page
-List all the things you're discussing in a chronological order

VS
Research Findings
Initial Analysis
Current Brand positioning
Swot (Micro)
-Strengths
-Weaknesses
-Opportunities
-Threats
-PEST (Macro)
-Place
-Product
-Promotion
-Price
-Conclusion
-Recommendations from report
-Bibliography
-Appendices


Introduction
-An overview of what you intend to discuss
-Keep conversation concise
-Discuss the key points of report and intended research
-Give flavour of what you anticipate your findings/research may extract (Fuller overview of your findings
-Theme of the discussion

2,000 Words in the main body

Headers
E.g
2 Victoria's Secret; main header of section discussion
2.1 Research Findings; On the brand
2.2 Initial Analysis; What does this indicate about your brand reflecting on 2.1
2.3 Current Brand Positioning

Conclusion
-Summing up your research findings/report intentions; it rounds the whole piece off touching on the critical aspects of your discussion
-This must be to the point and concise (restrictions of overall word count)

Recommendations
-What issues does your chosen brand have?
-What are they doing or need to do to address this?
-Where is the brand situated, where do you feel (based solidly on research), does the brand need to be?
-How can the brand intervene through its current situation; What can it do to change their fate? (consider market conditions, positioning in the market place, consumer perceptions etc)

Bibliography
-Add all your long referencing through the Bibliography
-Looked at but maybe decided not to use in your report

Appendices
-Can be used to relate any information that connects to your essay context, but would not be put in the essay itself
e.g A sample of a survey that you've constructed
-A full quote which attaches to a segment of a quote used in your main essay, (to give the content further context)

Basic Guide
-Make sure to font is easy to read
-Use paragraphs and punctuation regularly and check grammar, proof read
-Add visuals to your piece which under pin specific written contexts you discuss in the report
-Add quotes to the points you are making
-Add page numbers to the footer of the document; understands referencing
-Add references regularly through your piece (To show where your research came from)
-Use long referencing in your bibliography
-Be objective (Not a subjective view)
-Make sure there is comparison running through your text. E.g. 'When looking at VS's brick and mortar sales compared to Aerie's online sales...'
-Make sure there is a good balance

Plagiarism
-Reference your work regularly (in text) and list all your references from your text in your Bibliography using APA system
-Don't paraphrase too closely to original source- Write all the information in your own words
-Don't copy and paste directly from an original source
-Time Manage properly

REMEMBER
-Who is the intended audience?
-Why is the report needed?
-What do the audience want to find out?
-What sections does your report need?
-When is the deadline?


Writing Styles
-Factual Writing- State the facts exactly as they are
-Descriptive Writing- A detailed account of the characteristics of things
-Explanatory Writing- Make things clear and give reasons for them
-Discursive writing- Investigates things by reasoning or making a reasoned examination
-Analytical Writing- Examines complex things to discover how they work.

Try to avoid things that could be replaced by one word
Due to the fact that= Because
On a daily basis= Daily
Of a complex nature= Complex
In a Fashion studio situation= In the Studio

Voice
-Use passive or active words to avoid using the first person. Use 'WE' not 'I'.
Passive= A concept was selected
Active= We selected a concept
-Be consistent

Tense
-When you are reporting your findings, use the past tense (you are reporting on something that has happened or, describing what you found) e.g We build and tested a runway
-Other peoples research, use present tense (Something that is established knowledge) e.g. Summer clothes are multicoloured

Numbering
1 Main heading
1.1 Secondary heading
1.1.1 Sub-Heading
1.1.2 Secondary Heading
1.2.1 Sub heading
1.2.2. Sub heading
1.2.2.1 Sub sub heading

Other issues to discuss
-Diversity
-Ethics
-Sustainability
-Social Media
-Influencer Marketing

Sales can diminish the perceived value of the brand
Luxury brands are part of exclusivity.

Abstract
Aim
What you're looking at
Results
Competitors

APA Referencing

APA Referencing

Why?
-Distinguish ideas from someone else's
-Validate argument
-Illustrate scope of your reading
-So readers can trace your sources
-Avoid plagiarism

When?
-Quote, Paraphrase or summarise the work of others
-Cite and reference all your sources
-Applies to all formats of information

1. Cite- Highlighting in your work that the ideas and info came from someone else
2. Reference List- Listing the materials in a clear and concise way so that others can read them.

Skeleton of Reference
-Who, Author/ Editor
-When published or released
-What you call it- Title
-Where, origin URL

Book
E.g Easey, M. (2009) Fashion Marketing (3rd ed)

(Mintel Academic 2017)

Primary Research Notes

Brick and Mortar
-Where
-How Big
-What Big

Sales
-What Products
-What Platform

Current Brand
-Strengths
-Core Identity
-Hero Products
-Influencer Associations
-Collaborations

Customer
-Who
-Values
-Age
-Gender
-Income
-Reason for buying
-Location
-Expectations

New Market
-Values
-Spending Habits
-Emerging Demographics
-Influence

Competitor
-Strategy
-Visual Communication
-Platforms

Digital
-Social Statistics
-Platforms
-UI/UX

Primary Research
-Questionnaires
-Surveys
- E-mails
- Telephone Calls
- Focus Groups
- Photography

VS Advertising

Victoria's Secret Adverts

According to Forbes, VS's Target Audience is most loved by 16-24 year olds, this is more Gen Z and millennial based around Vs's sister brand, PINK. From their Advertisements in the US and Yearly Catwalk shows, it feeds into the 'male gaze' rather than the current empowerment for women movement and t doesn't seem to resonate well with their audience.

The video above if from Victoria's Secret's 2017 Holliday commercial. From the go ahead, this ad is very sexy, sensual and playing heavily into the male gaze. The captions of the video is 'Join Victoria's Secret for the sexiest Holiday yet!'. It give women and unachievable ideal that they are meant to strive towards in order to feel sexy. All of these models have toned stomachs and long hair, and and 'angelic' look. They're telling women, 'This is what you need to be in order to be sexy.' We've moved past that now, we are seeing diversity from brands left right and centre. My analysis would be that women are getting bored and tired of being told the same thing over and over and the brand is far from giving them a huge confidence boost.

The push-up Bra. (https://www.whowhatwear.co.uk/bra-trends-2017)
-This is part of Victoria's Secret's core collection. But the big problem is that the way its advertised is, bigger boobs means sexy, more desirable and more attractive. But again, women aren't buying into this 90's advertising of sexualising bodies, they want comfort. Based on lingerie retail shops in the UK, push up bra sales have decline by a huge 50% compared to 2016 and padded bra sales fell by 22%. Bralettes and triangle bras are THE bra for women as sales have have a huge increase of 120% (Statistics from Edited). It's clear in the facts that women aren't wearing their lingerie to impress anyone, they'd much prefer something they can have on all day and feel ultimate comfort. Bralettes are also a lot cheaper to make too, which is always a bonus.


Advert Choice
-TV advertising was huge, but now it's all social Media. Cookies, instagram and influencers. They are investing their time and a huge amount of money into these 'sexy' Holiday Ad's but it's clear by the profits that they aren't working, so what's the point? I believe the need to move their platform, move away from TV and onto the online advertising that other brands have.

References:
https://www.whowhatwear.co.uk/bra-trends-2017

The Online Industry

Online Consumers and High Street Decline.

A study by Mintel found that over a third (34%) of consumers now shop for their lingerie, loungewear and nightwear online. This could be a huge market for Victoria's Secret as moving to just an online store may be a good move as this could increase sales and reduce spends in costs of having stores open across the globe. Their pink range is directed at Gen Z, a generation of tablets, online and social media. This being at the forefront of the upcoming generational, it may be a good idea to direct their costs and time and money into a more online brand. It seems that people now have turned to wanting to shop in the comfort of their own home. This may be due to ease, lack of time for shopping centres and better deals online.
References: http://academic.mintel.com/display/903790/?highlight#hit1

Victoria's secret are about to close 20 of their stores in the US in 2018. As Victoria's Secret prides itself on it's in store experience and custom bra fittings, they are forgetting about the consumer needs. As marketing to a younger target audience, brick and mortar shops are in high decline. High street sales dropped by 1.7% in June 2018 compared to June 2017. It looks like this decrease will continue as we move into the digital age. In March 2018, 17.4% of all retail sales was online. This was even bigger that in March 2017 which came to 15.9%. The online retail industry is huge and clearly growing, with Gen Z being the next upcoming generation for change we can see they have more values, and seem to be more conscious about brand choice and of course, are at the forefront of the digital age. With Victoria's Secret having 1,170 stores worldwide and 7,616,000 of selling square feet, it's clear that a huge amounts of their spending costs go towards the in-store experience. However, this isn't coherent with consumer needs and the growing online market.
References:
https://www.businessinsider.com/victorias-secret-closing-20-stores-2018-8?r=US&IR=T
https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/march2018
https://www.lb.com/our-brands/victorias-secret
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jul/06/uk-high-street-sales-fall-for-fifth-month-running
https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2018/09/08/victorias-secret-may-be-womens-most-beloved-brand-but-thats-not-the-love-it-needs/#32e66c3832bb

My Proposal (Suggestions)
Retail and the Fashion industry's future is online. Millennials and Gen Z are taking over as technology is growing we are spend more and more time scrolling through instagram to see the latest post form our favourite Social Influencer. Victoria's Secret need to spend the time with their online business as well as the industry, curating their Instagram to fit the new wave consumer of today. We trust social influencers as consumers so Victoria's Secret really need them on their side. Not just the Kylie and Kendall Jenners but a more diverse range of influencers. Tess Holliday, a plus size model is booming in the industry, within 1.7M followers, she's a role model to the plus size community. Victoria's Secret need to spend more on their website, making it more interactive and re-vamping the look. More neutral, relatable and realistic models need to be at the front of their online campaigns. This needs to be a celebration of women. We have seen the same angel wings and models every year and the same branding throughout the store. Whether this be iconic or not, they are losing money. They may worry about losing the hardcore VS supporters but the bottom line is that they are failing to gain any more following.


References:
https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/43pa4q/victorias-secret-women-lingerie
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jul/06/uk-high-street-sales-fall-for-fifth-month-running
http://academic.mintel.com/display/926072/?highlight
https://www.businessinsider.com/victorias-secret-closing-20-stores-2018-8?r=US&IR=T
https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/march2018
https://www.lb.com/our-brands/victorias-secret
http://academic.mintel.com/display/903788/?highlight#hit1

Final Poster for Victoria's Secret

Final Poster for Victoria's Secret Brand

Today I completed the poster task for Monday's Session. After having a lecture about changing the Fashion Industry, I found a lot of pledges by L brands (VS parent brand), they spoke about trying to cut out the use of wood pulp as it can be very damaging to rainforests across the world. They speak about tracing their materials in the pledge and being conscious of their 'Fashion footprint'. I didn't find enough information that was relevant to my campaign strategy.

The main problem with Victoria's Secret in my opinion, is their niche representation of women. I therefore wanted to showcase a compare and contrast poster with another brand to highlight the issue with the brand. I focused this on body image. Finding information of sales declines, protests, campaigns and what other brand we're branded as and why they are overtaking the lingerie industry.

-The first feature I wanted to input was Twitter, it's relevant to the generation market and to the online, mobile world we live in. Typing in 'Victoria's Secret Fashion Show', I was bombarded by hundreds upon hundreds of tweets from women putting themselves down and showing signs of low self-esteem. I wanted to focus on that even though around 800 million people watch this show, I delved into whether this does more bad than good. Furthering my research I'll look into the effects of the show, the window displays and the lack of size diversity of Victoria's Secret. The controversial statements they made and my proposal for the future of VS.

The poster kick started my research into the competitors in the lingerie brand. I found that Aerie (An American eagle brand) has had a huge boom in the industry. It has comfort, inclusiveness and celebrating all women at the forefront of the brand. Briefly seeing the rise in Feminism, #metoo movements and diversity, it suggests a huge correlation between what women value and search for when looking for underwear. Finding statistics through Mintel, women want more representation of the average size woman (UK size 16) when underwear brands showcase their campaigns. This correlates with the decline in Victoria's Secret and increase in Aerie. This is highlighted through protests, most recently in London with women from NuNude outside the London shop demanding diversity as they hold signs with "We want diversity for all brands" whilst in skin coloured underwear. These are happening all over the world. In Times Square, models had their own runway as they shared the hashtag #theREALcatwalk. I wanted to get across the message that women wont stand for brands excluding them from their campaigns, they are hiding women that are above a certain size and showcasing one kind of beautiful. Women are calling a boycott on VS, they are grabbing their signs and fighting back against a 90's ideal of beauty. This is the message my poster holds.

You could look at this poster as a half and half. You see the VS idea of beauty vs what women want to see and what women hold close to their values. The poster showcases the damages the shows have created to especially young women's self-esteem and body image. The second half shows the changes in society and suggests the changes Victoria's Secret could make. protests, statistics, news articles, and a more inclusive brand is shown to highlight the movements in society and in underwear brands.

The aesthetic of the left half is in the style of Victoria's Secret, their brand, marketing and online pages. The picture used is of model Adriana Lima, shown in red angel wings. The image used it to convey the danger of these shows shown by the devilish branding of VS as well as, the damaging effect of the shows portrayed by tweets from women surrounding it. On the other hand, the right half shows the changing society in what women value in brands and underwear. I've made a protest sign based on NuNude London protest and shown real images taken from Aerie's lingerie brand. The poster is heavily bases on the consumer. Through their responses, protests and stats it explains why Victoria's Secret is losing money.

Changing Fashion Landscapes Lecture

Changing Fashion Landscapes

Ethics
-Where your clothing is made
-Who made them

-Exploitative labour e.g Child labour, difficult to track down, Bangladesh.
-Environmental damage e.g deforestation, profitable crops like cotton, sustainability, the changing planet etc
-Chemicals e.g Damaging natural resources
-Waste e.g. plastic, coming in through water supply and home grown crops, causes skin conditions, illnesses in the area.
-Animal Cruelty e.g.


Circular Economy
-' A circular economy is an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, disposal) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life.' (Wrap 2018)

Sustainability
-Closed loop system
Methods of zero waste
e.g. Levi's use existing resource and keep that in the cycle as much as they can
 H&M

Slower to adopt
-Primark

Luxury Brands
-Farming animals for fur
-Difficult to trace some supply chains/accountability for production

Impacts
-Sustainability
-Climate
-Depletion of natural resources (animals, habitat, water and so on)



Eco-Fashion
-Fashion of sustainability
-People Tree
-Patagonia
-UNMADE: Niche knitwear- consumer can produce their own products
-Traid
-Oxfam hub Batley; Online Vintage


Counterfeit goods
-Luxury Market
-Countries and counterfeiting (duplicating the product)
-Creates problems with sales, profit and the kudos of brands in question
-Further promotes unethical practice ('hidden' manufacture of goods)

Social Responsibility
-What we consume
-Why we consume it
-What forms our consumer patterns (trend and pattern)
-Who is responsible for increased consumption ( Is it the consumer or the brand?)
-Our understanding of product use and where product goes
-How our actions impact on other, (links back to ethics)

A huge percentage of clothing get disposed of, burnt and thrown away. We need to relfect on how our actions are effecting the wider economy and


Generational Shifts
-Different consumers consume in different ways
-Generation X; Largely bricks and mortar (high street) with some online consumption. Afraid of online shopping due to fraud etc. No attachment to technology
-Generation Y; Largely online, with some bricks and mortar consumption. Comparing prices from on the high street to online, trying to get the best price.
-Generation Z; Born into the digital age. Immersive relationship with digital technology, no fear within in. They are worried about the impact that Gen X has had which starte din the 80's.
-Methods of marketing to consumers are continually shifting, due to the complex nature of the cross generational experience of interacting with and identifying product.


Marketing Methodologies
Bricks and Mortar institutions; John Lewis
-Televison
-Loyalty Cards
-Long Routes to identifying and engaging their consumer

Online
-Uses cross sectional marketing/ advertising
-Social Media
-Some terrestrial TV advertising e.g. BooHoo.com
-Posters/digital bill boards/ taxi's (boohoo.com)
-Fast Fashion social media cascade

High Street retailers engaging the consumer
-Both digitally and physically
-Topshop; Online offers, as well as high street 'lock ins' for students

Generation X
-Brought up through the era of physical shopping experience
-Department stores
-High Street Brands
-Have a tendency to brand loyalty, and still attach 'value' to the cost of an item
- Tend to reflect personal status through consumption
-Focuses on 'aspirational' product
-Online understanding and to media e.g. Facebook

Gen Y
-Cross over generation
-Technology occurred through their life time
-More connected to Social media
-Not as brand loyal, will tend to shop around
-Online based but uses some brick and mortar


Gen Z
-Born in the digital age
-Completely immersed in technology
-Everything done through online

Consumer Shifts
-Online shopping
-Comparing and contrasting product online
-Sourcing the best price from online comparison
-Social Media; displays product choice
-Online shopping has seen the shift of consuming fast fashion through faster cycles. See it, buy it, move on.
-Collections were biannually then moved into quarterly through the year and fast fashion has moved this to 52 week a year.

Impact of Online Vs High Street
High Street
-Same product in different stores
-Increasingly less differ in product
-Product prices higher (pay for the space)
-Busier lives, more demanding jobs means not enough time to shop around
-More expensive to go out shopping

Online
-More convenience
-Diverse Choice
-Cheapest price
-Sourcing garments, unique pieces


Can the High Street fight back?
Burberry- Physical meets Digital
Adidas- Interactive experiences in store

Now
-Globalisation
-Materials
-Labour
-Sources at low cost
-Industrialised methods of growing crops
-Habitat and Environmental destruction

Futures
-More digitisation
-Niche Products (emotional connection)
-3D printed product (one off)
-Digitisation in fashion print/textiles
-Biometrics
-Textiles grown from organisms

Referene
Wrap UK 2018
Source: http://www.wrap.org.uk/about-us/about/wrap-and-circular-economy

Poster Ideas and Brand ethics

Ideas for Poster

-Tweets from VS show
-Campaigns
-Where do VS source their garments?
-Sustainability
-Statistics
- Online report as headline

Victoria's Secret Sourcing (Business of Fashion article)
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/victorias-secret-looks-to-uncover-supply-chain-issues
-L Brand (parent brand of VS) have said that they are looking into tracing all the sources of their wood based fabric. They are pledging to use alternatives to wood-based materials (used to make ryon, viscose and modal). They are acknowledging the fact that this is contributing to the deforestation of the local areas as well as taking away human rights.
-Victoria's Secret are  now amongst the brands that are committing to sourcing their supply chain to stop supplies from destructive regions.
"Our Forest Products Procurement Policy is written to reduce threats to ancient and endangered forests and to avoid products that contribute to deforestation or human rights abuses," said L Brands' policy statement published on its website.

"Production of wood pulp can involve clearing forests to build eucalyptus plantations and taking land traditionally used by indigenous communities, campaigners say."
From my own analysis and internet research I didn't find any hard evidence that Victoria's Secret had made change, to the fast fashion consumerism and also looking into every aspect of their supply chain. Their website is full of L Brand policies but no evidence, only pledges. 

Victorias Secret Advertising issue (Business of Fashion)
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/victorias-secret-is-still-advertising-to-women-like-its-1999?source=bibblio
- Victoria's Secret was founded during the sexual revolution. With them still being dominant retailer in the US, they have still dropped each of the six quarters and don't show any signs of rebound. With the rise of online lingerie retailers and the changing attitudes to women's bodies, policies and sex appeal. Even the Pink brand, which is owned by Victoria's Secret is showing huge signs of decline in sales. Shares were down by 44%, with the main target audience being Gen Z, it shows their message and brand identity isn't getting the same response from the younger generation.
With a shift in attitudes towards feminism especially due to the rise in campaigns such as #metoo. This over-glamourised, glossy long hair and super long legs, it isn't having the same 'wow' effect on women as it used to. Online Retailers and high street stores are creeping into taking over the lingerie industry.

https://www.wetheurban.com/blog/2017/12/19/models-body-positive-time-square-challenge-victoria-secrets-beauty-standards

Women take over New York in Times Square showcasing different shapes and sizes of women's bodies. A campaign set up by activist Khrystyana, they used the hashtag #theREALcatwalk to spread awareness of women empowerment and normalising women's bodies. Cellulite, stretch marks and all body types were celebrated. Khrystyana said "Everyone is welcome to walk."

Images above are photos I'd taken from the Aerie website. Looking through the website I saw a wide range of women of shapes, sizes, ages and ethnicities. Looking further into the brand, they are making huge amounts of profits.

I used Images from the Victoria's Secret show 2018.

Through looking at different aspects of the areas VS can improve on I found a lot more on size and diversity. I started to narrow down what I wanted my message to be and the facts and figures I wanted to include within this. I sae Aerie as a huge competitor and a step in the right direction to empowering and celebrating all women. As they are increasing day by day in profit, I saw this as evidence that women hold these values and are being more conscious of what brands they buy from and if they hold the same values. Aerie is relatable and more natural and holds comfort at the core of their brand. I showed this through statistics and tweets. I started to do a direct compare and contrast with Vs and Aerie, showing the contrasting values and how this has affected them in the market.




References:
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/victorias-secret-is-still-advertising-to-women-like-its-1999?source=bibblio
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/victorias-secret-looks-to-uncover-supply-chain-issues
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/victorias-secret-losing-customers-on-price-and-bralettes-wont-bring-them-back-study-says-2017-09-13
https://www.wetheurban.com/blog/2017/12/19/models-body-positive-time-square-challenge-victoria-secrets-beauty-standards
https://www.ae.com/intl/en/p/aerie/bras/lightly-lined/aerie-real-sunnie-wireless-lightly-lined-bra/4792_7939_073?isFiltered=false&nvid=plp%3Acat4130015

Brief and Statistics

Statistics & Brief

Today we started out our Market Research on a declining brand project. We needed to find out issues within the chosen brand and why they were in decline. We are then to compose a marketing report on the issues, SWOT, PEST, statistics, analysis, marketing strategies etc. As I didn't have the time to incorporate a photoshoot into my Zine, I am hoping to be able to do this in this project as part of my Campaign for the re-brand.

 I decided to look into Victoria's Secret as I found a strong  link between this and my Zine. I started initial research with looking into the statistics of the decline in sales of VS worldwide. From initial research I found many problems with Victoria's Secret in their lack of inclusivity, ignorance to consumer needs and keeping up with what women want. I'm looking into the parent company L Brands decline and compared this to other lingerie brands in the market. I also started to look into why this might be and why the consumer isn't as drawn to Victoria's Secret Brand.

Mintel report
They are the most well-known lingerie brand with 83% of women in the UK being aware of Victoria's Secret. This may be due to their high-profile shows as they are seen as exciting and trend-setting. They play a huge part in brand awareness due to them being everywhere in mainstream media. They have a decline in sales which may be due to their non-inclusive approach for casting as this can lack authenticity.
They appeal to 16-24 year olds and 37% are committed to the brand. Their customers peak at young consumers. Most of these suggesting they have a positive experience in VS and would recommend it to someone they know. However, they are losing more by not appealing to other demographic age groups. This all suggests that are lacking in appealing to an older audience.

Net Sales of VS worldwide from 2010 to 2017 shows quite a big loss in sales as profits go from 7.78 billion to 7.38 billion in the years of 2016 to 2017. This suggest the brand needs to take a new direction. Whether this be marketing, brand identity, or their outdated brand image. Women don't relate to the "flawless image" Victoria's Secret are showcasing every year in their shows and in their marketing strategies.

The Sun
Gabriella Santeilllo "The Angels are unrelateble, while the stores look too much like an outdated boudoir".
Victoria's Secret have increased spending on marketing campaigns. These are all over-sexualised and aren't moving with the forward-thinking society we are working towards.
The independent states that company sales fell by 4% compared to 2017. Their sales have also weakened from their core lingerie range, which is usually their biggest seller.

Market Watch found (I-D Magazine) in a Wells Fargo study 48% of customers in the poll shopped less in the past year (study done 2017). 28% of those had said they planned to shop even less in the next 12 months. 58% of those added that the prices were too high for them. This may be due to their lack of relatable looks and natural beauty,
L-Brands (Victoria's Secret parent brand) have had a 4% loss in same-store stores in August 2017. Victoria's Secret accounted for half of these percentage points.



Comfort and Size Representation
Victoria's Secret are having huge problems with keeping up with current trends, especially with millennials. They are wanting to reinvent their constructed bra, unwired, push-up and structured. however, the market is moving more towards wanting "comfort" over "sexy". Millennials are boosting sales or bralettes and wireless bras.

From this Study done by Mintel, it suggests that women 16+ value comfort more than any other factor when bra shopping. This suggests that as Victoria Secret are known for more glitz, glamour and underwire bras. Women now may shop elsewhere for a bra that is more comfortable for them (bralette/wireless).

Big brands like Victoria's Secret must keep up with the current bra trends in millennials as this can definitely sway sales and make people shop elsewhere. This is shown in the decrease in sales and profit in the company over the past couple of years.

The study above shows that 80% of consumers value comfort more than the design of the bra. The study also shows thats 73% of consumers believe that the campaigns underwear companies show should represent the average person. Victoria's Secret have been known for their 'angels' for many years. They haven't ever had a plus size model walk the runway nor have they been represented. With the average Victoria's Secret model having a 24" waist and around a size 6, this isn't what normal women look like. The average size in the UK is 16, with there being such a big gap towards women being represented the the brand, consumers may sway towards other companies that represent a wide range of different sizes, more achievable ones. This may be another reason as to why Victoria's Secret are declining, many influencers and campaigns have called to boycott the shows until average/ plus size women are represented by the brand.

Through all this research, I'm able to conclude some of the areas Victoria's Secret needs to work on to become more profitable. They over-sexualise women in their adverts and campaigns and it's left a sour taste for the consumer as they value women's empowerment, representation of size and a comfortable bra. I can now start to layout my marketing plan for VS as I have become aware of the consumer. Through further research Im going to be looking at the generational market for VS, the show views and opinions, the competitors, the online industry etc.


References
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/victorias-secret-losing-customers-on-price-and-bralettes-wont-bring-them-back-study-says-2017-09-13
https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/43pa4q/victorias-secret-women-lingerie
https://www.statista.com/statistics/255806/net-sales-of-victorias-secret-worldwide/
http://academic.mintel.com/display/903802/?highlight#hit1
http://academic.mintel.com/display/903788/?highlight#hit1