VS Decline in Sales

VS parent brand L brands, reported a 3% decline in sales compared to 2017. This may be due to a loss in interest in the brand or change in values with the current consumer demographic. However they are still performing well in the UK, Companies House revealed that VS UK arm sales have increased by 24.3% to £132 million in 2016. As the stores grow geographically they are expected to increase.
Source: http://academic.mintel.com/display/903778/?highlight#hit1

PESTEL Analysis VS

PESTEL Analysis

Political:
-NuNude protest outside London Oxford Circus. “We were fed up seeing these so-called perfect body images online, with there being just one perceived beautiful body type,” Said Mac (Founder to Huff Post). After the VS show they stood outside the VS shop in London to show true diversity. 
-Means that VS are behind in the ideologies and not in line with consumer needs and wants e.g Gigi Gorgeous video, Tess Holliday Instagram Post (Lack of influencer support)

-CEO/ Marketing told Vogue that Trans and Plus size models didn't fit into their 'fantasy' of the brand. Huge backlash, backwards ideologies, not keeping up with current brands and competitors e.g Savage X Fenty, Aerie, Ann Summers

Economic
-Target audience has a smaller disposable income. According to a Mintel report, women aged 16-24 spend £37 in the last 12 months on underwear. This had significantly increased in women aged 25-44 to £52 a year. This suggests baby boomers and millennials have more disposable income, this may be due to being in full-time work, and having 2 incomes. The target audience for VS is 16-24, the prices of bras start from around £20-£60, this doesn't coincide with income of their audience. Their consumer demographic may be unable to afford the brand and therefore turn to other brands e.g Primark, Ann Summers etc


Social
-The brand was originally created for Men to be able to shop comfortably, oversexualises women as as 'fantasy'. Women values have changed over the years to become more inclusive and body positive.
-The right in feminism especially over recent years, including the 'me too' movement has brought forward the empowerment of women and shuts down sexualisation of women. The brand is behind on this.
-Survey Monkey (Primary) 38% had liberal values and 82% were 16-25 suggesting that Gen X and Z are liberal mainly but VS doesn't reflect the consumer.
-

Technological
-20 stores set to close in the US (Huff Post), may be due to a decline in Brick and Mortar and increase in online industry. 32% people buy their lingerie online (Mintel)
-No much engagement on social media online, only use angels as social influencers.
-According to https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/march2018 in March 2018 17.4% of all retail sales were online.
-The brand manager of VS stores (Primary) said that 70% of people are wearing the wrong bra size, which is why they do in-store experiences and fittings
-No interaction with consumer on website on social channels

Environment:
-WWF study L Brand given 0.5/19.5 for cotton sourcing. They have been caught for having poor traceability on their sourcing and low commitment to sustainability.
-The Rainforest Action Network (2015); VS were in the fashion 15 for contributing most to the fashion footprint on the environment. This includes, land grabbing, abusing human rights and deforestation in areas that communities depend on. (Indonesia is main victim)
-According to IPE, VS scored 5/100 based on their supply chain in China. They haven't disclosed their supply chain in China, nor have they pushed suppliers to look at environmental impacts.

Legal:
-PETA has disclosed the brand who 'do test on animals' and urges people not to buy from them. VS is a part of this group and consumers have been exposed to the horrors of animal testing and as we are becoming more aware, we are choosing the companies that are fighting against this. This could cause VS to decline.
-The International Trade Union Confederation looked into sweat shops in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. VS uses these suppliers. They found the workers were forced to meet impossible targets or had pay cuts, received abuse, forced to work rest days and worked 100-130 hours overtime a month.

SWOT Analysis VS

Source for VS Fashion Show:https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/victorias-secret-fashion-show-2018-low-ratings-abc-3million-a8666226.html

Strengths:
-83% of Women are aware of the brand- http://academic.mintel.com/display/903788/?highlight#hit1
-They hold a strong brand identity and a clear message

-They have a high following and still come out on top for women's favourite lingerie brand (Conde Nast report)

-Even though people are concerned on inclusivity, they still happily buy the brand (Survey primary research)

-Millions of people tune into the fashion show every year, most publicity and engagement on social media (Weakness lowest views)

-VS are rapidly growing in the UK, they are creating more and more stores. They had 5 stores in 2012 and 23 in 2017. (Mintel)

-VS had had the biggest growth in UK revenue and holds the most revenue out go the whole of the UK lingerie market. 19,000 in 2012 to 166,000 in 2017 (Mintel)

-33% of those answering our survey said they buy from VS, this was the highest percentage not only among lingerie retailers but amongst everywhere that sells lingerie.

-72% of respondents (Survey Monkey) would still buy from Victoria's Secret even after knowing that they don't use trans or plus-size models. Even though the media has slammed VS for this, it shows they still have a strong and loyal following despite this.


Weaknesses:
-Revenue per store outlet has decreased in the UK from almost 11,000 in 2018 to 8,000 in 2017. (Mintel)
-VS show views have dropped to the lowest ever, 3.3M compared to 5Million in 2017. (Independent-Post by Olivia Petter) Social media/ Influencer marketing
-First thoughts on VS- Focus group Interview
"Sexist"
"I don't particularly like their ethics, and think their attitudes are behind and haven’t started progressing like other brands in the fashion industry. Overpriced."
"Outdated views on the female body form"- PRIMARY RESEARCH



Opportunties
-83% of women prefer comfort over anything when buying brands, they could focus more on comfort over sexualisation of women-https://data.mintel.com/databook/859227/?presentation=graphs

-Use more averaged sized women in their campaigns as 78% wants brands to represent the average person in their campaigns.- https://data.mintel.com/databook/859227/?presentation=graphs

-71.13% of women in the survey (primary) said the Angels were not good role models and therefore they may need to re-think the branding of them. E.g. bringing in more influencers and a range of different sizes to keep the audience engaged.
-Focus group interview about pricing


Threats
-Clothing retailers such as Primark as 26% in the survey said they usually buy their underwear from clothing retailers. (Primark 54% of 16-24 yr olds bought from them in last 12 months- Mintel)

-Other lingerie brand are sweeping the market and bringing inclusivity to the forefront of their brand. 
e.g. Savage X Fenty show all over social media, and gained 1.4M followers and it has only been going since April 2018. They show confidence and a sexy attitude in all body types and it resonates well with the consumer of today. -Primary

-Aerie has had a 38% increase in same store sales for the first quarter of 2018 (Business Insider), a brand about comfort, inclusiveness and body positivity. -https://www.businessinsider.com/women-abandon-victorias-secret-for-aerie-photos-2018-2?r=US&IR=T

-Their luxury price tag doesn't match their consumer demographic of 16-24 year olds with not much disposable income so turn to cheaper brands such as Primark. (Wells Fargo Study said 58% of consumers said the prices were too high for them)-https://www.businessinsider.com/victorias-secret-loses-customers-2017-9?r=US&IR=T

-Acorrding to business insider in 2018, they were set to close 20 of their US shops and already had closed 6. This may be due to a decline in Brick and Mortar and increase in the digital world. (Mintel report stated 34% of consumers now shop for their lingerie online. Their products directed at a digital consumer. -https://www.businessinsider.com/victorias-secret-closing-20-stores-2018-8?r=US&IR=T

Group Survey Results

We put a survey into the public about their buying habits and their thoughts on VS as a brand. Here are the results

Target Market
82% of the people who took the survey were 16-25, this comes as an advantage to us because this is the target audience of the brand. 11% were 26-35, 4% were 36-45, 46+ there were only 2% and under 16 was 1%.

Occupation
42% were student with a part time job and 25% were just students. This lowers the affordability of the luxury brand and being in the student demographic means less disposable income for luxury brands like VS so may have swayed opinions on buying habits. 26% had a full time job which means they are in a better financial position for disposable income. 4% had a part time job and 3% were unemployed.

Values
-I counted 38/87 people considered themselves to be liberal in their values. Meaning most people in the survey were forward thinking and mostly open to change.

Size
-53% were a size Small and 48% were a size medium. 14% were an XS, 1% were XL and 1% were XXL. This suggests the majority those who answered the survey may be able to relate to the models in terms of sizing and therefore may not be as concerned with the brand not using inclusive models. We looked more into this over the next couple of questions.


Buying Habits
- 57% of people bought underwear only when they needed it. 31% bought it mostly, 14% bought it yearly and only 2% bought it weekly. This suggests that women only purchase underwear when their current ones maybe get old or break or aren't wearable anymore. Concluding that underwear may not be as frequently purchased as fashion such as clothing to keep on trend. This is more a necessity than to keep 'on trend'. Comfort may be good to focus on.

Where to shop?
M&S= 5%
VS=33%
Other lingerie Specialists= 5%
Department Stores-= 8%
Clothing Retailers= 26%
Supermarkets= 8%
Online= 4%
Other= 11% (6 of those were Primark)

Comfort
-When asked how important comfort is when buying underwear on a scale of 0-100, 39% of respondents answered as this being 100. Meaning this must be the first thing they consider when purchasing underwear.

Fashion Show Views
-When asked about viewing the show, 31% had said they were likely or very likely to watch the show. 21% had no preference meaning they may not be interested or know about the show and 48% had said they were unlikely or very unlikely to watch the show. A lot more people seem to have a stronger opinion against the show which reflects with the viewings decreasing in 2018. People may be tired of not being represented for the 'fantasy'.

VS Angels
-29.9% of respondents said they think the angels are good role models compared to a huge 71.13% who said they disagreed. Due to this being the core branding in VS, it shows people are engaged or respond well to the angels. This may be due to the Mintel study as 78% of women think that models should represent the average person.

Trans and Plus-Size
-28% of respondents wouldn't buy VS knowing that they refuse to use trans or Plus-Size models in their branding. However, 72% would still buy from VS knowing this. This suggests people are aware and care about inclusiveness in brands, but not enough to stop buying from the brands they like. Most people in the survey would still back VS meaning they still have a huge following.

Brand Mapping: Comfort vs Sultry, Luxury or affordable?

Brand Mapping: Comfort or sexy? Luxury or affordable?

This brand position map is based on the products the brand sell and how they are advertised. VS being branded as sexy and sultry, it prides itself on the 'fantasy' sold to consumers. Along with this comes a luxury price point, with a lot of the bras from £40-£60, they aren't affordable for those with little disposable income. Similarly is Savage X Fenty, branding itself more sexy for women themselves and feeling confident, it takes a different spin on the definition of sexy. Still with a luxury price point, coming in just under VS with bras around £35-£45. Calvin Klein being designer, qualifies as luxury but the bras are simplistic, wearable and made for comfort. Primark is down at the Lowest price point, with sets being as little as £5, this brand is entry level affordable for those with little to no disposable income. Ann Summers again is very highly sexually branded including pleasure products for women, with a smaller price point than Savage and VS.

VS seem to have a sexy and sultry brand representation with a high price point, its main competitors are Ann Summers and Savage and possibly Boux Avenue.

Brand Mapping: Inclusiveness and Fashion focus

Brand Mapping: Inclusiveness and Fashion trends

This brand map is based on where Victoria's Secret and their competitors sit in the market in terms of their values. I put the 4 points based on their stance on inclusiveness and how they brand themselves in relation to the moving fashion trends. The biggest difference in the map is Savage X Fenty and Victoria's Secret. They are both classed as a high fashion and desirable brand keeping up with the trends. However, VS is on the top end of exclusive whilst Savage is on the top end of being Inclusive.  It suggests that you can be on trend and high-fashion and still be diverse in your branding. A lot of the higher fashion brands proved to be more exclusive. M&S and Aerie scored high on being inclusive however had a lower fashion focus and don't seem to follow trends. Overall, Savage X Fenty is setting the mark for a high fashion brand that's bringing in a bigger target audience by using a wide range of models. I will use this in my recommendations as I want to keep the high-fashion orientated audience VS has but gaining inclusivity during their campaigns to bring in a wider audience and keep up with consumer values.

Competitors: Aerie (US Brand)

Competitors: Aeire (US Brand)

Source; https://www.businessinsider.com/women-abandon-victorias-secret-for-aerie-photos-2018-2?r=US&IR=T

Aerie are a US brand owned by American Eagle. Promoting Self-love, confidence and body positivity is at the forefront of their brand identity. Their sales grew by 38% in the first quarter of 2018 according to business insider, they compared this to Victoria's Secret and found only a 1% increase in the first quarter sales. Business insider compared the two brand said people resonate well with Aerie due to it's empowering message and representation of women in its campaigns. On the other hand Victoria's Secret was slammed for it's over sexualised ad's and argued that the brand is mainly targeting men. 

The prices range from around $20-$55 for a bras so they are considered to be quite a luxury brand. They sell their products based on comfort and confidence. It's not sold as sexy or sultry but feeling good in your body and comfortable too. Through the website, editorial photos of a huge range of models are used across the board. Nobody is missed with Aerie, they use women with disabilities, larger women, older, those who have tattoos, different ethnicities etc. Everyone is able to feel included in the brand as they brand represents all women. Though the brand is doing well, it has not yet come to the UK and is quite luxury for a younger consumer. It's online identity however doesn't seem to have a particular target market, meaning everyone must feel like they can buy from the brand. 

Aerie encourages customers to get involved with the brand via social media channels e.g. Instagram and Twitter. They encourage women to speak out about how they feel wearing the brand and body positivity. They share women's stories across the world on self-love. This seems to be an amazing feature as it connects social channels to the website, encouraging people to buy. 

Aerie also did a campaign speaking out about women not feeling like they are the 'image' of Underwear campaigns. They show all different women, celebrating and supporting each other in shooting for Aerie. The women are happy and feel represented by the brand and in turn the customers will too. 

According to a Mintel report, 78% of women want to see themselves in the models in brands. This is exactly what Aerie is doing and therefore will resonate well with their consumer.

Instagram

Their instagram has 1 million followers and perfectly reflects the brand. Regrams, products photos and empowering messages. The feed is very americanised, beaches, camping and American backgrounds are shown all throughout the feed. Their highlights are more personal, connecting to the consumer and influencers that are bringing in more profit for the brand. They get anything from 3,000-15,000 likes per post and show high engagement with those who follow them. 

Overall, the brand is sending a positive message across the board, in line with what the female consumer wants today. The brand is less sexy and more toned down, comfort and confidence are the core message they are sending. This in turn has increased their sales year on year, gave women confidence and representation in an industry that had turned anything but slim and toned away for a long time. 

Competitor: Clothing Retailers (Primark)

Competitor: Clothing Retailer (Primark)

Clothing Reatilers are slowly taking over the lingerie industry. Consumers are using clothing retailers as an easy way to consume lingerie products along with shopping for fashion. According to Mintel, 12% of Women in the study haven bought from clothing retailers in the last 12 months, however 54% of 16-24 year olds have bought from Primark. This is nearly half of the target market for VS. The affordable lingerie section in Primark has has a huge boom. This is interesting as Primark has made a huge mark on the lingerie industry yet the are in-store only brand.

Going into the Meadowhall store, almost 1/4 of the bottom half of the store was dedicated to the lingerie section, this isn't including nightwear or loungewear. Here they have a lacy, sultry valentines collection with bralets, bodysuits and lacy underwear.  They keep on trend by using seasonal trends e.g. animal print in their products. The valentines range started for £4-£12

The store also offered a huge range of T-shirt bra and basic comfort bras up to a size E. This was a huge part of their lingerie section

The brand uses images of larger models to represent the brand, this image being the most eye-catching in-store and being an average sized model. This shows inclusivity and diversity in the brand and this may draw in a wider audience. The people shopping will feel represented as they will be able to see themselves in the brand. 

The lingerie is definitely the cheapest on the market. With lineage sets coming in as small as £5, they are on trend, comfy and a very affordable price, especially for the younger consumer. Primark has really set the mark for these other lingerie brands, people want cheaper options, especially for the everyday wear. They are sweeping the market with the low price points and on trend styles. With over 290 stores across the uk (According to the website), they are easily accessible for all consumers in the UK and appeal to those who don't have much disposable income. 

Competitors: Boux Avenue

Competitor: Boux Avenue

Boux Avenue is a UK based lingerie brand with 30 stores across the UK. (Boux Avenue Site) They pride themselves on comfort, style and making women feel comfortable and supported with the underwear they're in. The website states "We create beautiful lingerie and nightwear at affordable prices where we pride ourselves on a superior fit, outstanding customer service and our inclusive size offering." The bra fitting service was eye-catching as soon as you walked into store, as I went in this was the first thing I saw.

Primary Research 

They had a sale on at the time I arrived. The store was small but organised with drawers full of underwear and eye-catching sale prices. The sale bras were around £10-£15 so at affordable prices for the younger consumer. The store had a clear target consumer with women around their 20's and mid 30's shopping here. The models shown around the store reflect the audience, showing women that are around their 30's to represent the brand. The style is sexy but comfortable, mostly lined, simplistic fits and neutral colours but with added style with lace and textures. It highlighted 'sultry' sections of the store from the comfort ones clearly and it was easy to find what you were looking for. 

The Website is clean, simple and easy to use. It promotes deals on the front page, the sales and the new in products. Prices range from around £15-£36 for the bras (not including special offers and sale prices). The valentines collection was red and sultry and included suspenders, silk nightwear and lacy bras, it was classic. The Website also included a section called #MyBoux and regrams the posts from instagram, creating social media engagement and a larger following and younger target audience. The website also advertises to a consumer aged around 18-25 so younger than the in-store experience. They use younger models as well as, offer such as 20% off for students or anyone aged 16-25. This is maybe due to a rise in the Gen X and Gen Z consumer, they may want to widen their market in order to bring in a larger profit. 

Instagram

Their Instagram has 220k followers and likes on average are from 300-3,500. Their engagement with the audience is high, regularly posting stories to their page and highlights in order for the consumer to  engage with the brand through the instagram. The have the feature, swipe-up to buy which links the consumer straight from the social channels to purchasing a product they like in one click. They followed through with the stories with highlights so people can click on what they are interested in. The instagram feed is set up as a sort of 'social influencer' style. Flat lays, quotes, and regard from influencers in the brand are the main features of the feed. Trust will come from the influencer to the brand, and the connection with the brand will bring in a lot more business, especially from Gen X and Gen Z consumers, thus widening their market. 

Overall, Boux Avenue are a growing business, according to the website they have increased sales like-for-like in the Christmas period 2018 by 8.1% and online sales mix sales have increased by a huge 42.8%. The brand is clearly growing and generating more sales, this may be through the use of influencers and the high activity on social media, their discounts for Gen X/Z consumers and afforadable 'luxury' branding they have. 

Competitors: Ann Summers

Competitors: Ann Summers

Ann Summers is known for their sensual, sexy underwear and pleasure accessories. For many years women have felt empowered by this brand through women being dominant strong and in charge with the branding of Ann Summers. According to the website, there are 111 stores nationwide in the UK. They are a growing company. Fashion United stated that in 2018 the total revenue was at £110 million but had made a loss of £3.1 million. They are a growing company and have over recent years re-branded themselves towards a more classic, timeless, sensual image and less 'tacky' as some would say.

From the website and looking in store, they have sales frequently online and in-store and good discounts all round. This is highly advertised in the branding of the website and plastered throughout all the shop windows to try and bring consumers in.

The Website also includes a range of different size models to advertise their lingerie. This isn't always in a plus-size section of separate from what they want the consumer to see. They put this at the forefront of the brand and normalise average size women's bodies. The lingerie across the website is mainly reduced however normally ranges from £15-£45 for bra's. They are lower priced than brands such as Victoria's Secret and Savage X Fenty, but higher than clothing brand such as Primark and H&M. For a lingerie brand, they are affordable for those who don't have a high amount of disposable income.

The instagram feed seems to follow a theme in terms of colour, as it's coming up to valentines day and the most busy time for Ann Summers, the theme is red. It reflects the sensual atmosphere of the brand. The photos range from sex toys to lingerie to model photos. Scrolling through their instagram, you can see the same models pop up throughout however again, they are all diverse and showcasing inclusivity within the brand. Larger models are shown to be sexy and this can be empowering for women as by other brands, being told 'skinny is sexy' only, this can be the change they needed to see. This coincides with the change in values women have in society. Underwear is such a personal experience and so to celebrate larger women looking and feeling sexy, is a huge step forward and will reflect well on sales for Ann Summers. 

The Instagram has 171k Followers, very tiny compared to the 62 million of VS's Instagram. They get anything from 250 likes to 3,000 per post. They engage with their audience encouraging them to use the hashtag #RealLoveByAS, however this has had no responses yet. They have a range of highlights that are clear, have a theme, and are eye-catching. it includes store openings, news, sexy lace, toys, blogs, swimwear and polls. These are engaging and a good way for Ann Summers to interact with their audience and get to know their consumer. However, these don't have the bets upkeep as the last post was 20 weeks ago. They must be consistent in order to keep the audience engaged. 

Primary Research 

The in-store experience was very sales focused. Some of it was jumbled as the sales section hit you as soon as you go into store. They didn't have any photos in stores and models were scattered around the shop floor. There was clear colour coordination and sets were easy to find during the all year round range. Most items were reduced and on sale for around £10-£20. Pleasure products were towards the back of the store and were closed off and private. The store could do with an updates and more inviting window display to bring in different consumers and allow their business to be more profitable. 

Overall the brand has a clear message, it keeps dominant women at the forefront of their brand, has a message of empowerment and feeling sexy and good in your own skin, no matter what your size. They are spreading positive messages across all their channels and therefore are in-line with changing consumer needs and values.

Consumer Behaviour, Product Life Cycles

Consumer Behaviour

Maslow's Hierarchy if needs

-Self-actualisation needs- Desire for self-fulfilment in achieving whatever someone else cab
-Esteem and Status- Striving to achieve a high standing in relation to other people
-Social Needs- We need social experience and desire products and services that facilitate social exchange
-Safety needs: Protection from the unpredictable happenings in life e.g. accidents
-Physiological needs- The fundamentals of survival

Self Esteem- (Ricjins 1993; Kees et al 2008)
-Marketers use attractive models for social comparison processes where young female consumers compare themselves and feel inadequate against them

Family; Brought up, what you buy, what you like
Culture;

Diverse and changing markets
-Marketers developed segments
-Consumer buying habits don't stay the same

Segmenting a Market
-Analyzing a market by categorising their specific characteristics
-Demographics- Age, values, income
-Psychographics- Self esteem, what do they want? how does they brand make them feel
-Geographic- North and South differentiation
-Behaviour/usage; Brand loyalty, segmenting, only when sales are on?
-Situation

Demographics- Stats that describe population in terms of personal characteristics such as age, gender, income, ethnic background, education and lifestyle
Psychographics- Studies of consumers based on psychological characteristics e.g attitudes
Geographic- Stats about where people live
Behaviouristic- Stats about consumers based on their knowledge, attitudes, use, or response to a product

Segementing
-Marketers look at purchase occasion for a products, product benefits by consumers, or usage level and commitment towards product
-Purchase Occasion; Identifies when they consumer will use product (Bra is everyday, some are for special occasions)
-Product benefits; What does the consumer desire in a fashion product or service e.g VS is Logo Love
-Usage and level commitment; Identifies how often they use a product and their loyalty (Will they buy a replacement?)
-Geographic Segmentation; Hybrid segmentation (financial means, tastes, lifestyle and consumption habits-Look at survey)

Targeting
-Look at each segment and decide with group of customers they will invest marketing resources
-Look at how they are consuming, technology making it easy to access e.g Insta shop
-Easy to browse, track products etc

Brand Positioning
-The conceptual place where consumer place them in our map. Effective brand positioning strategy will maximise customers relevancy and make it distinct from other brands and therefore increasing value.
Look into;
1. What does the brand community currently believe about or values the brand?
2. What might the brand community believe or value about the brand in the future?
3.What does the organisation currently claim about the brand?
4. What would the organisation like the brand to become in the future?

Product differentiation; What makes them unique? e.g Exclusivity
Service Differentiation; What do the offer to the customer? e.g Semi-annual sale
Personnel Differentiation; Personal Bra fittings



Product Life Cycles
-The ongoing introduction, rise, peak, decline, obsolescent in popularity of specific styles or shapes
-All styles that come into fashion rotate through a fashion cycle

Stage 1;
The first stage of the fashion cycle  is what new styles, colours and textures, and fabrics are introduced
-The new style may be accepted by a small number of people named fashion leaders
-Promotional activities include fashion shows and adverts in high fashion magazines
- Fashions are produced in small quantities at high prices
-Retail buyers purchase limited number to see if the styles will be accepted

Stage 2; Growth
-The second stage is when consumer interest grows and fashion becomes more readily accepted by consumers
-Mass production brings down the price of the fashion, which results in more sales
-Styles are manufactured in less expensive materials and in lower quality construction than the original style
-Promotional efforts are increased in high fashion magazines to heighten consumer awareness
-Retail buyers order items in quantity

Stage 3; Maturity
-This is when the brand is at the height of it's popularity
-The fashion is demanded by almost everyone because it is now within the price range of most consumers and is mass produced in many variations
-Each retailer tries to persuade customers that it's version of the style is the best

Stage 4; Decline
-This is when the market is saturated and popularity decreases
-The fashion is overused and becomes dull and boring
-As the fashion decreases in popularity, retailers mark down their prices
-Promotions center around major clearance or closeout sales of the fashion

Stage 5; Obsolescence (Rejection of style)
-This is when the style is rejected, it is undesirable at any price, it is no longer worn and no longer produced
-Ends as an accepted fashion

Product Extension Strategy;
-A medium or long-term strategy for lengthening a products life cycle. It is likely to be implemented during the Maturity or early decline.
-These include
Redesigning the product- New and improved
-Adding an extra feature- Now with (colour, quality, texture)
-Changing the packaging and advertising to appeal to a New Market Segment
-Providing a USP (Unique Selling Point)

Research Sources
-Mintel
-Telegraph
-BoF
-Deloitte
-Euromonitor International

Case Studies: VS Ethical Issues

Source:https://guide.ethical.org.au/company/?company=4659

Sweat Shops: Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Philippines
Source: https://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ITGLWFSportswearReport2011.pdf

The International Trade Union Confederation looked into 83 factories across these 3 factories, the companies that bought for them and the conditions that they worked in. Most were women under 35 and collectively 100,000 workers worked here.

Indonesia:
-Temporary Short term contracts
-No sick pay or holiday pay
-No annual leave pay
-No written contracts
-Less than minimum wage

None of the factories paid living wage and many of them payed less than minimum wage.

Sri Lanka
-Basic Pay cut if they didn't achieve their targets
-No incentive pay unless entire quota was reached
-Worker said targets were impossible to meet so never any bonus, they had even denied themselves of toilet breaks or rest periods to try and meet these impossible targets.
-Forced to work unpaid overtime (up to 40+ hours in just overtime)
-100-130 hours of overtime per month, those who didn't received abuse by the management
-85% female aged 18-35
-Preferred unmarried
-Made women take pregnancy tests, wouldn't imply if pregnant
-Sexual intimidation and abuse was common

Phillipines
-30% of surveyed workers were paid less than legal minimum wage
-Many workers forced to work rest days.
-Standard day was 12 hours but to meet deadline days, forced to work an extra 2 hours
-60% were women

Overall, there has been many cases of workers been treat badly, receiving abuse, being underpaid, forced to work long hours and forced to meet impossible targets. This is a huge problem not just in these countries but Worldwide. Victoria's Secret are one of the brand contributing to the toxic system in manufacturing their products. Due to big corporations like VS buying into this, it's encouraging this to carry on. They must step up and improve their sourcing of materials as these conditions are against human rights and completely unethical.

Ethical Issues: VS PESTEL

Victoria's Secret has received a lot of backlash and investigation into this ethical issues and supply chain. As a society becoming more aware of the impact on the environment, it's important that brands step up to the issues they are creating. As fashion is the second biggest polluter of the Earth as of now, brands need to be more aware of the materials in the garments, where they are from and where they are going. I discussed in my last post the positive changes VS has made, now I take a look at the things they must change.

Main source supported by original sources all linked below:
https://guide.ethical.org.au/company/?company=4659


Supply Chains: China
Source: CITIDetail.aspx based on information found February 2018

The IPE is a quantitive resource in finding out the environmental management of their supply chains based in China. It look at their impact and water damage based on Government data, environmental audits (third party) and environmental performance in the company's supply chain.
Victoria's Secret along scored 5 out of 100 in this evaluation. The brand has failed to disclose any of their supply chains in China. They scored 2.5/10 on responsiveness to public. They said that the environmental violation issues raised will be looked at. The brand scored 0/12 on suppliers compliance and they haven't pushed suppliers to make action plans to change this. They scored 0/10 for their wastewater policy, refusing to disclose information about suppliers wastewater treatment and discharge. They scored 0/10 on identifying supplier environmental impacts. They scored 0/12 for energy as they have not set up any energy or greenhouse gas emissions reduction plans or initiatives. They scored 0/12 for pollutant reduction as they haven't set up resources usage plans or pollutant emissions reduction plans. They scored 0/8 on Green Choice promotion as they haven't promoted a green choice.


Animal Testing: https://www.mediapeta.com/peta/PDF/companiesdotest.pdf

According to the PETA's 2018 list of 'Companies that do test on Animals' Victoria's Secret are confirmed to test their products on animals at some point in the development of their products. As society is becoming more aware of this issue, they are turning away from brands that support the harming of animals for cosmetic purposes. We as the consumer have been exposed to some of the horrific condition animals go through for our products and so we are turning to more ethical brands against this. This will work against Victoria's Secret being on a trusted official PETA list, as people will think twice before purchasing from VS now.


Unethical Fabric Sourcing (Deforestation): https://www.ran.org/press-releases/the_high_cost_of_high_fashion/
https://sustainablebrands.com/read/supply-chain/new-report-exposes-human-rights-abuses-on-frontlines-of-forest-fabric-production

The Rainforest Action Network (2015) realesed a 'fashion fifteen' list of the top American brands that are contributing to deforestation, land grabbing and abusing human rights by taking away rainforest dependent communities. This statement was made,“Every year, tens of millions of trees are turned into clothing through the use of forest fabrics like rayon and viscose,” said Brihannala Morgan, Senior Forest Campaigner with Rainforest Action Network (RAN). There has been an increase in mega-plantations for producing pulp for fabrics, resulting in devastation on those dependant on rainforests to live. Indonesia is the main victim to the devastation and deforestation. 


Cotton Usage: https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?269811/Top-brands-failing-on-cotton-sustainability

WWF (2017)  conducted research based on the 37 international major cotton users in the world and how they score in terms of social responsibility and sustainability. They found that Victoria's Secret parent company L Brands scored a poor 0.5/19.5 and was towards the bottom of the ranking list. They failed to look into all the sourcing of their fabric and had low commitment to sustainably sourcing their cotton. The report encloses that less than 1/5th of the cotton bought is sustainably bought. The report results were based on traceability, policy and actual use in products. L Brands were given a 0.5 and stated as 'not yet in the starting blocks' and proved to be way behind other brands in sustainably sourcing cotton. Other issues gaining from this problem are, water pollution, forced labour and child labour, debt for farmers, incorrect or overuse of pesticides and herbicides.

Solutions
-A policy for L Brands as a starting point to change their sourcing, it gives the company a foundation and trust for the consumer to make them trust they are heading in the correct direction
-More effort for sourcing organic cotton and making the change to help the environment and correct issues reported.
-Tracing the sourcing of materials, from the supplier right down to the worker and the conditions.
-Using Organic cotton (no pesticides) or recycled cotton pore consumer which can be taken from textile processes pre costumer and mixed with cotton on polyester and re-used


Newsweek Green Ranking Report: https://www.newsweek.com/green-rankings-2017-18/l-brands-inc

According to Newsweeks Green Ranking report, they scored L Brand 16.5% out of 100 based on the sustainability performance of the 500 biggest companies, they scored 263 out of 500. The results are based on waste, greenhouse gas damage, water waste, sustainability targets, fines and penalties etc.



Ethical Fashion Report: https://baptistworldaid.org.au/resources/2018-ethical-fashion-guide/

Baptist World aid reviews brands based on their ethical stance of today. The results of each company is decided on factors such as child labour and forced labour, looking into their suppliers (down to the raw materials), being transparent with the consumer and fighting against worker exploitation.

VS scored a poor D+ overall. They were praised on their policies however, these were not followed through in their actions. Worker empowerment being the lowest one, it highlights cases in which VS will have worked with supply chain who exploit and treat their worker unfairly. Being exposed to the internet, this will only work against VS. They have a lack in tracing their sources to the raw materials and in turn, they have been found to support worker exploitation.



RankABrand: https://www.rankabrand.org/fashion-clothing-shoes/Victoria%27s+Secret

Rank a Brand scored Victoria's Secret an E based on their sustainability. This is the lowest possible score that a brand could get. This is through unable to be transparant about their environmental policies and following through with this. The consumer is unaware of their level of traceability, carbon emissions and worker treatment by their suppliers. The site have urged consumers to not buy from VS due to this and will discourage anyone concerned about environmental impacts brands make, to buy from them.

Victoria's Secret Ethical Positives

Main Source is backed up by linked sources:https://guide.ethical.org.au/company/?company=4659

Microbeads: https://secured-static.greenpeace.org/korea/Global/korea/publications/reports/oceans/2016/Greenpeace_Microbeads_Scorecards_Ranking_eng.pdf

GreenPeace did a survey based on brands commitment against using micro beads in their products. It was based on commitment of the brand, transparency, micro beads definition, global application and deadline. Victoria's Secret parent brand, L brands scored in the top brand towards helping the environment. Micro beads are thrown into the ocean and due to the plastic used, they are damaging the ocean marine life. This is a positive step for Victoria's Secret. 

Cotton Sourcing: https://www.sourcingnetwork.org/cotton-sourcing-snapshot/

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/594cbfa3440243aef3dfa1c4/t/5988e86ba5790ad5008b73e0/1502144620121/Cotton_Sourcing_Snapshot-2015_Addendum.pdf

Responsible sourcing Network conducted a survey on 49 brand based on what they were doing on cotton production. This survey was based on the Uzbekistan Government and forcing labour in the cotton harvest production. They surveyed companies based on what they were doing to ensure that cotton picked by force in Uzbekistan was not invested by or used in the companies products. The company scored 18.5 out of 100 but only 5 companies scored over 50. The network gave L Brands a special mention for shedding light on the issue of forced cotton picking labour in Uzbekistan. It's good to mention that the company although on the list, did not respond to the second survey and is quite low down on the list. Therefore, the company may need to sharpen up on looking more deeply into its supply chain.

LBrands Foundation: https://www.lb.com/responsibility/community/l-brands-foundation

The company had given $240 million to non-profit organisations, they said they are committed to community programmes supporting the rights and empowerment of women. They also support mentoring and educating children programmes. They are also wanting to improve cultural arts and move towards being a more diverse society. 

Fur-Free: https://www.humanesociety.org/all-our-fights/going-fur-free

-VS has announced that they don't sell fur or will continue to sell fur free products in their company. However, this can be contradicted in the fact that they still actively test on animals

Lbrands Website:

On their website they have a section full of their policies for their carbon footprint, recycling, worker conditions, transparency, and their policies on how they are lessening the impact on the environment. However, these are just statements. A lot of the policy does not coincide with speculations regarding the conditions of workers, the environmental impact and their traceability. 

Mood Board: VS Current Social Media Marketing

Victoria's Secret Current Social Media Marketing

This Mood Board is based on the current Social Media strategies that Victoria's Secret uses to promote the brand. The mood board highlights the use of the VS Fashion show hype that comes around every year to promote the brand. Its clear that this is spread all over social media and generates the most engagement and likes on their social media accounts. The use of the 'angels' as promotion is a main aspect in VS advertisement. The models have anything from 250K to 100 Million followers. These 'angels' are influencers too, with a large following and admiration, people trust these more than the brand. They regularly advertise the brand especially around the shooting of the Fashion Show. These will bring in a large amount of sales due to being loved by many, including big names such as Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid. The VS shopping bag is shown as this shows the 'luxury' branding, it's 'instagramable' and shows a sense of pride in the people who walk around with the bags. It makes them seem affluent and admirable, so they show this off via their social media channels. The Iconic VS robes are glamorous and advertise the brand and the show, these are able to be purchased by the public and are plastered on social media as they are worn by all the models. The perfume 'tease' and sports bra photos is to show the instagram feed and how their products are advertised via their social channels. They use flat lays and sketch like drawings in their posts to give their instagram an easily noticeable identity. The articles suggest a decline in the VS show and the viewings. It highlights the loss in interest by the public and a change in values in society. This suggests the area of opportunity for VS and their social media advertisement and how the consumer values are changing. it highlights how behind VS and how they aren't in line with what the consumer wants. The whole mood board suggests the use of 'angels' to bring business to the brand, the identity of the channels and how the brand needs to change the direction of the show to keep the consumer engaged.

Mood Board: Victoria's Secret Consumer Demographic

Victoria's Secret Consumer Demographic

This Mood Board is based on the aesthetic of the consumer of Victoria's Secret. I based this on my findings in store and seeing the types of girls buying, a reflection of the angels and aspirational values. Based on Conde Nast's survey, the IT girls put VS on the top of their favourite lingerie list. This is how I imagined the aesthetic to be. It shows the social influencer girl with an aspirational lifestyle, lots of followers and reflect the angels in terms of being something we 'aspire' to be like. The photo of the girl is a typical Instagram Influencer, and the photos around are the type of lifestyle and way she is perceived via social media. Holidays, a slim body, glitz and glam and perfect bedroom. The photos chose also reflect the affluent lifestyle showing this as a luxury brand and those buying have a lot of disposable income. This is suggested through glam outfits and designer purchases and aspirational holidays. The aesthetics of the mood board show how VS's branding of slim, perfect lifestyle, fantasy, angels are reflected through the people that buy into the brand.

VS Consumer Research & Mood Board Idea

Source: https://www.condenast.com/press/conde-nast-and-goldman-sachs-release-the-2018-love-list-forecasting-future-of-retail/

Looking further into the consumer of VS, I wanted to be more specific than 16-24 year olds. I found by Condé Nast speaking about The 'Love List' for brand in 2018. They suggest that those brands most favourable have a unique experience both in-store and online. Personalised experience came out on top in the survey. The brands chosen were said to have consumer trust and a part of relatability.

The Survey was based on the US Consumer so may not be as relatable as the UK Consumer due to difference in values and culture. It involved 1,489 national consumers aged 13-34 along with 1,184 'IT girls' which Condé Nast explained them to be popular, likeable, influence friends, first to find out about new brands and first to use new brand products etc.

-They suggested that the 'IT girls' liked the ease of online shopping but also valued in-store experiences.
-They suggest consumers are very in control of their shopping choices and experiences.
-'IT girls' are more likely to try out different brands rather than stick to a core brand, they have less brand loyalty

From the figures and the sample having just under 50% 'It girls' It suggests that Victorias Secret's target audience is this type of woman. It came out top in the lingerie section of the survey which means it's still and increasing, popular and well-loved brand by many. Being more specific I'm going to be creating my mood board around this popular girl aesthetic due the statistics suggesting that this is main type of consumer.

These stats highlight the growing business and desire for VS pithing the market. The question was asked in the whole of the industry not just lingerie specific and Victoria's Secret was the 3rd top choice for brands being heard about of being purchased from. It suggests Gen X and Gen Z are still discovering and aren't swaying away from VS as a brand in the US market.

Propaganda Brand Strategy lecture

Process;

Brand Discovery

1. Immersion
Understand business and market
-Internal Audit
 Kick off session with core team
 1-2-1 Interviews
Marketing Mapping
-Client Sector Audit
-Review Potential
-Target Markets
Digital
-Website and Competitors website
-Socially how are they engaging?

2. Insight
Understand Opportunity
Hypothesis headline and narrative development
-Qualitative Research- Why?
Current customers
Prospective customers
Stakeholders
Industry Influencers
-Quantative Research
-Sureveys

3.Brand Development
Defining Brand
-Brand Positioning
Brand proposition
Compelling
Differentiating
Future Focused
Single Minded
Credible
-Brand Articulation
-Name
-Narrative
-Tone of voice
-Look and feel

4.Strategy
Define Plan
-Marketing Strategy
-12-18 month roadmap of marketing activity and tactic


Survey
-Ask customers how they want to feel



Narrative
Adcept
Packaging
Store Environment

Ann Summers
£100m business with over 140 stores
Falling sales; footfall dropped by 20%

Objective
-Increase Loyalty and frequency of purchase with existing customers
- Change Perceptions and encourage a larger and broader audience to shop the brand


1.Acquisition (Attract new customers)
Targeting new users, look into new possible target markets and how to engage with them.

2. Frequency (Increase regularity of purchase)

3. Average weight of purchase  (Increase number of products purchased)
Seasonal and gifting, Brand collaborations, New product development

Marketing Position Mood Board

Victoria's Secret Marketing Position & Competitors 

Mood Board

Victoria's Secret as a brand is very high in the market position and well favoured by the target market.  With 82% of women aware of the brand (See consumer demographic blog post), it's still making profit and performing well in the lingerie industry. However, as we are a fast moving society in terms of our values, there has been an influx of lingerie brands bringing their inclusive values and self-love attitude to the forefront go their brand identity. The mood board shows the current marketing of VS, sexy, salty and tailoring to the male gaze. Angels wings being the biggest part of the brand and their shows, it highlights their aesthetic. I included their best selling bra with iconic VS straps as the CEO calls this 'Logo love' as everyone who buys VS, wants people to know about it. Elsa Hosk, a well known VS model is used to show the sexy, 'fantasy' that the brand holds close to its identity. I used primary research store photos to highlight their product ranges, layout, experience in-store and the brand aesthetic. The competitors are a UK and US based brand. I choose the ones that share the 'Sexy', 'Sultry' look as VS but contrast their values here. Fenty X Savage being the rising star with inclusive catwalks and spreading body positive messages, it's in line with what women want. They want to see themselves in lingerie, showing every body can be sexy. The brand shows diversity and self-love across the board. Ann Summers, A UK based brand sells lingerie and pleasure accessories. It's sexy and alluring but again, isn't afraid to show larger women to represent the brand image. I included the logos of other competitors to show I am aware of the market and highlight what I'll be discussing in my report.

The Mood Board shows the competitors contrasting values to VS and the different messages that consumers are getting from the brands.