Ch.5 Developing a Global Vision

Victoria's Secret Catalog and Online Store Go International.

It is not a secret that Victoria's Secret is one of the most prestigious lingerie brands in the world. In these past years, the Victoria Secret company has seen a noticeable growth in its catalogs and website sales in foreign countries, peculiarly in Australia, Canada, Singapore, and Soviet countries such Russia and Ukraine. Victoria's Secret has started its expansion in Canada, where the company opened four Pink stores in Ontario and is also going to open more this coming March. Outside the United States Victoria’s Secret is currently available only in select duty free (are often found in the international zone of international airports and sea ports) global locations. In 2009, Victoria Secret stores opened at the airports in Buenos Aries, Argentina, San Paulo, Brazil, Dubai, United Arab Emirates,  Barbados and Mexico City International Airport.  In 2012 Victoria's Secret is looing forward to open its lingerie chain stores in Europe and Asia.





Boots, coats, sweaters, pajamas, lingerie and dresses are among the most popular searches and products on the official website. Through its official website VictoriasSecret.com the popular brand serves dozens of countries worldwide. Victoria Secret products are not pricey, its products are from $20.00 dollars up. Lingeri and beuty products are needed for all women living in today's society.

Ch.4 The Marketing Environment

   Victoria's Secret markets is directed specifically to women. Its diversity of products is designed to satisfy the desires of women of all ages from ten-years-old girls to sixty-years-old women. Victoria's Secret products aren't pricey, so every woman, even men who want to give an attractive gift are able to afford it. The environmental management is very active and important in this particular company. This is what this company it's all about, creating new designs and products for the consumers to buy. Every season Victoria's Secret brings a new design as underwear, make up and perfumes. We can also consider this strategy as a component lifestyle because they practice diverse of goods and services that interest the needs of their consumers, instead of practicing a single product.

     Another favorable thing about Victoria's Secret company is that here in New York it's located at an accessible place (34th Street. Downtown). In a place where million of New Yorkers transit daily.

Ch.3 Ethics and Social Responsabilities

   Of all the issues that fall under the very broad heading "business ethics," child labour is among those least likely to be seen as grey. On December late last year, an controversial issue came out after revelations that Victoria's Secret had a deal with a cotton company (Burkina Faso) who forced children to work.

   In the past years, Victoria's Secret had been buying almost all  the cotton produced by Burkina Faso, under a deal that a third-party was going to be monitoring the production to insure it was organic cotton. All these came out when Bloomberg published the story of a thirteen-year-old child who works at the cotton field located in West Africa and gets beat when she slow down her work.

   Somehow, Victoria's Secret as much as Burkina Faso failed. Victoria's Secret because their third-party didn't do their job monitoring the fields and, Burkina Faso because they were irresponsables and abused of the children. Also, Fairtrade International said that Burkina Faso program met its standards and a Limited Brands executive visited the country early this year and didn't see anything erratic.

   On another note, this issue hurt the company itself and its ethical image. But it's for sure that Victoria's Secret followers will forget about it by the everyday consumer before long.

   Victoria's Secret social responsability and multinational companies as well is to make sure they look more extensively into where their materials are coming from.

  

Ch.2 Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

     Starting from Raymond's 6 stores, Victoria's Secret has grown into a giant in the lingerie business. Victoria's Secret spends $66 million dollars per year on advertisement alone, essentially defining beauty and packing it for customers. It has virtually no competitors in the women's elegant lingerie market.
    
     Thousands of newspaper ads, catalogs and televised  fashion shows are distributed to convince women that buying Victoria's Secret will boost their confidence and enhance their appeal.










With this Victoria's Secret annual fashion show it has received an audience of over one billion people, including news coverage. The Victoria's Secret fashion show is televised annually in which it has an exclusive contract with nationwide broadcasting station CBS.


Each year over three-hundred ninety million copies of the Victoria's Secret Catalog are distributed in the United States alone. Victoria's Secret catalogs are by far thee most  prolific than many news magazines.


What the company of Victoria's Secret doesn't spend on internet and television ads, fashion shows, or its catalog is put into newspaper and magazine ads. Due to the lifestyle of a high population in the United Sates alone leaves people with the comfort to read it in the New York times, newspaper, including Cosmopolitan, In style, Glamour, Allure, and last but not least Maxim. 

 Victoria's Secret sells merchandise throughout several channels which are retail stores, catalogs and the internet just with this 360 degree approach reinforces the company's brand and expands sales opportunities, helping customers to buy what they need and want at anytime and anywhere. 


As we already know that (The Limited) has bought Victoria's Secret. With Bill Lepler being The Limited's vice president he affirms " The customers buying Victoria's Secret products through multiple channels spend three to five times more than customers who buy only through one channel".


With the reputation Victoria's Secret has gained throughout all the years in business the Victoria's Secret products represents fun, romance, fantasy, desire, and love all in one.

Ch.1 Brief History

      Victoria's Secret started in San Francisco, California in 1977, by Tufts University and Stanford Graduate of Business, alumnus Roy Raymond. 
Roy Raymond first felt embarrassed buying lingerie for his own wife at the department store. In 1982, after five years of operation Roy Raymond sold the Victoria's Secret company grossing six million per year to Leslie Wexner founder of '' The Limited'' for four million dollars.
      The Limited kept personalized image of Victoria's Secret  intact. After a few sales of Victoria's Secret products, Victoria's Secret expanded into the malls in the United States around he 1980's.
By the 1990's Victoria's Secret became the largest American lingerie retailer topping at 1 million dollars.


Victoria's Secret Mission Statement:
          '' Our mission is to deliver best class, captivating, branded customer experience that builds loyalty and enables consistent sales and profit growth''.