The History of Victoria's Secret

The founder of Victoria’s Secret, Roy Raymond borrowed $80,000 and opened his first store in Stanford Shopping Centre, California in 1977. He says his reason for the idea behind Victoria’s Secret was to allow men to feel comfortable and not awkward whilst buying underwear for their wives and girlfriends. During an interview with Newsweek in 1981 he reported that he “always had the feeling the department store saleswomen thought I was an unwelcome intruder.” Roy took the problem of his and other men’s discomfort and turned it into a business opportunity.

The name Victoria was inspired by the Victorian era, with the shop displaying the class and dignity which was identified in Victorian times. Roy explains they chose ‘Victoria’ to display the historical association and ‘Secret’ to emphasise the feeling of intimacy for customers.

In 1982 Roy Raymond sold the company to Leslie Wexner of L Brands for around $1 million. It was found that contrary to the reason the store was set up, it was in fact women who were the main proportion of Victoria’s Secret’s audience with around 70% of in store shoppers and 50% of purchases online in 1981. After this discovery, the number of women buying lingerie for themselves increased, transforming Victoria’s Secret into what it is today.

Image by Cosmopolitan

Research links: http://time.com/4140242/victorias-secret-fashion-show-history/

http://www.deliberatemagazine.com/history-victorias-secret/