New Products: Victoria’s Secret Body Care

Comments: Corporate sales rose 1% to $6.2 billion. North American in-store sales fell 2% to $3.4 billion. VS noted an increase in traffic was offset by a decline in conversion, which is defined as the percentage of customers who visit the store and make a purchase.

Direct sales rose 1% to $2.0 billion due to increases in traffic and average unit retail. Finally, international sales jumped 11% to $760 million. The company credited increases in sourcing sales to its partners, royalties earned associated with franchise sales in countries outside North America, net sales in China and wholesale arrangements.

In FY 2024, VS operated 806 stores in the US and Canada. That’s down from 831 the previous year. The company had 70 Victoria’s Secret stores and six Adore Me stores in China through a joint venture.

Q1 2025 corporate sales fell 1% to $1.35 billion.

In May, VS Beauty launched the Body Care Collection. It includes mists, lotion, wash, scrub, oil and deodorant. Fragrance variants include Coconut Milk Rose, White Peach Mango and Vanilla Orchid Sandalwood. But consumers couldn’t buy body care products, or anything else online, in late May. Victoria’s Secret shut down its website for several days due to a “security incident.”

In a statement, VS said:

“Valued customers, we identified and are taking steps to address a security incident. We have taken down our website and some in store services as a precaution. Our team is working around the clock to restore operations. We appreciate your patience during this process. In the meantime, our Victoria’s Secret and Pink stores remain open and we look forward to serving you.”

Victoria’s Secret shares dipped 6% after the announcement. The company said it will take a $10 million hit to Q2 operating income from the cybersecurity breach. Bank of America lowered its price target to $18.00. As Happi went to press, VS was trading at $18.38, down 19.35% since the breach.

Corporate sales fell 3% to $6.1 billion and net income plunged nearly 70% to $109 million. At the end of the year, the company operated 831 stores in the US and Canada, down from 837 the previous year. Globally, Victoria’s Secret had 907 stores, compared to 915 in fiscal 2023. Still, company executives remained committed to its strategic priorities: 1) Accelerate Our Core; 2) Ignite Growth; and 3) Transform the Foundation. To ignite growth and transform the foundation, Victoria’s Secret executives said they made progress around a supply chain initiative and international business. However, progress related to accelerating the core business in North America was challenged throughout 2023 “as the macroeconomic environment continued to put pressure on the consumer and the overall intimates market in North America was pressured throughout the year.”

For Q1 ended May 4, 2024, Victoria’s Secret reported a net loss of $4 million and sales fell 3% to $1.3 billion. Still, CEO Martin Waters remained optimistic.

“With some caution around the broader retail environment in North America, we are planning the business appropriately conservative in the near-term, but are encouraged by the start to May and the second quarter,” said Waters. “Our brands are strong around the globe, and with the long-term health of the business in mind, we are focused on accelerating our core and our initiatives designed to leverage our market leadership position and unlock our opportunity to convert our significant cultural influence into long-term financial growth.”

Victoria’s Secret introduced novel merchandise and customers responded, particularly in April. While the retail environment in North America was challenging and the promotional environment was very competitive, gross margin improved. The company managed inventory and was disciplined with traffic-driving offerings. In-store traffic improved throughout the quarter. Investments helped digital outpace in-store sales.

Sales: $1.3 billion

Victoria’s Secret is expanding its beauty regime.

Victoria’s Secret rolled out Coconut Milk & Rose Skincare. The five-item line includes gentle face cleanser, exfoliating face scrub, hydrating gel face mask, luminous face serum and ultra-hydrating face moisturizer. Each product is priced at $25. The vegan skin care line is said to be made with “clean” ingredients like vitamin E for skin barrier strength, niacinamide for improving skin tone, Hawaiian coconut for radiance, rose extract for skin rejuvenation, Moroccan rose for hydration and coconut water for moisturization. In a clinical study of 38 subjects, 81.6% agreed that their complexion looked brighter immediately after use. Moreover, 88.2% agreed that their complexion looked brighter after two weeks of twice daily use.

Last year, Victoria’s Secret Beauty debuted on Amazon.

Sales: $1.2 billion

Victoria’s Secret’s newest Bombshell campaign features singer/songwriter Camila Cabello.

Nearly a year after its spinoff from L Brands, Victoria’s Secret is moving in the right direction. The company ditched its angels in favor of brand ambassadors like US soccer star Megan Rapinoe, plus-size TikTok star Remi Bader, Emira D’Spain, a Black transgender woman, and Sofia Jirau, a model with Down Syndrome. Last year, corporate sales rose 25% to nearly $6.8 billion, as the company shook off the effects of covid-related store closures in 2020.

In Q1, corporate sales fell 4.5% to $1.48 billion.

In April, Victoria’s Secret beauty products, more than 100 of them, became available on Amazon.

Pink recently donated an additional $850,000 to its longstanding nonprofit partners JED, BEAM, Campus Pride and Sad Girls Club, to further the work that each organization is doing to help teens and young adults.

“Mental health continues to be one of the greatest challenges that young adults face today. We know that we can’t eliminate life’s struggles, but we can lead with empathy and create a welcoming community for our customers,” said Amy Hauk, CEO of PINK. “We also know that we can do so much more when we come together, which is why we’re honored to continue supporting our extraordinary nonprofit partners and forge ahead on our collective movement towards more awareness, understanding and compassion around mental health.”