Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Back to Sophistication for Victoria

Up until about 4 years ago, it was a treat to browse through Victoria's Secrets stores or catalogs, looking at the sleek items for sale. Colors were dark and rich, making you think of robust wines, candlelight, romantic evenings, etc. Six years ago, in fact, my husband bought me a beautifully lined, satin black robe that I absolutely adore. In fact, I treasure it so much that at this point I handwash it and only wear it on special occasions.

Why?

Because since about 4 years ago, the stuff that Victoria's Secrets has been selling has been trashy pink GARBAGE. As my husband commented "Who is their target market, now? First grade girls? Clearly they aren't targeting women old enough to want to impress men, because men are not impressed by cutesy pink panties with polka dots on them."

So, I was delighted to read that the CEO of Victoria's secrets has decided that it is time to go back to more sophistication and quality. It is refreshing to see an industry leader who has decided to blame lackluster sales on the product line rather than the sub-prime housing market issues or the general economy.

I wonder how much market research lead up to this completely obvious decision. I imagine that the marketing meeting went something like this:

***

Highly Paid Marketing Guru: Based on our extensive research, we've discovered that working aged women in their mid-twenties and older have more disposable income and a greater desire to purchase expensive lingerie items than primary-school aged girls.

VS Executives: Amazing! What do you suggest we do?

Highly Paid Marketing Guru: We suggest you sell products that the women with more money will want to buy

VS CEO: Let's go for it. Here's your million dollar paycheck for such incredible market insight.

***

Sarcasm aside, I am looking forward to the possibility that the predominance of pink trash will slowly be replaced by more appealing choices.

No comments: