Maybe it was the lusty mannequins in its stores, the massage oil on its shelves or the overabundance of cleavage on the glittery runway of its annual TV fashion show. But yesterday, Victoria’s Secret chief executive Sharen J. Turney acknowledged that the chain had gotten “too sexy.”
Is such a thing even possible?
Yeah, it is. When I was running one of our stores in a mall, there was Victoria’s Secret right in the middle. While I could care less, oh, hell, I enjoyed walking by and seeing the sexy stuff, I’ll admit it, is it appropriate for children to have this adult material shoved in their faces? No.
“We have moved off of our brand heritage,” she said in a conference call with analysts. “We use the word ‘sexy’ a lot and really have forgotten the ultra-feminine.”
Victoria’s Secret has long toed the line between seductive and sleazy, and its recent disappointing financial performance suggested that it had veered off course.
When you are walking by, and there is a poster of one of their models basically being covered by their hair, yeah, sleazy. When every child walking through can see merchandise that is meant to pretty much be seen only in the bedroom, yeah, sleezy.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy women wearing many of the products they offer – though I don’t get that whole “Pink” thing – but, there is a time and place for everything. Where everyone can see it in the mall? Wrong place.
