The Victoria's Secret Catalog Is Dead
Victoria's Secret is eliminating their iconic mail-order catalog. Deep breath. I know this is difficult to hear.
The catalog, which made its first appearance in 1977, costs between $125 and $150 million per year to produce, according to WWD, and has become increasingly irrelevant in the age of online shopping. Bank analysts, therefore, expect the elimination of the catalog to have "little to no impact on sales," according to Market Watch.
This is the latest of a series of big changes taking place at the world's largest lingerie retailer. It all started last month when Victoria's Secret announced that they would no longer sell swimsuits. Since then, they have also announced plans to pull out of all clothing, accessories, and shoe categories in order to focus more on their core businesses - bras, underwear, and beauty - as well as their growing activewear collection.
The eliminated categories accounted for $525 million in sales for the company in 2015, most of that from swim. According to analysts, this loss of that revenue will likely be offset by higher margins on existing categories - either by raising prices, lowering production costs, or both. There is also talk of a reduction in "home office overhead," which sounds an awful lot like layoffs, although no such announcement has yet been made.
The brand will also be eliminating many of its direct-mail marketing campaigns, like those that offer consumers a free pair of panties or $10 off a bra the next time they visit a Victoria's Secret shop. The reasoning behind such offers is that once you lure customers into the store with freebies and discounts, they will continue to shop for items at full price. But lately too many customers have been coming in for their freebies and then leaving without buying anything else.
So many changes. It's OK if you need to take a minute to process them all.
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