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Inflation has been another factor that drives revenue growth for same sales volumes and will aid growth In the brand’s revenue per square et. Going forward, the U. S. Annual GAP growth rate and inflation rate are expected to be around 1. 4% and 2% respectively. This gives a nominal GAP growth rate of about 3. 4% for the long term and the apparel sales will continue to shift online due to growing usage of Internet and proliferation of mobile devices. As a result, we make a conservative assumption that Victorians Secretes revenue per square feet will Increase by annually. On the account of these macroeconomic factors.
Over the past few years, Victorians Secret has expanded its product offerings outside the engineer realm. They also offer shoes, evening wear, swimwear, sportswear, lounger. Accessories, makeup, handbags, luggage and fragrances. We can expect Victorians Secret to continue to add different categories in the future to keep up with the competition. With increased product offerings at the existing stores, the brand’s revenue has Increased immensely. Victorians Secret launched a new lifestyle brand PINK, which primarily targets college girls. Since Victorians Secretes is limited in this demographic, there is a huge opportunity for expansion.
About 25% of the U. S. Male population between 15-34 years falls under the college going age group (AMA, 2011). Apart from opening exclusive PINK stores, Victorians Secret is adding full line merchandise of PINK to its existing stores, which should aid the growth in its revenue. With increasing Competition as The Gap, Inc. , Firebombed &Fletch and American Eagle Outfitters forces Victorians Secret to offer more discounts on its basic products. There competitive strength is Strengths of the Digital Marketing strategy that will be Implemented Include a more cohesive brand image. By updating the
PINK segment of the Victorianism. Com website, a more cohesive brand image will be formed. This will Increase brand loyalty among their consumers, and further set them apart from their competitors. Another strength Is that the Check In Store option will put them on pace with some of their competitors. Aerie already offers a check in store option on their website, and Victorians Secret needs to do the same in both specialize in lounger, lotions, body products, lingerie, and undergarments and very active in social media as well. Recently, Firebombed pushed users to “Like” their Faceable page.
By doing this, the consumer would receive a text message rewarding them with free shipping. Monsoon, 2012) Victorians Secret currently doesn’t offer any “rewards” via their social media pages. By having a Check In Store option, online consumers will quickly become in store consumers. The success of the Check In Store tool could be measured by the use of metrics. Metrics that could be used include online surveys of consumer satisfaction with the Check In Store option. Victorians Secret could also measure the success of the Check In Store option by analyzing the shopping carts.
If consumers are adding teems to their shopping carts, but purchasing less frequently than before, they are most likely purchasing the product in store now. Marketing Strategy Roy Raymond, founder of Victorians Secret, originally targeted gentleman to make them feel comfortable while shopping for lingerie for gifts. (Secret. Zimmerman. Com) Today, Victorians Secretes target market is the middle class woman, or a man shopping for the middle class woman. To attract the younger crowd, such as college age woman, Victorians Secret developed PINK.
The bright colors, trendy prints and more casual look inspires young teens and high school age girls to shop at PINK. Victorians Secretes marketing strategy is to capitalize on using high profile models (including famous singers), Social Media (including email and mobile), Fashion shows, Promotional offers, Television commercials, online deals, Semi Annual Sale, coupons and loyal customers with their VS. All Access. Victorians Secret employed relatable and notable supermodels such as Tara Banks, Hide Glum, Carolina Krakow, Giggle Bunched and Miranda Kerr as their face for Victorians Secret Angels. They are very selective on who they choose to be an Angel (model) for them. They choose models hat are beautiful and have great bodies that appeal to woman and men. By using these models, Victorians Secret gives value to the consumer, helping them to believe that they could look that way in their garments or by using their beauty products. Victorians Secret creates the idea of beauty and fantasy to their hopeful consumers. Additionally, well known music artists such as Iranian featured in the swim collection music videos, supporting the success of this campaign (Howard).
Such campaigns have been successful in the past and are likely to strengthen Victorians Secretes brand image in the future as well. This type of attention for famous singers can produce great revenue for them, especially Iranian who is current and popular amongst the younger generation. One strength of Victorians Secretes current marketing strategy is that they are utilizing all of their social media platforms. They are extremely active in social media such as Faceable, Twitter, Pinsetters and Youth. Their Faceable page is the 2nd most popular retail store on Faceable with 18. Million fans. It’s the 18th most popular brand on Faceable (Wakefield, 2012). Victorians Secret also relies heavily on the email market. Anytime a new style of bra, underwear, sweats, and beauty products are produced, they “email blast” their customers, by sending them multiple emails a day. As far as mobile marketing goes, Victorians Secret has an application for Android, Phone, Pad, and Pod, that allows directly to a customer’s cell phone. On their website (Victorianism. Com), numerous offers will appear, including $25 off your purchase, free shipping, etc.
Currently the website is offering free shipping with a $100 purchase offer code. They are also currently hosting a 20% off clearance items on their website. These types of offers are offer often, creating repeat consumers. Victorians Secret All Access is also available on the website that offers information such as makeup tips, supermodel biographies, an insider’s look at the Victorians Secret fashion show and news events are shown. VS. All Access gives the consumer a more personal experience with the brand.
Victorians Secret utilizes annual fashion shows and its supermodels to associate its brand image with beauty and class. Victorians Secret holds a fashion show every year that is broadcasted on CBS. These fashion shows are very popular with 9. Million viewer, men and women between the age ranges of 18 to 49. The fashion show typically has a $12 million budget (AMA, 2011). Every year, the day after the fashion show has been aired; Victorians Secret holds a promotional event in store where shoppers can receive a Victorians Secret Fashion Show t-shirt with a $75 purchase.
This event always energize their business the day after the show has been aired. Victorians Secret is active in television advertisements as well. Their Super Bowl commercials are always very popular and sell the idea of Victorians Secret, rather than the product. The first Victorians Secret Super Bowl commercial lured more than 1,000,000 people to their website, which in turn, crashed and was shut down temporarily (Howard). Having huge sales also excites consumers. Victorians Secret produces a huge semi-annual sale, which they hold twice a year.
At this sale, bras and underwear are sorted into pink bins by size. The products are thoroughly reduced, and always draw a large crowd. Victorians Secret will often mail out a “free panty’ card to their shoppers every month. This is a no purchase necessary coupon. They also email out “$10 off bra” cards. These upon really get the customers in the door. (Smith) Another coupon they introduce to the consumers is the scratch offs that offer up to $500 off, but consumers don’t know the amount until they checkout.
Even though this is a no purchase necessary coupon, rarely do consumers leave without purchasing something else. Financial Analysis A way that Victorians Secret can improve on profitability is to have a Check In Store Option on their website, along with a Pick Up in Store tab. This currently is not offered on their website, but would definitely be useful for consumers looking to try on the product before purchasing. Their PINK page on the website offers a “Find Which Store Carries Your Team’s Gear” option, but the Victorians Secret page does not offer it for swimsuits, bras, underwear, or any other products.
This would be a relatively easy installation for Victorians Secret. Stores already keep a continuous track of their inventory levels and what products they have on hand. The only cost of implementing this strategy would be to pay the Webmaster to install it on the website, and to continuously synchronize the Check In Store option with their current inventory levels. Implementing this tool to their website would tremendously help in he sales of products such as swimsuits, makeup, bras and other items that the consumer would prefer to see in person before purchasing.
Several retail stores such comes in and is drawn to a certain type of product, the sales associate or the store manager can let that customer know when more arrives. Nordstrom also does personal phone calls whenever a statewide sale is taking place. Victorians Secret could benefit from personalizing this shopping experience at their store. If their product selection were offered at all locations, consumers would have an easier and personal shopping experience. If Victorians Secret wants to capitalize on the new brand PINK they need to offer more collegiate schools to their sweat apparel.