Victoria’s Secret Ditches Woke Agenda, Stock Price Soars
Victoria's Secret's stock soared from under fifteen dollars to over seventy dollars after abandoning its diversity campaign and returning to traditional beauty standards and models.
The lingerie giant’s dramatic turnaround follows years of financial decline that coincided with its embrace of progressive marketing featuring plus-size models, older models, and even male models wearing women’s undergarments, according to Breitbart News.
The company’s stock had plummeted from fifty-seven dollars per share in 2021 to barely twenty dollars as the once-dominant brand struggled to connect with consumers. Victoria’s Secret, previously known for its glamorous fashion shows featuring diamond-encrusted brassieres and supermodel Angels, saw its brand identity diluted under the weight of body-positive messaging that failed to resonate with its core customer base.
The brand’s missteps included appointing controversial soccer player Megan Rapinoe as a brand ambassador and rolling out a celebrity advisory panel focused on female empowerment rather than aspiration and beauty. Industry observers described these efforts as transparently woke-washing that neither retained existing customers nor attracted younger shoppers.
The turnaround began in August 2024 when Hillary Super took over as chief executive officer and made the strategic decision to return to the company’s proven formula of featuring conventionally attractive models in aspirational campaigns.
The company reinforced its commitment to this direction by changing its stock ticker symbol from VSCO to VSXY this week, a move that signaled confidence to investors and reflected the brand’s renewed focus on sensuality and fantasy.
Super acknowledged the company’s repositioning, stating that the new ticker symbol aligns with the progress made and reflects the firm’s conviction in its strategy.
The case illustrates a broader business reality: while niche markets exist for diverse representations of beauty, mainstream retailers face a fundamental choice between catering to specialized preferences or appealing to traditional consumer tastes. Victoria’s Secret chose the latter, and the market responded decisively.
The company’s recovery demonstrates that consumers ultimately vote with their wallets. As Breitbart News reports, the brand’s attempt to reshape beauty standards through marketing campaigns backfired spectacularly, driving customers away and threatening the company’s viability. Only by returning to its original identity as a purveyor of aspiration and glamour did Victoria’s Secret restore investor confidence and customer loyalty.
The dramatic stock price recovery from under fifteen dollars to over seventy dollars represents one of the most striking examples of a major corporation reversing course on progressive marketing and reaping substantial financial rewards.
With information from Breitbart News
