The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has been officially cancelled for 2019.
Bosses at L Brands, the parent company of the American lingerie label, have decided to not host the annual catwalk extravaganza and confirmed the decision during a call with financial analysts on Thursday (21.11.19).
L Brands’ chief financial officer Stuart Burgdoerfer said the decision has been made to not go ahead with the runway show – famous for the Victoria’s Secret Angels showcasing the brand’s lingerie as the world’s biggest pop stars perform – whilst the label figures out how to “advance the positioning of the brand”.
Stuart said: “As communicated previously, we think it’s important to evolve the marketing of Victoria’s Secret, that is happening in certain respects now and I think there will be more to come. And with that said, we’re figuring out how to advance the positioning of the brand and best communicate that to customers.”
The news comes after sales of the lingerie brand continue to decline.
Sales have fallen by seven per cent this season, compared to a two per cent drop last year but the brand has continued to drop across the entire year from 2016.
However, Stuart has downplayed the company’s financial state and put the blame on the televised show’s falling ratings in 2018.
He explained to Fortune 500: “We will be communicating to customers, but nothing similar in magnitude to the fashion show … as timing over the years shifted over the years in terms of the airing the fashion show, did we see specific material impact in terms of a short-term sales response to the airing of the fashion show? As a general matter, the answer to that question is no.”
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has featured top models such as Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Elsa Hosk and Karlie Kloss as well as Bella and Gigi Hadid, have participated in recent events and pop stars to perform have included Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga.
Meanwhile, Victoria’s Secret hired its first transgender model this year.
After causing controversy in 2018 when chief marketing officer Ed Razek claimed trans women were not part of the label’s “fantasy”, Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio was unveiled as the newest addition to the company’s roster.
