Who Founded Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret was founded by Roy Raymond and his wife Gaye Raymond in 1977 according to Forbes. The first store opened in Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California, with the goal of creating a comfortable environment for men to buy lingerie for women. Roy Raymond, a Stanford MBA graduate, aimed to solve the embarrassment men felt when shopping for intimate apparel in traditional retail settings.
The brand's initial concept focused on upscale lingerie presented in a boutique format that felt more like a luxury goods store than a traditional department store section. Raymond's vision was to create a brand that combined elegance with accessibility, targeting middle-class consumers who wanted high-quality intimate apparel without the stigma of shopping in traditional lingerie departments. The company's early success in the California market led to rapid expansion across the United States during the 1980s.
Victoria's Secret Ownership and Corporate Evolution
The Limited Brands company, now known as L Brands, acquired Victoria's Secret in 1982, just five years after its founding per SEC filings. Under Limited Brands' ownership, the company expanded dramatically, eventually operating over 1,000 stores across the United States and internationally at its peak. The brand became synonymous with the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which ran from 1995 until 2018 and featured supermodels known as Angels.
In 2020, L Brands spun off Victoria's Secret as a separate publicly traded company under the ticker symbol VLCSS as reported by Bloomberg. The separation allowed Victoria's Secret to operate independently while L Brands retained ownership of Bath & Body Works. The company has since undergone leadership changes and strategic repositioning to adapt to shifting consumer preferences in the intimate apparel market.
Current Status and Market Position
Victoria's Secret remains one of the largest lingerie retailers in the world, with a presence in multiple countries through both physical stores and e-commerce platforms. The company has shifted its marketing strategy in recent years, moving away from the fantasy-based Angel model approach toward more inclusive campaigns featuring diverse body types and real customers as noted by Business of Fashion. The brand continues to compete in the intimate apparel sector against companies like Savage X Fenty, ThirdLove, and traditional department store lingerie sections.
The company's financial performance has fluctuated in recent fiscal periods, reflecting broader challenges in the retail sector and changing consumer shopping habits accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Victoria's Secret has invested in digital commerce capabilities and store renovations to remain competitive in an increasingly crowded intimate apparel market. The brand's ability to reinvent itself while maintaining its core identity as a lingerie retailer remains a key focus for current leadership and investors.