Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Apparel |
Founded | October 16, 2002 |
Headquarters | Reynoldsburg, Ohio , United States |
Number of locations | 141 stores (2020) |
Key people | Amy Hauk, CEO (2019) |
Products | Apparel, lingerie |
Parent | Victoria's Secret |
Website | victoriassecret |
Pink (stylized PINK) is a lingerie and apparel line by Victoria's Secret, a former subsidiary of L Brands, targeting younger women than their main line. The target demographic skews younger from teenage girls (13-18) to young adult women through their mid-twenties (18-25). [1] PINK had a regular segment featuring their products in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, held through 2018. Sales at the company were initially swift, reaching $1 billion in 2010. [2] Reports of decline due to shifting consumer preferences appeared in 2018. [3] [4] [5]
On October 16, 2002, Victoria's Secret announced the launch of PINK, a new sub-brand and product line. While originally aimed at "tween" girls ages 10–12, the brand would eventually state its official target demographic is teen girls and college-age women. [1] The product first appeared in late 2003 in select stores, with a full chain-wide roll out in July 2004. [6] [7] The company often placed its stores side-by-side with Victoria's Secret stores. [3]
The PINK brand sells underwear, swimsuits, sleepwear, loungewear, beauty products, and accessories. [8] The brand was launched strategically, to increase and preserve future Victoria's Secret customers (i.e, ages 21+) and market share by building an expanded pipeline of customers whose brand awareness and loyalty are established and cemented up to 10 years earlier, as tweens and teens. [9]
Pink's competition in the lingerie market for the youth demographic includes Abercrombie & Fitch [10] and Aerie by American Eagle. [1] [11] The company's pajamas and sweat pants proved popular within the teenage and preteen set from 2006. [12]
The company grew rapidly in the 2000s, adding stores domestically, and by 2010, sales at PINK reached $1 billion. [2] On November 1, 2009, PINK established its first stand-alone store in Canada, [13] prior to the main Victoria's Secret brand opening its first Canadian store on August 12, 2010. [14]
After working as a leading executive at L Brands and Bath and Body Works, Richard Dent joined the management team at PINK in 2005. [15] He held several key leadership roles at PINK, including the jointly-held responsibilities of COO, SVP, and co-leader of the division. [15] [16] [17] Under Dent's leadership, the brand established a partnership with the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Collegiate Licensing Company for use of the names and logos of 60 universities in a line of PINK clothing. [15] The Pink "Collegiate Collection" was released in July 2008. [18] Dent expanded the company’s college line in 2009 to include historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), in response to a campaign by a student at Howard University. [15] [17]
Denise Landman was appointed CEO at PINK in 2011 and served until she retired at the end of 2018. [19] [2] Landman was succeeded by Amy Hauk as CEO in 2019. [19]
The PINK line has been promoted through college tours, and in 2011, the brand continued to work in partnership with NFL teams to market apparel containing team logos to teenage girls and college-aged women. [20]
In March 2013, Victoria's Secret PINK launched a marketing campaign for its "Bright Young Things" underwear line, directed at teen and pre-teen girls, that drew considerable negative attention. The underwear contained wording such as "call me", "feeling lucky", and "wild". A Change.org petition calling for the company to discontinue its product line amassed over 24,000 subscribers. After the criticism increased, Victoria's Secret removed the items from the company's website and said that the ad campaign was meant for college-age women. [21]
Reports of declining sales at PINK began to appear in 2018, following shifts in consumer preferences towards athleisure and a move towards more body-positive brands of underwear than parent brand Victoria's Secret. [22] [3] [23] Analysts have regarded PINK as more nimble, with a better track record of shifting their marketing towards inclusivity, than their parent brand, [3] [24] which faced an onslaught of controversy in 2019 and 2020. [25] [26] [27] As of 2020, the company had 141 stores, all attached to Victoria's Secret stores. [3]
PINK is a division of Victoria's Secret, and was owned by American retail company L Brands. Victoria's Secret was a subsidiary of L Brands, with financials for PINK reported jointly with those of Victoria's Secret.
In a 2009 letter to shareholders, the company's founder, Les Wexner, stated in that PINK had "brought vitality, youth, energy, and an all-new customer base to base Victoria's Secret." [28]
The PINK brand has its own spokesmodels that serve as brand ambassadors. Zuri Tibby became the brand's first spokesmodel of color in 2016. [29]
Nationality | Name | Contract |
---|---|---|
Brazil | Alessandra Ambrosio | 2004–2006 [30] |
Canada | Jessica Stam | 2006–2007 |
Australia | Miranda Kerr | 2006–2009 [31] |
Namibia | Behati Prinsloo | 2008–2011 [32] [33] |
Australia | Jessica Hart | 2011–2013 |
Sweden | Elsa Hosk | 2011–2014 [34] |
United States | Rachel Hilbert | 2015–2017 [35] |
United States | Grace Elizabeth | 2016–2018 |
United States | Zuri Tibby | 2016–2018 [36] |
United States | Maggie Laine | 2018 |
PINK has a college line that focuses brand recognition through public university athletics, started in 2008 under the leadership of Richard Dent. [15]
The company has partnered with both MLB and the NFL [15] for lines launched by Prinsloo as well as then Angels Chanel Iman, Erin Heatherton, and Candice Swanepoel. [37] [38] [39] Since then, spokesmodels, including Hosk and Jessica Hart, have attended sporting events to promote joint ventures with MLB and the NFL. [40] [41] [42]
Starting in 2010, [43] the brand marketed their product line at spring break parties, [44] [45] often hosted by a pair of female models (including Behati Prinsloo, Chanel Iman, Elsa Hosk, Rachel Hilbert, Sara Sampaio, and Devon Windsor) and a male guest such as Alexander Ludwig, [46] Nick Jonas, [47] Cody Simpson, [48] or Diego Boneta [49]
The brand, via a "PINK Nation" campaign, has also promoted their products with campus bashes featuring popular performers, as in 2014 with Iggy Azalea at University of Nevada Las Vegas. [50]
Additional models appeared at events for the brand, including Taylor Marie Hill, [51] Emily Didonato, [52] and Jessica Strother [49] as well as the celebrity Ashlee Simpson. [53]
Kylie Bisutti, a former Victoria's Secret model, headlined several Pink to Purpose events from 2013 to 2015, and since 2018. These events, unrelated to the retailer, are described as an encouragement for women "to leave the PINK lifestyle to find PURPOSE!" Bisutti perceives her past as "being at the pinnacle of the PINK lifestyle of fake, broken relationships". [54] [55]
PINK was central to the controversy around longtime L Brands Chief Marketing Officer Ed Razek's 2018 interview with Vogue , in which he spoke out against the inclusion of plus-size and trans models in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show specifically, and the Victoria's Secret business model, generally. In August 2019, the first openly transgender model, Valentina Sampaio, was hired to work for PINK; [56] Razek's resignation was announced just days later. [56]
There has been segment for PINK in the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show from 2006 to 2018, the final year the show was held.
In 2007, the brand held an event featuring spokesmodel Miranda Kerr, alongside Jessica Stam and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.[ citation needed ] The company ran a contest called "Pink Road Trip to the Runway", awarding a spot in the 2007 fashion show to winner, Katie Wile. [58]
The Fashion Show runway segment for PINK was initially accompanied by recorded music from popular artists. From 2010 through 2018, the PINK runway segment featured live performances by widely recognized music acts.[ citation needed ] Katy Perry was the first live performer for the PINK runway at Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2010, performing a medley from her recently released Teenage Dream album, in addition to performing "Firework" in a segment for the main Victoria's Secret brand.[ citation needed ]
In 2012, Justin Bieber performed during the Pink segment of the fashion show, while the notorious bicycle corset, featuring only handlebars with streamers, was modeled by Jessica Hart. [59] [60] [61]
PINK has also marketed their brand by sponsoring fashion show viewing parties during air time, such as in 2013 at West Virginia University. [62]
Pink runway history
Behati Prinsloo is a Namibian model. In 2008, she became a Pink contract model, and moved on to become a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2009. She walked in ten Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows, and opened consecutive Victoria's Secret Fashion shows in 2014 and 2015.
Elyse Taylor is an Australian model. She is a brand ambassador for makeup and skincare brand Nude by Nature and has walked in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer. Founded in 1977 by Roy and Gaye Raymond, the company's five lingerie stores were sold to Les Wexner in 1982. Wexner rapidly expanded into American shopping malls, growing the company into 350 stores nationally with sales of $1 billion by the early 1990s, when Victoria's Secret became the largest lingerie retailer in the United States.
Jacquelyn Leigh Jablonski is an American fashion model. She was born in New Jersey on April 4, 1991. Jablonski is also a spokesperson for Autism, having established her own organization in 2016 called "Autism Tomorrow".
Elsa Anna Sofie Hosk is a Swedish model. She has worked for brands including Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Ungaro, H&M, Anna Sui, Lilly Pulitzer and Guess. She modeled for Victoria's Secret, appearing in the brand's annual fashion show from 2011 to 2018. Hosk has also appeared in many of the brand's campaigns, especially for the sub-division PINK. In 2015, she was announced as one of 10 new Victoria's Secret Angels. She has also played professional basketball in Sweden.
Jasmine Tookes is an American fashion model.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual fashion show sponsored by Victoria's Secret, an American premium brand of lingerie and sleepwear. Victoria's Secret uses the show to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings. The show features some of the world's leading fashion models, such as current Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr, Doutzen Kroes, Behati Prinsloo, Candice Swanepoel, Erin Heatherton, Lily Aldridge, and Lindsay Ellingson.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual fashion show sponsored by Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie and sleepwear. Victoria's Secret uses the show to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings. The show features some of the world's leading fashion models, such as current Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Doutzen Kroes, Miranda Kerr, Erin Heatherton, Behati Prinsloo, Lindsay Ellingson, Lily Aldridge, and Chanel Iman. Lais Ribeiro also received billing.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual fashion show sponsored by Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie and sleepwear. Victoria's Secret uses the show to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings. The show features some of the world's leading fashion models, such as current Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Behati Prinsloo, Candice Swanepoel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Erin Heatherton, Lily Aldridge, and Chanel Iman. Miranda Kerr and Doutzen Kroes both missed this year's show due to their pregnancies.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual fashion show sponsored by Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie and sleepwear. Victoria's Secret uses the show to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings. The show features some of the world's leading fashion models, such as current Victoria's Secret Angels Heidi Klum, Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr, Doutzen Kroes, and Marisa Miller. Candice Swanepoel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Erin Heatherton, Lindsay Ellingson, and Behati Prinsloo were also featured. Adriana Lima and Karolina Kurkova were absent this year due to their pregnancies. Adriana gave birth to her daughter 4 days before to the show and Karolina gave birth to her son 3 weeks before the show.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual fashion show sponsored by Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie and sleepwear. Victoria's Secret uses the show to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings. The show features some of the world's leading fashion models, such as current Victoria's Secret Angels Heidi Klum, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Karolina Kurkova, Selita Ebanks, Marisa Miller, Miranda Kerr, and Doutzen Kroes. This year, Behati Prinsloo replaced Miranda Kerr as the Pink spokesmodel.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual fashion show sponsored by Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie and sleepwear. Victoria's Secret uses the show to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings. The show features some of the world's leading fashion models, such as current Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Doutzen Kroes, Candice Swanepoel, Lily Aldridge, Lindsay Ellingson, Karlie Kloss, and Behati Prinsloo. Elsa Hosk received billing.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual fashion show sponsored by Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie and sleepwear. Victoria's Secret uses the show to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings. The show features some of the world's leading fashion models, such as current Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Doutzen Kroes, Behati Prinsloo, Candice Swanepoel and Karlie Kloss. Lindsay Ellingson, Martha Hunt, Jasmine Tookes, Elsa Hosk, Lais Ribeiro, and Stella Maxwell all received billing.
The Victoria's Secret Swim Special is a television special that aired on CBS on February 26, 2015 and was broadcast in 190 countries as well as live at the Victoria's Secret website. It cost $2 million to film.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual fashion show sponsored by Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie and sleepwear. Victoria's Secret uses the show to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings. The show features some of the world's leading fashion models, including then current Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrósio, Behati Prinsloo, Candice Swanepoel, Lily Aldridge, Lais Ribeiro, Elsa Hosk, Jasmine Tookes, Sara Sampaio, Martha Hunt, Jac Jagaciak, Taylor Hill, Stella Maxwell, Romee Strijd, and Kate Grigorieva.
Rachel Leigh Hilbert is an American fashion model. She is best known for being a spokesmodel for Victoria's Secret's lingerie and apparel line, PINK as well as walking Victoria's Secret Fashion Show from 2015 to 2017.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual fashion show sponsored by Victoria's Secret. Victoria's Secret uses the show to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings. The show features some of the world's leading fashion models, such as current Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lily Aldridge, Lais Ribeiro, Elsa Hosk, Jasmine Tookes, Sara Sampaio, Martha Hunt, Taylor Hill, Stella Maxwell, Romee Strijd, and Josephine Skriver. Behati Prinsloo and Candice Swanepoel both missed this year's show due to their pregnancies. The show also featured PINK spokesmodels Rachel Hilbert, Zuri Tibby and Grace Elizabeth.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual fashion show sponsored by Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie and sleepwear. Victoria's Secret uses the show to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings. The show features some of the world's leading fashion models, such as current Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Lily Aldridge, Lais Ribeiro, Elsa Hosk, Jasmine Tookes, Sara Sampaio, Martha Hunt, Taylor Hill, Stella Maxwell, Romee Strijd, and Josephine Skriver. Behati Prinsloo missed this year's show, once again, due to the birth of her second child. The show also featured PINK spokesmodels Grace Elizabeth and Zuri Tibby.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual fashion show sponsored by Victoria's Secret, an American brand of lingerie and sleepwear. Victoria's Secret uses the show to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings. The show featured some of the world's leading fashion models, such as Victoria's Secret Angels, Lais Ribeiro, Elsa Hosk, Jasmine Tookes, Martha Hunt, Sara Sampaio, Romee Strijd, Stella Maxwell, Taylor Hill, Josephine Skriver, also with head angels Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel and Behati Prinsloo making her comeback in two years. The show also featured PINK spokesmodels, Grace Elizabeth and Zuri Tibby, also with Chinese models, Sui He and Ming Xi. Lily Aldridge was also absent due to her pregnancy.
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