Ohio-based fashion retailer L Brands reported a fall in sales and bigger losses for the third quarter. It has confirmed that this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show will not be taking place. The fashion show, which aired annually since 1995, has been officially canceled this year.
The fashion show, which features top models called "angels" wearing lingerie, has seen a severe decline in viewership over the last several years. Last year, 3.3 million people turned up to watch the show, down from 9.7 million viewers in 2013. “We’ll be communicating to customers, but nothing that I would say is similar in magnitude to the fashion show,” said L Brands EVP and CFO Stuart Burgdoerfer, when discussing marketing plans for Victoria’s Secret over the holiday period. According to Burgdoerfer, the decision to forego this year’s fashion show is not expected to have a significant effect on Victoria’s Secret’s financial performance. “As timing over the years shifted 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,” he stated.
The lingerie brand's parent company, L Brands is also planning to revamp the annual fashion by developing exciting and dynamic content and a new kind of event. Overall comparable sales fell 2 per cent, a decline of 7 per cent in comps at Victoria’s Secret, partially offset by a 9 per cent rise at Bath & Body Works, the consistent bright spot in L Brands’ portfolio.
