CONSUMER NEEDS

Maslow Pyramid  


Esteem Needs/Blongingness

VS marketing strategy relies upon the fact that women still want to buy sexy lingerie to feel confident in their own skin / boost self-esteem, or to impress a man, but the balance is currently tilting towards more comfortable day-to-day lingerie, instead of wired, restraining bras. The trend for body diversity instead of body shaming is encouraging women to feel confident in their own skin and accept themselves for who they are no matter the appearance. The marketing and advertising strategies of Victoria’s Secret are currently prompting negative body image and eating disorders among young females. 
Understanding the emerging needs of consumers influenced the launch of the Bralette Collection in 2016 and their latest product, the Perfect Comfort Push-up, “a push-up bra comfortable enough to relax in”(Instagram caption). 
People need to feel they belong somewhere, that they are part of something bigger than themselves, that is why many choose to dedicate themselves to their work completely, other choose to dedicate their lives to family, others turns to religion/belief and are completely dedicated to god, but all of them without exception need to belong somewhere. Some brands try to create a sense of community, a fantastic universe people aspire to live in, or be part of. Victoria's Secret used this strategy for many years, shaping this fantasy, a world of femininity, sexiness and fun portrayed by models with a "perfect" body. These models are considered perfect (physically), but these perceptions are based on societal norms, they're not real. Any body can be sexy and attractive. If Marylin Monroe would have lived today... she would't have been considered one of the most beautiful women, she couldn't have been a model..



Source of image: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

MAIN COMPETITORS- MINTEL

 Figure 26: Leading specialist underwear retailers’ total UK revenues, 2012-17

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017 (est)
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Victoria's Secret UK	19,584	54,684	84,706	106,363	132,162	166,000
Ann Summers Ltd	114,914	101,212	104,818	101,543	109,011	115,000
Lovehoney	23,671	28,316	43,435	56,608	72,806	89,000
Bravissimo Ltd	44,673	46,464	54,059	49,092	50,242	54,000
Boux Avenue	18,162	26,973	36,538	44,387	49,409	51,000
Calzedonia Group UK*	10,157	11,727	14,301	15,369	15,538	15,785
Rigby & Peller Ltd	9,176	9,232	9,665	8,221	7,948	7,800
Agent Provocateur	16,180	22,192	23,746	na	na	Na

Figure 27: Leading specialist underwear retailers’ total UK stores, 2012-17	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Victoria's Secret UK	5	5	10	14	18	23
Ann Summers Ltd	141	141	135	132	125	117
Bravissimo Ltd	21	22	25	25	25	29
Boux Avenue	17	21	25	28	29	29
Calzedonia Group UK*	na	na	na	na	17	16
Rigby & Peller Ltd	8	9	9	9	9	9
Agent Provocateur Ltd	12	12	12	11	6	4

Figure 28: Leading specialist underwear retailers’ estimated UK sales per outlet, 2012-17

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Victoria's Secret UK	3,917	10,937	11,294	8,864	8,260	8,098
Ann Summers Ltd	815	718	760	761	848	950
Bravissimo Ltd	2,127	2,161	2,300	1,964	2,010	2,000
Boux Avenue	1,068	1,420	1,589	1,675	1,734	1,759
Calzedonia Group UK*	na	na	na	na	914	957
Rigby & Peller Ltd	1,147	1,086	1,074	913	883	867
:	:	:	:	:	:	:

"Although Victoria’s Secret continues to report substantial sales growth in the UK, figures suggest that this growth is being driven by new store openings, with sales per outlet thought to be on a downward trend since 2014.

In contrast, Ann Summers has continued to see an uplift in like-for-likes since 2014. Although the retailer has reduced its store portfolio in recent years, total sales have been on an upward trend. In the year ending June 2017, revenues rose 7.4% to £109 million, with sales boosted by the retailer’s Party Plan business. This side of the business reportedly saw a renewed popularity following the ITV comedy-drama series Brief Encounters, which aired in July 2016 and documented the beginning of the Ann Summers brand by telling the story of four women who began selling lingerie and sex toys to women in the privacy of their own homes in the early 1980s. This resurgence in the Party Plan business has therefore helped to offset store closures, though we expect the impact of the series to soften in future as no further series of the programme are planned to help sustain interest."

"Although Boux Avenue’s UK footprint has remained consistent over the last few years, the retailer has continued to expand internationally. The business continues to expand its overseas standalone store network through a franchise model. Meanwhile, in November 2017, it was announced that Boux Avenue had agreed new wholesale partnerships with Zalando and Nordstrom as part of the retailer’s ongoing efforts to boost international sales. This followed the retailer’s launch on a number of other third party websites in 2016, including ASOS, Very and Littlewood. The retailer also revealed in November that it had opened its first dedicated warehouse and distribution facility in Crewe, which spans 70,000 sq ft and has 150 staff members, as it looks to sustain growth."

Figure 35: Total above-the line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on underwear and nightwear, by leading advertisers, 2013-17

	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Triumph International	725	902	1,443	437	1,504
Marks & Spencer	803	1,704	2,555	1,860	677
JML Direct	1,692	644	62	-	543
Intimissimi	317	385	449	215	454
Asda Stores	226	65	72	1,109	445
Calvin Klein	409	83	95	35	429
Boux Avenue	320	386	408	228	267
Fashion Forms	21	26	-	-	177
Freemans Grattan Holdings	-	-	-	118	176
Tesco	781	110	-	2	171
House of Fraser	123	-	8	-	73
Bravissimo Lingerie	-	5	165	2	53
Under Armour	-	-	-	18	51
Wacoal	516	371	229	196	51
Debenhams	-	34	423	663	50
Victoria’s Secret	-	175	241	13	42
JD Williams	150	249	141	31	39
Solendro	-	-	-	-	35
Agent Provocateur	12	37	28	19	30
Maison Lejaby	1	-	1	-	21
Others	1,417	1,832	1,851	1,280	250
Total	7,512	7,008	8,171	6,226	5,538

 Source: Mintel

SOCIALS:

Ann Summers

Facebook: 2 M likes (only one acc)

Twitter: 92.8k followers

VS

Facebook: 29 M likes (only one acc)

Twitter: 11.2 M followers

Instagram: 66.6k UK account  

Boux Avenue

Facebook: 169 K likes (only one acc)

Twitter: 60.1 K followers

Instagram: 219 K