Victoria’s Secret Update: Can The Lingerie Retailer Survive?

Victoria’s Secret has had a challenging few years as it finds itself in a sales slump caused by a reduced number of consumers buying its intimate apparel. While L Brands (LB), the parent company for Victoria’s Secret, works to rejuvenate the brand and reduce its total store numbers, a Wall Street analyst thinks it may not be enough to save the retailer.

According to Paul Lejuez, a Citigroup analyst, L Brands has been “slow to implement meaningful change” as the company has shifted away from “cultural norms,” causing him to downgrade L Brands to a “neutral” stock rating, CNN reported.

The rating for Victoria’s Secret may not come as a surprise as the retailer has struggled in an era where women are poised against its lingerie model advertising, favoring instead a #MeToo movement attitude. The company has also found itself facing more competition with online retailers that are pushing comfort with a line of custom-fitted bras versus its sexier push-up bra offering.

Lejeuz recommends that Victoria Secret change its marketing model and adopt “a more inclusive approach.” But he’s uncertain that L Brands can make the necessary changes saying it “may be too little too late.”

According to Lejuez, "It will be a tough balancing act to attract new customers without alienating its existing customer base. While we still think a change toward inclusivity is the right move, a move in that direction might be more difficult to pull off.”

L Brands has lost half its value over the last five years, and is one of the worst-performing retailers on the S&P 500, CNN reported.

Complicating matters further is CEO Leslie Wexner’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, a registered sex offender that has been charged with sex trafficking minors. Epstein, who owns his own money management firm, had Wexner as a client and has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

In a letter sent by Wexner to L Brand employees, he claimed that he had completely severed his relationship with Epstein 12 years prior, according to the news outlet.

Shares of L Brand stock were down 1.12 percent as of market close on Tuesday.