How Victoria’s Secret’s focus on products delivered a remarkable Q4

Victoria’s Secret Q4 results are in, and the lingerie giant’s fiscal year ended on a high note, with both sales and profit exceeding management’s expectations.

For the full year, net sales were up 5 per cent to $6.6 billion, with comparable sales also up 5 per cent and adjusted net income rising from $218 million to $250 million.

“We delivered an exceptional fourth quarter and a standout year, exceeding top-and bottom-line guidance with broad-based outperformance across brands, channels and geographies,” said CEO Hillary Super. “Our 2025 results reflect the progress we have made against our ‘Path to Potential’ strategy as we build brand heat and powerful connections with our customers around the world.”

These numbers are remarkable, considering that just a year ago, investors and other retail industry executives alike questioned Super’s ability to turn around Victoria’s Secret’s brand image and profitability.

Yet, Super, who has a proven track record as the former CEO of Savage X Fenty and Anthropologie Group, has proved herself yet again with the brand’s renewed focus on products and storytelling. 

Alicia Esposito, director of content and insights at research platform Future Commerce, hailed the brand for rallying around a strategic vision. “When Hillary Super joined Victoria’s Secret as the new CEO, I knew something major was afoot,” she said. “She helped shape and elevate the Savage x Fenty brand into a cultural powerhouse, and she is doing an incredible job reinvigorating excitement around the Victoria’s Secret brand.”

What Victoria’s Secret is getting right

Neil Saunders, analyst and managing director at GlobalData, argued that one of the things helping Victoria’s Secret is a renewed focus on innovation. 

“This has come through strongly in bras, where attributes like comfort and fit are now key points of communication to the customer,” he said. “A greater focus on products has been accompanied by investments in stores to provide better levels of customer service and advice.

“More broadly, there has been a major change in how Victoria’s Secret shows up in the market. For many years, there has been a conflict between whether the brand should be sexy or not and how it projects this into the world. The resolution is that Victoria’s Secret is a sexy brand, but that this is about allowing women to feel this in an empowering way that works for them – not about objectifying them or confining them to one stereotype. This is resonating well.” Outside the core brand, there has also been significant work to differentiate Pink and inject more personality into it, which, in turn, has been attracting more customers.

Meanwhile, CI&T’s global director of retail strategy, Melissa Minkow, said that Victoria’s Secret has been adept at updating its selling strategy across channels to capture consumer interest. “They’ve been super smart with their omnichannel strategy, selling in all the places that make sense for today’s consumer to be looking for them. Furthermore, their price point is well-suited to this economy, and they have always had a quality product.”

Where the brand was suffering more than any other issue was a deteriorated brand image. This issue has been resolved thanks to the brand’s shift towards a more consumer-relevant product assortment and its hard work to reverse its image into one that is uplifting, inclusive, and tied to strong celebrity spokespeople. “Their fashion show this year was the first one in a while that effectively captured the beloved nostalgia of prior shows while also feeling modern and fresh,” said Minkow.

How Victoria’s Secret’s 2025 fashion show signaled a fresh new start 

Compared to the 2024 Victoria’s Secret fashion show, the previous show felt like a better reflection of Super’s work to turn around the lingerie giant’s diminished image since she officially assumed the role of CEO on September 9, 2024.

Phillip Jackson, Future Commerce’s co-founder and CEO, added, “Victoria’s Secret has been especially innovative in embracing shoppable content. They brought a known and culturally recognized landmark back to consumers, but in a way that reflected the diverse media diets and contexts consumers now use to engage with brands and participate in culture. The brand should continue to explore these opportunities and find ways to accelerate the cultural “drumbeat” both before and after this critical event.”

It should also be noted that the brand has clearly been benefiting from the resurgence of Y2K-era trends. 

“Gen Z sees this era as a novelty and wants to engage with brands and products from that time as a form of escapism. Almost like they’re stepping into a living time capsule of a more creative and dynamic time in commerce. Millennials are doing the same, largely out of excitement that the era that was so central to their formative years with commerce is “cool” again,” explained Esposito. 

“Victoria’s Secret tapped into this idea well with the Hailey Bieber-starring Valentine’s Day campaign, which was a clear nod to the 2001 ad featuring Gisele Bündchen. I see this being a clear opportunity for Pink moving forward, as some of the bold colors, patterns, glitter and kitsch of Y2K fashion become staples.”

So long as Victoria’s Secret continues to integrate these winning ingredients, it should continue to keep serving up positive sales figures moving forward.

Further reading: Brett Blundy slams Victoria’s Secret board ahead of earnings call

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