Victoria's Secret turns its back on HK

Cissy So, Kristy King and Jane Cheung

Victoria's Secret has closed its six-story flagship store - the last one remaining - in Hong Kong as business of the American underwear brand comes apart everywhere.

Top models Tyra Banks, Giselle Bundchen, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio and Candice Swanepoel were among "Victoria's Angels" at one time for a brand built on its sexy lingerie product lines.

But Victoria's Secret has gone sharply downhill. One revealing omen was the suspension last year of its much-ballyhooed televised fashion show.

It had six outlets in Hong Kong during its heyday, but it looked tattered and torn as the last store, in Causeway Bay, closed its doors to end a seven-year glint in Hong Kong.

Globally, the number of stores has gone shrunk from 1,600 to fewer than 850. The flagship store in Hong Kong occupied 51,000 square feet of the Capitol Centre on Jardine's Bazaar opposite Hysan Place. The premises were being rented for HK$7 million a month since September 2017. That was when Victoria's Secret took over from clothing brand Forever 21, which pulled out of Hong Kong.

"You will still be [able] to shop online on our international website," read a notice outside the Causeway Bay premises on Wednesday. Behind the shuttered entrance, a staff member was tidying around amid empty shelves and bare mannequins in the middle of the ground floor.

A 25-year-old woman named Leung said: "I heard about the closure earlier and wanted to check if there were any discounts. Turns out it's closed."

A former Victoria's Secret part-timer at the flagship store said she had enjoyed the atmosphere there. "The working culture was very chill and the people there were nice," she said. "It was like one big family."

She was disappointed at the closure but said it was expected, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic.

But she said she welcomed the cancellation of the fashion show last year, saying a rethink was needed. "Their idea of 'the perfect body' needed to be changed. They needed more diversity." Many customers also complained that products were overpriced - underwear cost from HK$150 to HK$1,000 per item - and they would only consider purchases during sales times.

Then there was the rental overhead.

Although the rental contract for Victoria's Secret in Capitol Centre run to August 2027, Tony Lo Chin-ho, a director of property agency Midland Shops, said a 10-year term is often split into several contracts lasting three to five years each.

"It's a common practice to give tenants an option to renew," he said.

The lingerie brand last year recorded a deficit globally equivalent to around HK$1.66 billion as outlets shut amid a major falloff in business.

Then the pandemic lockdowns overwhelmed much of Victoria's Secret.

Earlier this month the retailer's British arm entered administration, shedding 785 employees at 25 stores while hunting for buyer.

And for the first quarter of this year Victoria's Secret umbrella company, L Brands, ran up a deficit of US$297 million (HK$2.31 billion) and closed 250 outlets in North America. That was 25 percent of all outlets. A pioneer of "seductive, fashionable and romantic" lingerie products, Victoria's Secret was founded by businessman Roy Raymond in 1977. He sold it to L Brands in 1982.

The group in 1995 introduced the ground-breaking Victoria's Secret Fashion Show with sexy models dressed as wing-wearing "angels" walking the runway.

It was a much-watched event for men as much as women, and it was also a launchpad for shapely females looking at the big time. But it was also criticized for being sexist, outdated and lacking in diversity because the brand favored pretty girls alone.