With a glossy new campaign that features Gigi Hadid and Paloma Elsesser, American lingerie chain Victoria’s Secret has relaunched its VSX activewear line, the company announced Thursday.
Victoria’s Secret first entered the category more than a decade ago, but has shifted its focus elsewhere in recent years. At its peak, activewear generated $500 million in sales for the retailer, according to Greg Unis, brand president of Victoria’s Secret and Pink. Its share of the sports bra market fell from 16 percent to 4 percent, Unis told investors in a presentation last October.
This expansion is part of a broader strategy to diversify and elevate its product offerings, appealing to both fashion-forward and active customers, said Shawuan Johnson, senior vice president of merchandising at Victoria’s Secret.
The new collection features the VSX Sports Bra and leggings made with a new proprietary fabric, as well as more fashion-forward styles such as trench boats and catsuits.
“Our top priority is to reclaim the sports bra market, and as the intimates market share leader, we’re well positioned,” Johnson told BoF. “There’s still a lot of growth opportunities in sports bras as it’s an under-penetrated market share for us.”
According to Johnson, about one-fourth of Victoria’s Secret customers choose a sports bra as their main bra. This finding led the retailer to launch its Featherweight Max sports bra last fall. The VSX collection will include new variations of the Featherweight Max as well as new sports bra options, such as a light support version.
Innovation is central to the VSX relaunch, said Johnson. Victoria’s Secret has been developing its own materials technology to deliver high-performance pieces suited for various impact levels.
A Pivotal Point
Its activewear launch comes at a critical time for Victoria’s Secret, which has long struggled to recover its relevance in the intimates category. While still the dominant player in the space, sales and profit have steadily fallen over the years. In 2023, it generated $6.2 billion in net sales, down from $6.3 billion the previous year and $7.4 billion in 2018. Last month, the company named former Savage X Fenty CEO Hillary Super as its new chief, effective Sept. 9.
Facing steep competition in its primary category from the likes of Aerie and Skims, Victoria’s Secret will find a new revenue stream as it grows its activewear assortment. Even so, there is no shortage of players in the activewear space; Victoria’s Secret will be contending against performance stalwarts such as Nike and Lululemon as well as newcomers such as Vuori and Alo Yoga.
VSX’s success will be pegged to the scale of its rollout, according to Johnson.
“We’re aggressively getting back in the sport business through marketing campaigns and our in-store experience,” she said.
