Brand Equity, Brand Positioning And Brand Strategy Of Victoria Secrets - Essay Example

Introduction The various clothing companies that are available are required to keep a specific brand identity and position to compete with others in the market. The fashion market and the competition that is related to this is one of the strongest internationally and require specific positioning and brand identity for success. One of the top fashion stores that is currently on the market is Victoria’s Secret, a company based on women’s beauty products and lingerie. The strategy that is used for this corporation and the way that it is able to create its brand identity helps the company to remain one of the top competitors on a global level while continuing to expand the product line and amount of revenue that is available on a yearly basis. Background of Victoria’s Secret Victoria’s Secret is one of five companies under the name of Limited Brands. The other stores that follow this include Bath and Body Works, Pink, La Senza and Henri Bendel. The initial store began in 1963 in Ohio as a specialty realtor focused on lingerie, personal care and beauty products that are specific to women’s needs. The founder of the company is Leslie W. Wexner, a Russian immigrant that began to build a portfolio of fashion soon after graduating from high school. He grew the company from the founding store of his parents to lead into a segmented corporation. The mission of Limited Brands is to offer the world’s best fashion brands by providing high quality materials. This is followed by Limited Brands offering customer experiences that are unmatched in the industry followed by a focus on loyalty from customers and growth from both potential customers and stakeholders. There are four core principles that follow this, including the focus on the customer, passion that leads to success from the excellence of products, inclusion of new and innovative products for success and the belief to be fair in all business dealings. There are over 2900 stores in the U.S. and Canada and over 40 La Senza stores that are located across the globe. There is an average of $8.6 billion revenue in 2009 and 90,000 employees that are in the US (Limited Brands, 2010). Brand Equity The brand equity that is defined by Victoria’s Secret begins with the firm level that has been created. In 2009, the net sales of this branch were at $1,388,000 with a sales change increase of 9%. The comparable store sales are at 6% with an average of 6,063,000 square feet for sales. The stability of the store continues to remain the same, with potential for growth not only within the US and Canada, but also on a global level. The continuous growth of Victoria’s Secret has not only led to a stabile presence in the US and Canada, but also has led into branches that are through the store locations and online portals, which is helping to expand into the global presence. At the current stage, the majority of the stores under Victoria’s Secret are specific to North America. However, the La Senza stores substitute for the brand with over 40 locations across the globe for a different segment of brand equity. The risk profile that is associated with this is one that is low because of the easy recognition of the products of Victoria’s Secret, as well as the leading market leadership that is a part of the company (Limited Brands, 2010). The brand equity that is available through Victoria’s Secret not only includes the firm level options, but also is inclusive of the product level. The brand image of Victoria’s Secret has been defined first by the name of Victoria’s Secret, which is instantly associated with lingerie and beauty for women. The expansion on this has come from the several promotional campaigns that continue to use the same images and brand identity for the growth of the company. The store uses the color of pink for all of the promotions and has this specific trademark on the bags, advertisements, catalogs, online presence and in the basic décor of the storefronts. This is combined with the fashion shows, which has the Victoria’s Secret “angels.” The company is known to use some of the best models for the lingerie fashion, designed with specific campaigns for fashion shows, TV ads and promotional ads that are seen with the angel brand that Victoria’s Secret is known for. The consumer associations with the brand equity also have a specific relation to the quality of the product. Most that use Victoria’s Secret are looking for comfort, fit and style of the lingerie. The quality that is a part of the brand is followed by the reputation of Victoria’s Secret, which continues to be associated with high quality lingerie that can be used for both comfort and for special occasions. Victoria’s Secret is known to have the strongest brand loyalty because of the specific associations with the brand, followed by Playtex and Bestform. The brand is known more as a specialty store than other brands and is often associated with malls or through the online catalogs and promotions that are available through different times of the year. Other brands that are competing with this are available through mass merchandisers instead, as well as through department stores. The concept of having a specialty area for consumers that is not attached to another space, combined with the quality of the products, are some of the main attributes that set apart the company from other lingerie stores (Center for Digital Strategies, 2004). Brand Positions There are several areas that Victoria’s Secret has focused on to build their brand and to create the correct associations with consumers. The main concept that has been used with the store is based on the ideal of specialized stores. Most of the stores that are available are based on the concept of going outside of a mass store or department store to buy the clothes. Doing this allows Victoria’s Secret to remain specialized and to promote the brand as having higher quality. The positioning of the store has also led Victoria’s Secret to offering higher prices and to associating the brand with having a higher quality than other types of lingerie. The decision to keep the store outside of other basic stores is one of the leading factors in the success of the company and the growth through customer loyalty. The concept that is used with Victoria’s Secret specialized quality has created a frame of reference that allows both the emotional and the physical needs of the consumer to be met. The attitudes that are often associated with the lingerie store are based on self – image and the ability to build beauty. Victoria’s Secret has moved the attitudes into several demographic segments, including “Pink,” which is focused on college age girls and the regular Victoria’s Secret line, which promotes lingerie for women over the age of 25. Each of these promotes lingerie that is significant to the age group and which attracts different lifestyles for different needs. For the older women, the promotion is one that is based on comfort and quality. For the self – image of the alternative segments, is an attitude that is created that is based on sexiness and appeal. The main appeal that is created with the brand identity is based on experiental hierarchy, which continues to draw on the emotions and attitudes of women based on self – image. Intimate moments are combined with this to continue to draw toward the emotions and appeal of the brand identity (McKinsey, 2001). The emotional attitudes and the concept of quality for Victoria’s Secret through the specialized store then relates to the brand orientation that is associated with the company. There are four dimensions that can be analyzed with the basic set-up of Victoria’s Secret and the association that it has with consumers. The first is the concept of distinctiveness. In this area, Victoria’s Secret remains a leader among lingerie. The use of specialized stores, the brand base of pink as the main color and the association with comfort, quality and emotional attitudes have all distinguished the brand among women in the US and in Canada. The second association is the functionality of the product. The reviews of the company have all shown a high level of comfort and quality with the lingerie that is available. More importantly, Victoria’s Secret has expanded the functionality of different lines of lingerie for other attitudes, such as for intimate moments. The segmentation of the product has allowed for emotional functionality to be a main concept that is a part of the brand. The third concept is the value added areas of the product. Not only has Victoria’s Secret done this through the quality of the brand, but has also expanded on the attitudes through various product lines. The expansion has led to value added initiatives that include expansion of the products into swimwear, beauty products and associations with other high – end products that are a part of the brand. The symbolic dimension of this comes from the main advertisements, which includes the pink color, models that dress as angels and promotional ads that are based on the emotions of the intimate apparel (Bridson, Evans, 2004). Brand Strategy The brand strategy that Victoria’s Secret has is based on continuous expansion of the products while continuing to use the foundational images of the product. The strategy begins with the continuous use of pink and of the supermodels that display the angel costume. The expansion of the brand strategy is based on different product lines that are known to provide specific types of comfort and attitudes for fashion. The main ideal with this is to define beauty in a different way with each of the fashion shows and campaigns that are used. For instance, some of the products will be based on creating a self – image of fun, while others are based on romance, fantasy, desire or love. Creating these attitudes first with each of the product lines then allows Victoria’s Secret to continue to expand while offering women different ideas of self – image that creates a sense of loyalty for the different pieces of lingerie. To further the brand strategy, there are specific advertising campaigns that are used each year. The main campaign is the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show, which outlines the new lines of fashion that are used in the stores. On average, 1 billion viewers watch this show each year with nationwide televising that is given for the lingerie. The show has turned into one that is known to have a Broadway type effect with music, entertainment and the fashion combined into one event. It is known that this specific strategy doubles the sales of the new lines of products that Victoria’s Secret offers. The main fashion show is followed by special events which introduces new lines of lingerie through promotional offers in various locations across the US. The second aspect is the catalog that Victoria’s Secret mails to loyal customers, with over 390 million copies that are sent to the US. These free magazines are able to provide a direct marketing approach to further the brand and continue to create brand loyalty. Magazines, newspapers and other print ads combine with this to create a stronger image of the lingerie line. The visibility is combined with the Internet, all which helps to operate multiple channels and product lines with the same foundational brand image (Chang et al, 2004). Conclusion The brand identity of Victoria’s Secret has allowed it to remain one of the top competitors in lingerie and beauty for women. The brand equity created through the store front is one that customers easily identify with and which has created a strong foundation for the company. This is combined with the emotional and physical appeal of lingerie that has created segments outside of other stores into a specialized area for women’s fashion. The company has built the specialized lingerie section as one of the only competitors that offers the quality and style of lingerie in the US and Canada. The brand identity that is recognized is based on the basic quality of the products, which has led to one of the longest lines of loyal customers. More importantly, other customers have found the brand through the supermodels and fashion shows as well as the continuous recognition of the brand concepts of the angels and the color pink. The strategy that Victoria’s Secret continues to use for their brand identity combines print ads with fashion shows and events that has led to women associating with the attitude, emotions and physical needs that are a part of the lingerie store. The focus that Victoria’s Secret has used for their brand identity and positioning has led them into continuous growth and a stable brand name among specialized lingerie. References Bridson, Kerrie, Jody Evans. (2004). The Secret to a Fashion Advantage is Brand Orientation. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management. (32), (8). Center for Digital Strategies. (2004). Victoria’s Secret. School of Business at Chang, Chelsea, Alice Lin, Charlene Mak. (2004). The Silky Strategy of Victoria’s Secret. McaFee. Dartmouth. Retrieved from: http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pdf/2002-6-0014.pdf. Limited Brands. (2010). About Our Company. Retrieved from: http://www.limitedbrands.com/our_company/about_us/our_founder.aspx. McKinsey and Company. (2001). Successful Brand Positioning: Aspirational vs. Achievable Strategies. Arnold Saks Associates. Read More