Brand extension: Victoria's Secret Menswear
L Brands is already a multi-million dollar retail company, but they still have an opportunity to increase their value through brand extension. One of the company's most popular brands is Victoria's Secret, which provides females with underwear and other apparel items. We would like to propose a new line for the Victoria's Secret brand called BLACK. This extension would offer underwear, as well as athletic and leisure apparel for young men. The brand's main focus would be on comfort and style. BLACK would service the company by increasing sales revenue, attracting new customers, and creating a gender neutral atmosphere in its store locations.
BLACK from Victoria's Secret will target young men aged 18-25, with an emphasis on those attending college. We have chosen this age group as our customer because while attending classes students want to be comfortable, while still looking stylish. The products from BLX will provide an effortless look that your classmates will envy. Those who are not attending college, and are instead working full time jobs, will likely make $30,000 - $40,000 a year. For these reasons, the customer would be price conscious, but willing to pay more for quality products. The customer will also most likely live in a city, as the aesthetic of the brand will be inspired by street style. There is also currently not a large number of competitors for this type of line, therefore we will be filling a gap in the market. With research, we found most men were familiar with the Victoria's Secret Brand, and had general knowledge about their products. Of these men, sixty-two percent said they would purchase items if the company were to produce a menswear line. We predict similar success within the introduction period of our products.
Similar to the apparel sold at Victoria's Secret, BLACK will focus on a line of undergarments and comfort. We hope to produce boxers, briefs, sweats and simple tees. All the apparel in the BLX line will be similar to the women's and will incorporate the same logo to remain consistent with the company/brand. In contrast to the lingerie and risque garments sold at Victoria's Secret, the line produced will be a spin off of the PINK line. Introducing this to the male market will allow the company to become more gender neutral, increase revenue and expand the market.
Current brands exists that provide high quality underwear, leisure apparel, or athletic apparel, but there is not a well known company that provides all three. Competitors for the underwear products will be Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. The athletic and leisure apparel competitors will be Nike and Adidas. In comparison to these brands BLACK will provide similar quality at a much more reasonable price. The styles of our products will also stick to neutral tones to stay in trend with the current fashion scene, unlike competitors that experiment with flashy colors.
Production of BLACK products will be done in the same apparel factories as the PINK brand products to cut down on the cost of building space, and shipping. Having a centralized location for production will also make quality assurance easier to monitor, as there would only be one factory to oversee. The products, similar to those of Victoria's Secret, will be constructed of a cotton and spandex blend. This will dismiss the need to source raw material because the company already has a supplier. The cost of the materials will also see a decrease because most manufacturers provide discounts when more of their product is bought. This will allow BLACK to maintain reasonable prices for its merchandise.
According to the data received, 52% said they would pay less than $25 for these products. While, 37% believed $25-$50 would be a sufficient price and 11% said $50-$75. The results showcased the majority paying less than average Victoria's Secret prices. This is where extending the brand may fail. Men and boys typically like to spend less on clothes because they don't believe in paying for something that they are able to obtain at a lower price. With only 37% willing to pay the same prices as the items sold now the menswear extension of the Victoria's Secret brand may not be that successful.
Using similar strategies from stores who have been successful with incorporating menswear, such as Forever21, BLACK products will begin to be sold in Victoria's Secret locations across the country. Ideally, the new line will have its own in store shop, as male customers will want a separate section. Having the in store shop will allow customers to have the one stop shopping experience. It will also, allow men to finally enter Victoria's Secret stores and not feel as uncomfortable. Changing the layout of retail locations and inserting the men's section for BLX will increase store population and sales of the company. 63% of the people surveyed said they would prefer shopping in stores in comparison to online. This will allow the consumer to have the full retail experience in a store that was once strictly female, and is now gender neutral. It will be a great extension of the current Victoria's Secret brand.