Victoria’s Secret & Co announces restructuring move
Victoria’s Secret & Co has announced that Victoria’s Secret, Victoria’s Secret PINK and Victoria’s Secret Beauty are to become one single collaborative organisation.
However, the move will result in a reduction of around 160 management roles, or approximately 5% of the company’s US office headcount.
The news follows Victoria’s Secret & Co’s separation from parent company L Brands last year. L Brands also owned Bath & Body Works and changed its name to that after the separation.
Martin Waters, Victoria’s Secret & Co chief executive, said: “Over the last year, we have progressed a thoughtful revolution of our business by redefining the VS brand and rebuilding our strategy for growth. We can now better connect with and represent our millions of customers around the globe.
“As a result, we have more relevant brand positioning, more compelling merchandise assortments, and a more inclusive culture that celebrates our people. With our brand revolution well underway and gaining momentum, now is the time to reimagine our leadership structure to better align with a shifting consumer landscape and become more efficient as an organisation.”
As part of the plans, the company has appointed executives to three key leadership roles as it looks to strengthen its core business, enhance the customer experience and ignite growth.
Amy Hauk has been named as chief executive for Victoria’s Secret and PINK after working as chief executive of PINK since 2018. Prior to that, she spent over a decade in merchandising roles at L Brands’ Bath and Body Works business.
In addition, Christine Rupp will join Victoria’s Secret & Co as chief customer officer where she will be responsible for creating a seamless store and digital commerce business across the world. Her role will also involve being accountable for sales and profitability across both channels. She will join the business from Albertsons where she is currently chief customer and digital officer.
Meanwhile Greg Unis, who has led the Victoria’s Secret and PINK Beauty businesses since 2016, has been named as chief growth officer. In his new position, he will be responsible for the VS&Co-Lab platform, new business development and international expansion, as well as mergers and acquisition opportunities. He will also continue to lead Victoria’s Secret & Co’s real estate, store design and construction teams.
All three executives will report to Waters who said: “Uniting our brands as a single, collaborative organisation under Amy’s leadership will bring greater focus and discipline to our merchandising expertise while streamlining our processes and improving our speed to market.
“I firmly believe combining our store and digital channels under Chris will move us from being a company of ‘shop keepers’ to being a company of ‘customer keepers’. By strengthening our core businesses in this manner, we are freeing up time and resources to focus on growth under Greg’s leadership.”
