Victoria`s Secret Economic Environment
Limited Brands – Victoria’s Secret
Economic Environment of the Firm
Prof. Coleman
Introduction
The apparel industry faces various supply chain challenges, many due to the fact that the major part of apparel manufacturing activity for the United States market has moved outside the country to low-labor-cost countries in the Far-East. Thus, due to long physical distances, apparel companies in the US are continuously challenged to quickly respond to changing trends, to reduce long lead-times, to execute collaborative product development with suppliers using effective communication and to ensure total supply chain visibility. Moreover, fickle consumer preferences and shortening of the product life cycles make the apparel industry very challenging from a supply chain perspective.
The Victoria 's Secret business provides a case study representative of most supply chain challenges faced by the apparel industry as a whole. Victoria 's Secret is a multi-channel retailer selling its products through physical stores located throughout the United States, as well as through a collection of printed catalogs and an online shop. Its major product offerings lie in the category of intimate apparel, sleepwear, beauty, apparel, shoes and swimwear. For the purpose of this research, we focus on the intimate apparel segment of Victoria 's Secret. Intimate apparel represents the largest portion of Victoria 's Secret business and is sold through all the retail channels described above.
Company History
According to company lore, after a disagreement with his father in 1963 over the operation of the family store (Leslie 's), Leslie Wexner, then 26, opened the first Limited store in Columbus, Ohio, with $5,000 borrowed from his aunt. Leslie Wexner 's desire was to focus on moderately priced fashionable attire for teenagers and young women (Hoover 's Online). The Limited went public in 1969 with five stores. Rapid development of large malls spurred Limited 's
Economic Environment of the Firm
Prof. Coleman
Introduction
The apparel industry faces various supply chain challenges, many due to the fact that the major part of apparel manufacturing activity for the United States market has moved outside the country to low-labor-cost countries in the Far-East. Thus, due to long physical distances, apparel companies in the US are continuously challenged to quickly respond to changing trends, to reduce long lead-times, to execute collaborative product development with suppliers using effective communication and to ensure total supply chain visibility. Moreover, fickle consumer preferences and shortening of the product life cycles make the apparel industry very challenging from a supply chain perspective.
The Victoria 's Secret business provides a case study representative of most supply chain challenges faced by the apparel industry as a whole. Victoria 's Secret is a multi-channel retailer selling its products through physical stores located throughout the United States, as well as through a collection of printed catalogs and an online shop. Its major product offerings lie in the category of intimate apparel, sleepwear, beauty, apparel, shoes and swimwear. For the purpose of this research, we focus on the intimate apparel segment of Victoria 's Secret. Intimate apparel represents the largest portion of Victoria 's Secret business and is sold through all the retail channels described above.
Company History
According to company lore, after a disagreement with his father in 1963 over the operation of the family store (Leslie 's), Leslie Wexner, then 26, opened the first Limited store in Columbus, Ohio, with $5,000 borrowed from his aunt. Leslie Wexner 's desire was to focus on moderately priced fashionable attire for teenagers and young women (Hoover 's Online). The Limited went public in 1969 with five stores. Rapid development of large malls spurred Limited 's
Cited: LBOS. Limited Brands Operation System . Limited Brands . Limited Brands . (n.d.). Retrieved September 2013, from Limited Brands : http://www.limitedbrands.com/investors/financial_information/sales_earnings.aspx Limited Brands Inc., February 9, 2005. Limited Brands Headquarters, Columbus, Ohio. Limited Brands Inc., February 3, 2005. Company Presentation, Harvard Business School. Columbia Business School. (2003, August). Limited Brands Case Study. Retrieved August 13, 2013 from http://www2.gsb.columbia.edu/divisions/marketing/research/columbiaresearch/The%20Limited %o20Case%201NSPECTION.pdf