Leslie Wicksler, The Founder Of "Weimi" Underwear

Leslie Wicksler

For the American women's underwear industry, the emergence of "Victoria's Secret" is a watershed. Before that, the underwear worn by American women mainly consisted of three brands, namely Xianguo Clothes, Hengshi and Jockey Brand underwear It is characterized by simplicity and generosity. At that time, most women would only wear fancy lingerie on special days such as honeymoon.

However, a new brand - "Victoria's Secret" appeared. The fashion shows in prime time, sexy TV advertisements and the convenience available in almost every store made "Victoria's Secret" stand at the forefront of the American women's underwear market and occupy the American women's wardrobe.

"Victoria's Secret" has made underwear a fashion. It was a man, Leslie Wicksler, who founded the kingdom of women's underwear.

Accurate judgment and the first bucket of gold from selling women's sportswear

Vicksler is 73 years old this year. He doesn't look like a person who has subverted the American underwear industry at all. He wears very conservative clothes, but he has a keen insight into the clothing market.

When he was young, his parents opened a clothing store called Leslie. He saw with his own eyes that his parents worked 80 hours a week and still could barely make ends meet. In 2003, he once said, "As I grow up, I know I can have a better career than a shop owner. I don't want to engage in retail. I hate this industry."

Vicksler once studied in law school, but he felt that law was not exciting enough, so he spent time to learn the drawing design of store and front desk. He quickly dropped out of school and helped in his parents' shop. Like his parents, Vicksler worked from 7 a.m. to late at night every day, scrubbing the window of the clothing store and keeping accounts. He found that the best sellers were skirts, sweaters, shirts and jackets. On the contrary, suits and overcoats were not selling well.

It was 1963. For the 26 year old Vicksler, this was the manifestation of his entrepreneurial potential. He persuaded his parents to sell women's sportswear separately in Leslie Clothing Store. His ideas paid off. Women prefer dresses that are separated from top to bottom. In 1969, Wicksler opened five more stores. Ten years later, he had 300 stores and planned to purchase a supplier that met his taste.

Seize the market gap, "Victoria's Secret" makes underwear fashionable

In 1982, when Vicksler went to San Francisco to talk about business, he found "Victoria's Secret". Vicksler said, "At that time, it was just a small shop. It produced Underwear It's sexy. I've never seen such beautiful underwear in America. " A few months later, the "Victoria's Secret" company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, approached Viksler and asked him if he was interested in buying the company. Vicksler flew to San Francisco the same day and bought the "Victoria's Secret" at a price of $1 million.

Wicksler said that he intuitively thought it was a good deal, although he knew nothing about underwear at that time and had no plan to develop the company. At that time, he had just bought another company and planned to develop another brand. He said: "Victoria's Secret doesn't make money, but I see its potential. What will happen if I combine the two companies?" Wicksler, a bachelor, began to think, "Most of the women I know wear underwear and like to wear close fitting underwear, but most stores don't sell close fitting underwear. I think if we move in this direction, the future will be very bright. "

So Vicksler began to promote the "Victoria's Secret" brand intimate underwear in his retail stores. The "Victoria's Secret" underwear is colorful and changeable, and the fabric is also diversified, focusing on popular elements. Most importantly, it attaches great importance to making products conform to customer personality and cultivating customer loyalty. The company soon expanded to the United States, opened many boudoir style chain stores, and had many registered regular customers.

Everything in the chain store is customer-oriented. To avoid embarrassment, the bra fitting room was moved to the back of the store. There are classical music in the shop. The famous fashion show and the legendary supermodel came to the show in their jeweled bras. The underwear shop has become a cultural place.

In 1999, the Super Bowl, the final of American professional football, was watched by 1 billion viewers in more than 100 countries. The game was sponsored by "Victoria's Secret". As a result, millions of people visited the company's website. "The marketing method is quite primitive, but it works very well," Wicksler said

In the past 28 years, "Victoria's Secret" has awakened a sleeping industry, expanded the cake of the whole industry, and driven the development of other brands. Even Jockey and Hengshi, whose styles are always simple, also sold G-strings. In 2009, the sales of "Victoria's Secret" reached 10.75 billion US dollars, twice the amount when Vicksler took over.

Victor's success lies in his keen observation of the gaps in the market and his quick filling in. He said, "I just saw something different." Because of "Victoria's Secret", women Underwear It has become a fashion.