Victoria’s Secret brand CEO abruptly resigns

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Business

Victoria’s Secret brand CEO Amy Hauk has resigned less than a year into the job, the company said Tuesday.

Hauk, who was also CEO of the company’s Pink apparel brand geared to teens, notified the company of her resignation last week, the company said. She will leave Victoria’s Secret in March.

Martin Waters, the CEO of the brand’s parent company, Victoria’s Secret & Co., will take over as CEO of the brand.

Shares of Victoria’s Secret dropped 8% on the news during after-hours trading Tuesday.

Victoria’s Secret has struggled in recent years as some customers rejected its marketing replete with supermodels and “Angels” fashion shows and switched to niche bra brands. As Victoria’s Secret also become embroiled in turmoil over founder Leslie Wexner’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, its clothing went out of fashion among some longtime buyers.

The company overhauled its advertising, began using a broader range of models and ended its Angels fashion show. The company also bought Adore Me, an upstart rival, for $400 million. That deal closed last week.

But Victoria’s Secret sales have been uneven since the start of the pandemic.

Sales tumbled in 2020 during the peak of Covid-19 but bounced back in 2021. They are projected to fall by up to 7% this year.

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