Table: SWOT Analysis of VS
Strengths




VS has strong brand recognition and loyalty
(Limited Brands Inc., 2013).
Vs has a strong focus on marketing and a
social media presence (Euromonitor
International, 2013; Jane, 2012).
VS has a highly trained workforce (Fern Fort
University, 2019).
VS past annual fashion show and celebrity
following (Bhasin, 2019).
Opportunities
 Emerging markets are promising for VS
growth due to increasing income levels
(Hitesh Bhasin, 2018).
 The market development will eliminate any
advantage of VS competitors (Fern Fort
University, 2019).
 Using the online platform to their advantage
for customer information (Fern Fort
University, 2019).
Weaknesses
 VS products are not body inclusive in
size (Lepore, 2011).
 VS is competitively higher priced
(Bhasin, 2019).
 VS has a limited range of products in
their retail stores (Bhasin, 2019).
Threats
 VS has strong competition e.g. Lively
(Fern Fort University, 2019).
 Physical infrastructure threatened by the
changing consumer buying behaviour
from the online channel (Fern Fort
University, 2019).
 More online boutiques selling lingerie.
(Fern Fort University, 2019).
 More imitations are appearing everyday
(student,2020)
Strengths
VS is one of the most well- known brands of underwear globally (Lutz, 2013). Lots of women buy
VS lingerie and underwear for special occasions and view this brand as premium quality and best
in class. VS spends a major part of their budget on marketing and social media. VS has a website
on which they marketing their products and inform their customers about their product offering.
VS also uses social media platforms such as Facebook to advertise their products to encourage
online consumer behavior (Euromonitor International, 2013; Jane, 2012). VS has a highly trained
workforce and this is because of its successful training and learning programs for employees (Fern
Fort University, 2019). The training and development of VS employees results in a workforce that
is motivated and highly skilled in customer care (Fern Fort University, 2019). One of VS strengths
was their annual Fashion Show which showcased the latest collections of the season in fashion
magazines and on television channels (Bhasin, 2019). This helps to improve their brand image
and consumer knowledge regarding their products. VS is endorsed by celebrities and many of the
models who promoted VS products have become celebrities (Bhasin, 2019).
Weaknesses
VS major weakness is that their products are not body inclusive in size (Lepore, 2011). VS is
missing out on recent trends by leaving out the plus-sized market (Lepore, 2011). VS has not
shown much body diversity in their brand cater to females with skinnier and smaller physiques.
This has been a controversy to most women. VS is a high end underwear brand and they target the
middle and class which is also reflected on the prices (Bhasin, 2019). VS prices are relatively
higher priced compared to their competitors (Bhasin, 2019). Customers may consider a cheaper
option instead of buying from VS since the competitor brands may be more affordable. Also VS
is perceived as a luxury lingerie brand and not everyone can afford to buy their products and may
decide to purchase from other brands. VS has a limited product offering and has neglected to sell
all their clothing, and other select products in their retail stores (Bhasin, 2019).
Opportunities
Emerging Markets
Emerging markets are promising for VS growth because of increasing income levels ,higher
population and most of all changing gender equations among youths which entails openness of
sexuality which in turn help lingerie sales (Hitesh Bhasin, 2018).
Market Development
In relation to the Ansoff Matrix model market development will eliminate any advantage of VS
competitors empowering them to thrive and increase competitiveness (Fern Fort University, 2019)
Table : Ansoff Matrix highlighting Market Development
Market Development
Existing product/new market Wide selection of bras put in Trinidad and Tobago’s branch as no
bras are sold currently (student, 2020).
(Student, 2020)
Online Advantage
Over the years, VS has heavily invested in their online platform. This means that they can take
advantage of this by learning more about their customers and using their data analysis to improve
their customer service in all aspects (Fern Fort University, 2019).
Threats
Strong Competition
VS sells lingerie, underwear, bras, perfume, purses and bags. These products can be easily
duplicated and sold by thousands of different retail stores or online boutiques that are constantly
growing and selling at better prices giving VS a fair amount of competition. This directly affects
their sales as their products become less of a need to women. In relation, the Porter’s five forces
framework helps to analyses this as he mentions the threat of entry (Whittington et al., 2017). He
states that to determine the extent of competition a company faces is to look at how easy it is to
enter the industry. VS being in the intimate apparel industry means that there are high barriers of
entry because this industry is very attractive to new entrants. Some of these barriers are scale and
experience and access to supply or distribution channels (Whittington et al., 2017).
Online Boutiques
In current times, the world is becoming more advanced and more so due to covid -19 resulting in
a lot of online shopping and an abundance of online store start-ups which increases competition.
VS has a large amount of physical stores located worldwide and an online presence but for years
they have focused on their physical infrastructure directed by their supply chain model (Fern Fort
University, 2019). At the center of the five forces analysis is competitive rivalry where the
upcoming online boutiques are aiming at the same customer groups with similar products
(Whittington et al., 2017). Competitor concentration and balance states that there is an existing
uncertainty of ‘intensely rivalrous behaviour’ as competitors like ‘Lively' try to gain power over
companies like VS with cheaper prices and better quality products (Whittington et al., 2017). Other
factors to determine the degree of rivalry in an industry or market are the industry growth rate,
high fixed costs and high exit barriers (Whittington et al., 2017).
Imitations
In relation to more online boutiques appearing there is also the underlying threat of substitutes
according to Porter’s Five Forces (Whittington et al., 2017). The lingerie apparel industry is quite
easy to replicate and also improve which deems as a great threat to VS as they can lose customers
who prefer other companies pricing or variety. The five forces reveals that often times managers
neglect the threat of substitutes and mainly focus on their competitors in their own industry
(Whittington et al., 2017).