日前，内衣品牌维多利亚的秘密宣布，与合作逾20年的中国制造商维珍妮国际(控股)有限公司就中国市场的业务达成合作，双方通过合资公司运营维密在华的门店及线上业务。
牵手“老朋友”维珍妮
当地时间1月25日，维多利亚的秘密宣布与维珍妮国际(控股)有限公司(以下简称“维珍妮”)就中国市场的业务达成合作，双方将成立一家合资公司，以运营内衣品牌维多利亚的秘密在中国市场的门店及线上业务。
根据协议，维密将持有合资公司VSCO Holdings 51%的股权，维珍妮以4500万美元收购剩余49%股权。VSCO Holdings将通过其附属公司经营中国业务，涵盖设计、开发、制造、营销及销售内衣、贴身服装，在维密子公司的协定商标下营销及销售个人护理和美容产品。
资料显示，维珍妮于1998年在中国香港创立，现为全球最大的贴身内衣制造商。据招股书，维珍妮的合作方涵盖维多利亚的秘密母公司L Brands Inc.、Hanesbrands Inc.、PVH Corp等；合作品牌包括维多利亚的秘密、Calvin Klein、adidas、Under Armour等。此外，维珍妮当前业务板块还包括电子配件、口罩等。在截至2021年9月30日的6个月内，维珍妮实现收入40.81亿港元，同比增长62.1%；公司拥有人应占溢利2.54亿港元，同比扭亏。
维珍妮方面曾表示，公司是L Brands Inc.最大的内衣供应商之一，L Brands Inc.也是公司最主要的客户。维珍妮也深度参与L Brands Inc.产品的生产环节，涵盖概念衍生、产品研发及产品交付，提供包括产品结构、功能、原材料等在内的综合解决方案。据悉，L Brands Inc.旗下的许多畅销款式均来自与维珍妮的合作研发。目前，维珍妮与L Brands Inc.已合作逾20年。
"For Virginie, it is very helpful for the company to expand production capacity and increase revenue if it can have an equity relationship with the brand and gain more say in the market segmentation. Therefore, for suppliers , this cooperation is a good choice." said Yang Dajun, founder of Sustainable Fashion China Alliance SFC.
Can Victoria's Secret open up a new situation in China?
In recent years, Victoria's Secret's performance has not been outstanding.
Since 2016, Wei Mi's sales have begun to decline continuously, which in turn affects the performance of the parent company.
From 2017 to 2018, the net income of L Brands Inc. fell by 15.11% and 34.49% year-on-year, respectively.
In 2019, Victoria's Secret's total sales fell to $6.805 billion, while L Brands Inc. lost $366 million and closed 53 U.S. stores.
In order to reduce debt pressure and promote the recovery of Victoria's Secret's performance, in February 2020, L Brands Inc. planned to sell a 55% stake in Victoria's Secret to a private equity fund for $525 million, but it was subsequently terminated.
In May 2021, L Brands Inc. announced the spin-off of Victoria's Secret into an independent public company.
In August of the same year, the split Wei Mi was listed separately.
In the third quarter of 2021, which ended on October 30, Victoria's Secret achieved net sales of $1.441 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7%. Sales in the fourth quarter are expected to be flat or increase to 3% year-on-year.
At the same time, Victoria's Secret has launched a layout for the Chinese market.
In 2015, Victoria's Secret opened its first mainland store in Shanghai; in 2016, the Victoria's Secret Tmall flagship store was launched; in 2017, the Victoria's Secret show landed in Shanghai for the first time; in April 2020, Victoria's Secret announced that actors Yang Mi and Zhou Dongyu will serve as Asian roles respectively. District brand spokesperson and Greater China brand spokesperson; in 2021, Victoria's Secret announced that Yang Tianzhen, CEO of One Heart Entertainment, and others were brand friends.
According to the forecast of the third quarterly report, as of October 30, 2021, Victoria's Secret's "Full Assortment" and "Beauty & Accessories" stores in Greater China have opened 27 and 36 stores respectively.
维密在中国市场是否腾飞，结果仍值得商榷。L Brands Inc.此前并未单独列出中国市场的销售情况，故根据财报中包含中国市场的数据，L Brands Inc.2017年-2018年的整体可比销售额分别下滑3%和增长3%；2019年维密和Bath&Body Works合计国际销售额同比下滑0.87%；2020年维密的国际销售额同比下滑43.9%。
中国市场的业务布局正是维珍妮与维密合作的主要目的。根据合资公司VSCO Holdings基于中国业务的未经审核综合报表，在截至2020年2月1日和2021年1月30日的两个财政年度内，VSCO Holdings的除税前综合亏损净额分别为6.63亿港元和9460万港元。截至2021年7月31日，VSCO Holdings的中国业务资产净值为-3.17亿港元。
那么，吸纳中国制造商助力后，维密能否在中国市场打开新局面？“我认为改善空间有限。维珍妮是一家制造商，对零售没有经验。维密要想在中国市场振作，首先需要重新制定比较切合实际的营销战略和合作方式。例如对中国内衣市场有一个更完整的理解，在拓展和开发上更本土化，结合中国的电子商务和消费习惯等。”杨大筠表示，“其实依靠过去成功的营销策略，维密对中国年轻消费者有一定吸引力，但性价比不算高，只依靠‘吃老本’并非长久之计。内衣市场比较特殊，进口品牌一般无法和本土品牌抗衡，市场份额也比较容易固化。想要在中国市场做好，维密需要一个长时间的精准营销和规划。”