Victoria's Secret pushes forward with expansion in Europe in collaboration with Percassi

By

Elena Passeri

Published
Dec 15, 2021

Victoria's Secret has announced an ambitious European expansion project in partnership with Italy's Percassi, with the objective of doubling the number of its points of sale by 2025. On the first anniversary of the opening of the brand's flagship at Milan's Galleria del Corso, Vera Bortolato, general manager of Percassi Retail, Victoria's Secret's franchising partner in Italy, Spain and France, spoke to FashionNetwork.com about the next steps in the two companies' collaborative efforts.

"We're planning openings in France, Spain and Italy, and we'll move into Portugal by the end of 2022, all while working on entering new markets," explained Bortolato. "We met the challenge of Covid and all the restrictions that imposed, so once the context is more favorable, it's certain that our performance will be even better. At the moment, we're missing the tourists from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, China and Russia, who have always been important for us," said the executive. 
 
"The expansion that we are planning is the sign that Percassi wants to invest in the brand and in European markets. Starting April 2021, a dedicated beauty and accessories website for the Italian, French and Spanish markets will also go live, which demonstrates that Percassi has entered a new phase in its omnichannel strategy and has made considerable progress in terms of brand recognition and customer service, even during this period of closures," added Bortolato. 

Ads

In addition, Victoria's Secret has continued its brand transformation by focusing on providing support to women, notably through the launch of partnerships seeking to have a positive impact on their lives. One such project is the Victoria's Secret Collective, for which top models Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber serve as ambassadors. The collective, which works to create collections dedicated to revolutionary products, as well as content that aims to be engaging and inspiring, has already attracted members including Adut Akech, Amanda de Cadenet, Eileen Gu, Megan Rapinoe, Paloma Elsesser, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Valentina Sampaio.

A second program, the Victoria's Secret Global Fund for Women's Cancers, was created in partnership with Pelotonia and aims to fund research and innovation that can drive progress in the fight against women's cancers. 

"This year, the brand has concentrated on what women want and on achieving greater inclusivity, by trying to serve all clients, both in terms of size and what they want from their lingerie, but also from a social perspective. The brand has set itself the goal of donating $5 million to the Global Fund for Women's Cancers every year," said Bortolato.
 
Since launching its partnership with Percassi in 2015, Victoria's Secret has opened four stores in France. The brand is now planning to open a new location, which will offer all of its collections, at the Westfield Les 4 Temps mall at La Défense, Paris, in the second half of 2022.

The company currently has eight boutiques in Spain and 18 in Italy, including three full-price stores that offer the brand's full range, two full-range outlets and 13 beauty and accessories stores. The 2,000-square-meter store in the Galleria del Corso is the first to offer the brand's full assortment in Milan. Victoria's Secret currently boasts 1,600 stores worldwide.