By Tim Feran
COLUMBUS – Victoria’s Secret catalogs are about to become a thing of the past.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
Leslie H. Wexner, founder of Victoria’s Secret parent company L Brands, confirmed the move on Thursday during the annual meeting of shareholders at the retailer’s Columbus headquarters.
The move is part of a series of changes designed to simplify the business and accelerate growth, Wexner said.
“We have made some significant changes at Victoria’s Secret,” he said. “(Even though) last year was our best year ever, I am a hard grader. Good isn’t good enough. I’ve learned you have to make adjustments if you want to continue to win. A very large business that is Victoria’s, as good as its performance was, I thought was stalling out.”
Wexner said he diagnosed the problem as “too damn much complexity,” and the catalog was part of the problem.
In fact, the precise timing of its demise hasn’t been firmed up, but company officials say this will be the last year for the publication.
The decision to get rid of it was made after L Brands did its characteristically cautious testing.
“We did a test eliminating the catalog in two markets for a year,” said Chief Financial Officer Stuart Burgdoerfer. “We saw no significant change in sales.”
The Columbus Dispatch reports, with production and mailing expenses, the catalog costs between $125 million and $150 million per year.