Victoria$$s Secret was founded by an American, Roy Raymond, in $1977.$ After feeling uncomfortable having to buy his wife underwear, he decided to make a lingerie store, but to make men feel more comfortable buying it$.$ Inspired by England$$s Victorian era, Raymond named the brand Victoria and changed it to Victoria$$s Secret because of the $$secrets$$ that accompanied the era. One of his main goals was to create women$$s lingerie that was flattering rather than the modest and durable underwear that was being made during the $1960$s and $1970$s$.$ Starting with a small store in Raymond$$s local shopping mall in Palo Alto, California, the business grew to $3$ more stores in San Francisco and was making $$4$ million in just $5$ years. But behind the scenes of this money making brand, it was facing bankruptcy.

In $1982,$ Leslie Wexner bought Victoria$$s Secret for $$1$ million. As Wexner was looking to branch out from his brand, The Limited, he found Victoria$$s Secret. He saw the brand's potential while also finding the problem that Raymond couldn$$t solve. Victoria$$s Secret was created to make men feel more comfortable shopping for women$$s lingerie but ended up making women feel uncomfortable in its stores instead. Wexner changed the brand from racy to more everyday wear, but still kept the luxurious aspect; an in between of luxury and department store lingerie. The rebranded Victoria$$s Secret was named a billion dollar company by $1995$ and became the United State$$s largest lingerie brand. In $1993,$ Roy Raymond jumped to his death from the Golden Gate Bridge after he got divorced and $2$ of his stores had to file for bankruptcy.

$1995$ was the beginning of the well known Victoria$$s Secret Fashion Show and the Victoria$$s Secret Angels. Over $1\mathrm{.}5$ million people watched the show in $1999,$ the first time it went online, causing the website to crash. The fashion show led to many more sales and better business.

In $2006,$ Sharen Jester Turney became the CEO of Victoria$$s Secret and changed the brand's image to look less scandalous. When Turney stepped down in $2016,$ Leslie Wexner became CEO. Wexner changed the brand to focus only on lingerie which led to new divisions of the brand: Victoria$$s Secret Lingerie, Victoria$$s Secret Beauty, and Pink.

Victoria$$s Secret sales started to decline in $2015$ as other brands were focusing more on body positivity. Even views of the famous fashion show started declining as it was considered out of date. Victoria$$s Secret was bashed for not having diversity in their models and sizing. Even their board of directors consisted of $9$ men of only $11$ members. The fashion show was officially canceled in $2019$ as it wasn$$t boosting sales anymore, only to return rebranded in $2023.$ At the beginning of $2020$ and the COVID$-19$ pandemic, Victoria$$s Secret was forced to close its stores which led to another decline in sales. But, towards the end of $2020,$ the company was starting to get back on track with sales as the store had a greater online presence. Now, in $2024,$ Victoria$$s Secret is still $$the world's largest intimates specialty retailer$($About Us$,$ n$.$d$.).$ The company is now headquartered at $4$ Limited Parkway, Reynoldsburg, Ohio $43068.$

$4$ main values are inherited into Victoria$$s Secret$$s business everyday. These mottos are $$Love the Customer; DEI is Everything; Passion with Purpose; Better Together$($Our Values & Culture, n$.$d$.).$ Even though these mottos are incorporated into the business now, Victoria$$s Secret has received backlash in the past for not being inclusive.

Victoria$$s Secret is a publicly traded, single, international company. Victoria$$s Secret & Co$.$ has more than $1,360$ stores across the world with over $30,000$ associates. Victoria$$s Secret Lingerie makes up $30\mathrm{.}4\%$ of the market share in the lingerie industry. The company ended with a total annual sale of $$6\mathrm{.}34$ billion in $2022,$ $$6\mathrm{.}18$ billion in $2023,$ and is expected to have around a total annual sale of $$6$ billion in $2024.$ Victoria$$s Secret has experienced an overall decrease in total annual sales from $2018-2023.$

Victoria$$s Secret falls under Victoria$$s Secret & Co$.,$ which is primarily owned by institutional investors. Victoria$$s Secret Lingerie, Victoria$$s Secret Beauty, and Victoria$$s Secret PINK make up Victoria$$s Secret & Co$.$ There are ten main institutional investors for Victoria$$s Secret & Co$.$ including BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N$.$A$.,$ The Vanguard Group, Inc., and BBRC International Pte. Ltd$.$ The company is currently under the leadership of Martin Waters, the CEO.

Partnered with Sustainable Apparel Coalition $($SAC$),$ Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemical $($ZDHC$),$ and Apparel and Footwear RSL Management $($AFIRM$),$ Victoria$$s Secret promotes sustainable business practices in their brand. Victoria$$s Secret also believes in high quality and safe products while being made in safe and quality factories. The brand has worked hard in including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into their business and was named Newsweek$$s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity in $2023.$