Victoria’s Secret Announces CEO Change and Acquisition Completion

Victoria’s Secret’s transformation will continue with a new brand CEO and a newly acquired company.

The lingerie and beauty products retailer announced Tuesday (Jan. 3) the upcoming departure of Brand CEO Amy Hauk and the completion of its acquisition of digitally native intimates brand Adore Me.

Following the news, the company’s stock dropped about 8% Tuesday but picked up 2% Wednesday morning (Jan. 4).

Victoria’s Secret said in a Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Hauk told the company Dec. 27 that she will resign her position effective March 31.

At that time, Company CEO Martin Waters will take on the additional role of Brand CEO.

In a statement provided to PYMNTS, Victoria’s Secret said Hauk is stepping down to spend more time with her family.

“Amy has graciously agreed to a managed transition between now and the end of March,” the statement said. “There are no plans to replace her role.”

Hauk, who had been CEO of Pink since 2018, was named to her current role July 12 amid a reduction of about 160 management roles and a corporate overhaul that brought Victoria’s Secret, Pink and Beauty together under one umbrella.

In Tuesday’s other announcement, Victoria’s Secret said that with the completion of its acquisition of Adore Me, it will leverage that firm’s expertise and technology to improve the Victoria’s Secret and Pink shopping experience and digital platform.

“From the beginning, we evaluated Adore Me as a two for one opportunity — a technology-led, digital-first innovator in the intimates category and a highly efficient, growing and profitable standalone business model,” Waters said in a Tuesday press release.

The acquisition was designed to help Victoria’s Secret expand its audience online and off as it was looking to boost its growth after a difficult summer.

Victoria’s Secret has been in a state of transformation for about 17 months since announcing in August 2021 that it was charting a new path focused less on sex appeal and more on female empowerment.

“Our job now is to rebuild the foundation, go back to the fundamentals, and that’s where we start right now,” then-new CEO Waters said at the time.

Seven months into the brand transformation, PYMNTS reported that essentially everything that put the retailer on the map over the previous 30 years had either been changed or scrapped altogether.

As of Dec. 1, however, Victoria’s Secret was working to entice customers with bargains and innovation amid a drop in sales and a “very cautious consumer.”

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