Victoria’s Secret lured the CEO of Rihanna’s rival brand Savage X Fenty to jump-start the flailing lingerie maker, the company said Wednesday.
Hillary Super, 52, will become Victoria’s Secret’s third CEO in four years, succeeding veteran Martin Waters, who stepped down from the board and CEO role effective immediately.
Shares of Victoria’s Secret were up more than 16% on the news.
The Reynoldsburg, Ohio-based chain has struggled with slowing sales and has worked on reinventing its fashions and redesigning stores.
Super had served as the Savage X Fenty CEO since June 2023. The lingerie company appeals to younger consumers and Super’s expertise running the company could help Victoria’s Secret cater to that prized demographic better.
Victoria’s Secret Chair of the Board Donna James said in a statement on Wednesday that Super will be tasked with accelerating growth in the company’s core business in North America.
“VS&Co welcomes Hillary as our new CEO to power the business’ next chapter and deliver the foremost tenet of our transformation strategy,” Donna James, chairman of the Victoria’s Secret board, said in a statement.
“She understands vertically integrated retail brands and has an intuitive understanding of the consumer landscape, informed by customer insights which are critical for consistently delivering in this industry and its ever-accelerating fashion and economic cycles.”
Victoria’s chief financial officer, Tim Johnson, will become the interim CEO until Super joins the company on Sept. 9. Waters, who has been CEO since 2021 and had held senior positions with the company’s former parent L Brands, will be an advisor to the company through Aug. 31, the company said.
He was terminated by the company on Aug. 12, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The company has sputtered since it was spun off by L Brands in August 2021 after years of mismanagement in which it became ensnared in the MeToo movement because of its association with sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein.
The late pedophile was the financial manager to Les Wexner, the billionaire retail magnate who is the former CEO of Victoria’s Secret and also led such iconic brands as Bath & Body Works and Abercrombie & Fitch.
Allegations of sexual misconduct against some of the company’s leaders along with consumers’ changing preferences and the company’s resistance to catering to a more diverse body type, including plus sizes, contributed to it falling out favor.
In recent years, Victoria’s Secret has added some new products, including a collection designed for women with disabilities and bras for women with mastectomies, along with adding plus size models to its lineup.
Last year, the company brought back its iconic fashion show, featuring its famous “Angels,” after a four-year hiatus. Victoria’s Secret canceled the popular catwalk event in 2019 after 24 years.
Prior to Savage X Fenty, Super was global CEO of Anthropologie Group of Urban Outfitters Company.
Super will get a $1.2 million base salary, a $1 million signing bonus and additional annual incentive compensation of up to $2.1 million and other equity awards, the company said in an SEC filing.
She said in a statement that she will transform the company into “the world’s leading fashion retailer of intimate apparel, rapidly expand our cultural influence, and create a dominant global market position to grow shareholder value.”
