Yahoo Finance 
This bra trend is killing Victoria's Secret
Facebook/Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret has long been known for its heavily padded bras.
But this spring, it took a turn and started selling bralettes, the latest trend in the bra industry.
This — coupled with the rise of athleisure and sports bras — could spell trouble for the brand, The Wall Street Journal reports.
It's twofold: First, The Journal points out that bralettes are cheaper than their padded counterparts, hovering around $20, versus a more expensive regular bra.
Sports are slightly more expensive than that, and The Journal points out that if people are buying more of less-expensive apparel, then that will damage the company's overall sales. In its most recent fiscal year, it amassed nearly $7.7 billion in total sales.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/BEME_bnmlcP/embed/
Width: 658px
Second, it's particularly easy to make a bralette: Almost any brand can do it.
"There are no barriers to entering in the bralette game," Gabriella Santaniello, analyst and founder of consulting firm A-Line Partners, told Business Insider in April.
She cited multiple companies selling bralettes, from Aerie to Urban Outfitters. These other companies also have an au naturel look more innately built into their brand DNA.
"You have these other brands that are less so overtly sexy and much more focused on being natural," Nomura analyst Simeon Siegel told The Wall Street Journal. "It's too early to say it will steal a dramatic share from Victoria's Secret but it's not too early to say that there's a real consumer preference for it."
Victoria's Secret has been trying to appeal to that preference with a marketing campaign that declares that "no padding is sexy." But consumers are used to the company hawking heavily padded bras and curvaceous bodies — it sends a mixed message.
Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/719850071626489856
No padding is sexy now! Discover the new bralettes collection. #AllMe https://t.co/pImvArk6lN pic.twitter.com/SP5sAnDiKt
Some consumers were irritated at the brand's sudden drastic change. Some weren't happy that the company was inherently suggesting that only people who could wear unpadded bras could be a part of this new "sexy" trend.
Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/721081242154885121
LOL okay Victoria's Secret "No padding is sexy now!" Like... Now? Been sexy to me since I left middle school ✌🏻️ pic.twitter.com/RnbwIOhlKT
Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/728289646619267079
Victoria's Secret saying that no padding is sexy..after years of sewing 4 inches of foam into every bra made. lol bye
Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/728184847743758336
I love seeing the Victoria's Secret ad about their bralette where it says 'no padding needed' like lmao tell that to the DD's on my chest
Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/728281694827122688
Victoria's Secret "No Padding is Sexy NOW" bralettes are ridiculous. LOL literally no women over a B cup could wear those 🙂
In the meantime, the company is in the middle of lots of changes.
It nixed its swimwear sector to zero in on athleisure, as BuzzFeed reported earlier this year. While the payoff is supposed to be big down the line, right now the company is balking to retail's most dangerous trend — lots of promotions and markdowns — while it clears out inventory from the categories it's killing off.
For the full Wall Street Journal story, click here.
NOW WATCH: The one reason Zara is dominating the fashion industry right now
See Also:
