The Tragic Secret Behind Victoria's Secret

With beautiful women, seductive clothing, and billions of dollars in profit, Victoria’s Secret appears to be a secure and perfect business. And though it may be secure and somewhat perfect now, there lies a secret in the shadow of its history that may be surprising and unexpected for those who discover it.

As any husband would be, Roy Raymond found himself to be uncomfortable and embarrassed whenever he would shop for intimate clothing for his wife; the stores he would shop at had an awkward atmosphere unfit for a man and the clothing on the racks made him blush nervously. He chose to change this by starting his own lingerie store—ironic, isn’t it? After borrowing around $80,000 from a bank and relatives, Raymond opened “Victoria’s Secret” in the late 70’s. From the experience he had, he chose to design his store with wooden panels and less “flashing” of the intimate items; in addition, he chose a Victorian theme for his store in hopes to make men more comfortable while shopping for their wives and girlfriends.

Thus the story begins on a happy note: Roy Raymond made half a million dollars in his first year of Victoria’s Secret. He opened three other stores and began a mail-catalogue which proved to be a success.

However, that’s pretty much where it ends. Only five years after opening his store, which provided a $6 million profit per year, Raymond sold Victoria’s Secret to The Limited’s owner, Leslie Wexner. In addition, four years after his selling of Victoria’s Secret, his new business “My Child’s Destiny” went bankrupt. Why, you would think, did Roy Raymond make such mistakes? After all, he graduated from Stanford Graduate School of Business and had made millions of dollars on intimate clothing line.

But the story doesn’t just end there—the tragedy had only begun when he sold Victoria’s Secret to The Limited. At the age of 47, a young business man, Roy Raymond (not to be confused with the DC Comics Roy) committed suicide by jumping off the Golden GateBridge in 1993. A loss to his wife and family, Raymond’s suicide hurt the history of the much-loved Victoria’s Secret.

Though the reasons for his tragic death are unknown, one thing may be deduced from this story: money, beautiful women, and a profitable future cannot provide the happiness needed to wish for and strive towards a long life. Perhaps there is hope in wishing that Roy Raymond at least knew the legacy he left when he thought of embarrassed men and their wives and started a business that would rock the world of lingerie…