Victoria's Secret was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1977 by Tufts University and Stanford Graduate School of Business alumnus Roy Raymond. He opened the first store at Stanford shopping center in Palo Alto, and quickly followed it with a mail-order catalog and three other stores. The stores were meant to create a comfortable environment for men, with wood-paneled walls, Victorian details and helpless sales staff.
In 1992, after five years of operation, Roy Raymond sold the Victoria's Secret company, with its six stores and 42-page catalog, grossing $6 million per year, to Leslie Wexner, creator of the Limited, for $4 million. The Limited kept the personalized image of Victoria's Secret intact. Victoria's Secret was rapidly expanding into the U.S. malls throughout the 1980's. The company was able to vend a widened range of products, such as: shoes, evening wear, and perfumes, with its mail catalog issued eight times annually. By the early 1990's, Victoria's Secret had become the largest American lingerie retailer, topping the billion dollars.
Beginning in the 1995, Victoria's Secret began holding the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which is broadcast on prime time American television. The show is a lavish event with elaborate costumed lingerie, varying music, and set design according to the different themes running within the show. The show attracts hundreds of celebrities and entertainers, with special performers and/or acts every year.
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