祸从口出惹众怒，维密母公司高管被迫离职

在一片争议声中，维多利亚的秘密（Victoria’s Secret）曝出了其营销总监离职的消息。

维密走秀上的天使翅膀造型，就是由艾德·拉泽克一手打造的。本周一，维密母公司L Brands的CEO莱斯·卫克斯奈在一份内部备忘录中称，从本月起，拉泽克将不再在L Brands担任职务。

拉泽克在一封致员工的信中说：“除了莱斯以外，我在L Brands的时间比任何人都长。这是一场很艰难的对话，因为你们其中的一些人肯定知道，这么多年来，我们在一起分享了太多东西。”

今年71岁的拉泽克并未立即回应我们的置评请求。高级副总裁艾德·沃尔夫将暂时顶替拉泽克在L Brands的位子，而鲍勃·坎贝尔将接替他在维密的角色。

根据Coresight Research公司的数据，美国女性内衣市场的市值大约为131亿美元，其中维密的市场占有率达到了24%。不过过去几年，维密的处境并不乐观，其市场份额正在被主打电商渠道的ThirdLove和美国鹰牌服饰旗下的Aerie等品牌蚕食。

这些竞争对手们主要采取了“健康体形”营销战略，将目标瞄准了更广泛的女性群体和身材型号。其影响也是显而易见的。L Brands公司在今年2月表示，该公司计划在今年关闭50多家维密门店。

维密的麻烦还不仅仅在于销量问题。随着亿万富翁杰弗里·爱泼斯坦性侵维密天使一事的发酵，维密在女性眼中的形象也越发负面。L Brands公司的CEO卫克斯奈一度与爱泼斯坦过从甚密，爱泼斯坦不仅曾经是卫克斯奈的好友，还当过他的财务经理。拉泽克以前与爱泼斯坦也有过一些交集。

自从1983年起，拉泽克便一直在L Brands公司和卫克斯奈麾下工作，他也是一年一度的“维密秀”的主要功臣（第一届维密秀于1995年在纽约曼哈顿广场酒店举行）。维密秀发展到今天，已经成了被全球电视转播的一项盛事，维密“天使”们会在内衣上挂上一对天使翅膀，昂首阔步地走上T台，气势不亚于当红的影视巨星。

去年11月，拉泽克在接受《Vogue》杂志采访时表示，他不会接受变性模特踏上维密的T台。这番话也让维密秀惹来了不少争议。本周，维密宣布它已经招募了其旗下的第一名变性模特——巴西超模瓦伦蒂娜·桑帕约。

拉泽克这番关于变性超模的言论一出，娱乐圈人士和维密的顾客们纷纷要求拉泽克辞职。维密的CEO简·辛格也因为此事的发酵而被迫离职。最近，维密已经首次聘请了一名变性超模来拍摄照片。（财富中文网）

译者：朴成奎

Victoria’s Secret’s top marketing executive is leaving the lingerie seller amid a flurry of controversy.

Ed Razek, who crafted the chain’s defining image of lingerie-clad models with angel wings, will step down from his role at parent L Brands Inc. this month, CEO Les Wexner said in an internal memo to staff on Monday.

“With the exception of Les, I’ve been with L Brands longer than anyone,” Razek said in a note to employees, adding he recently told Wexner he wanted to retire. “It was a tough conversation to have because, as some of you must know, we have shared so much together for so many years.”

Razek, 71, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ed Wolf, a senior vice president, will fill the vacancy left by Razek’s departure on an interim basis at the parent L Brands, while Bob Campbell will assume his responsibilities at Victoria’s Secret.

Victoria’s Secret still holds 24% of the $13.1 billion U.S. women’s underwear market, according to Coresight Research. It has struggled in the past few years, however, losing market share to e-commerce competitors like ThirdLove and American Eagle Outfitters Inc.’s Aerie line.

Its competitors have gained ground by using body-positive marketing geared at a wider array of women and body sizes. The impact is clear: L Brands said in February it planned to close more than 50 Victoria’s Secret stores this year.

The turmoil extends beyond the chain’s sales performance, however. Victoria’s Secret portrayal of women is under greater scrutiny due to Wexner’s past relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was at one time the CEO’s close friend and financial manager. Razek had past ties with Epstein as well.

Razek, who has worked for Wexner and L Brands since 1983, was a longtime champion of Victoria’s Secret’s annual fashion show, which was first held at Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel in 1995. It grew into a televised spectacle starring the company’s “Angels,” who don wings in their underwear and strut the runway as pop stars perform live.

Last November, Razek and the fashion show became embroiled in controversy when the executive said in an interview with Vogue magazine that he would not put transgender models on his runway. (This week, the retailer announced its first transgender model hire, Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio.)

Celebrities and customers have called for Razek’s resignation and the brand’s CEO Jan Singer left her job in the aftermath. The lingerie label recently hired its first transgender model for a photo shoot.