This is probably one of the saddest stories ever told, and whilst it doesn’t contain anything about puppies dying, you can see why this guy killed himself.
One day, a man called Roy Raymond wanted to buy his wife some lingerie. He felt incredibly awkward about doing so, and an idea sprang to mind: a lingerie shop where men could feel comfortable shopping for their WAGS. And so, in 1977, Victoria’s Secret was born.
Back then, the stores were all “dark wood and red velvet sofas”, which is a far cry from the clean, polished look of the brand currently.
His idea was not the marketing to men – that actually proved the business’s downfall, more of which later – but the attempt to provide something in the middle of either joyless, functional underwear and pieces only fit for a wedding night.
But Roy missed one very important point: women buy most of their underwear themselves, not their husbands or partners.
Soon, the company was nearing bankruptcy, and so he sold it to Leslie Wexner for (take a deep breath) a measly $1 million in 1982. Roy stayed on as president for another year, but then left, opening a children’s clothing company called My Child’s Destiny. He declared it bankrupt two years later.
After losing two houses and their cars, the Raymonds were not in a very good place and in 1993. Roy jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
How sad that he couldn’t have been given the right advice and that he never got to see his brand become one of the most successful in the world.
Check out The Telegraph
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