SHE’S COME UNDONE

Victoria’s Secret CEO didn’t fix fraying fortunes

The boss of Victoria’s Secret just got her wings clipped.

Jan Singer, the chief executive of the struggling lingerie giant, has reportedly resigned after a two-and-halfyear stint plagued by sputtering sales and a marketing strategy that’s increasingly maligned for its fixation on leggy supermodels.

Singer, who left the helm of Spanx to run Victoria’s Secret in 2016, was tapped to spearhead a turnaround and reverse years of sales declines as younger shoppers snubbed the brand’s pricey $50-plus push-up bras as well as the shopping malls where Victoria’s Secret stores are ubiquitous.

Victoria’s Secret owner L Brands, which is expected to officially announce Singer’s departure on Monday, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

It isn’t clear whether the company is set to name a new CEO.

Singer’s departure comes at an increasingly chaotic time for the company.

Last week, the brand’s longtime chief marketing officer, Ed Razek, was forced to apologize for remarks he made when asked why Victoria’s Secret doesn’t use transgender or plus-size models in its annual fashion show, which was taped in the Big Apple last week and is set to air on Dec. 2.

“Because the show is a fantasy,” he told Vogue last week. The next day, Razek apologized on the company’s official Twitter account for being “insensitive” to trans- gender people, but he neglected to mention plus-size women in his mea culpa.

Razek’s half-apology went viral, and some industry watchers suggested that Singer’s reported resignation just days later may not have been a coincidence.

It’s not clear whether Singer left or was fired, but Razek’s comments “could have been the nail in the coffin for her,” said retail consultant Gabriella Santaniello of A Line Partners.

Many customers have abandoned Victoria’s Secret for less expensive and morecontemporary rivals like American Eagle’s Aerie, whose sales have soared. Aerie uses models of all body types.

Instead of reversing declines, Singer presided over an acceleration of the Columbus, Ohio-based company’s fall from grace, even as she tried to move the retailer toward more practical underwear.

“LB management has been very set in their ways, appearing somewhat dismissive of the need to change their model and evolve,” said Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow, noting that he expects Victoria’s Secret operating income this year will be off 60 percent from what it was in 2015.

“Without any real change in management, the business will never be able to turn around,” Boruchow added.

Shares of L Brands, which are down more than 38 percent this year, finished trading on Wednesday at $36.83, off 3 cents.

Denise Landman, who has led Victoria Secret’s teen-focused brand Pink for nearly 20 years, said in August she is leaving at the end of the year.

“There has been a slew of management turnover over the past several years,” said Instinet analyst Simeon Siegel.