sharen jester turney
TRANSCRIPT
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8 DISTINCTLY OKLAHOMA I OCTOBER 2010
ON THE COVER
By David Althouse
All in a k
ACover Photo Russell James
Sharen Jester Turney
FOR SHAREN TURNEY,
ARDMORE NATIVE
AND UNIVERSITY OF
OKLAHOMA GRADUATE,
WORKING TO MAINTAIN
VICTORIA’S SECRET’S
DOMINANT STATUS IN
THE $10 BILLION LINGERIE
BUSINESS IS ALL IN A
DAY’S WORK. PEEK IN ON
A TYPICAL WORKDAY OF
THE VICTORIA’S SECRET
CEO AS SHE MANAGES
THE COMPANY MYSTIQUE
AND ADMINISTERS THE
SAY-SO ON SEXY.
Glitzy, Glamorou
A work ethic born of an Oklahoma ranch upbringing comes
in handy for Sharen Turney these days. The Ardmore native
oversees company brand growth, new company innovations and
approximately 36,000 associates worldwide as CEO for Victoria’s
Secret, leading retailer of women’s lingerie and beauty products.
While Victoria’s Secret is synonymous with glamour, high
fashion and supermodels, the people behind the scenes at this
great American business success story work diligently to keep the
brand relevant and forever young in the hearts and minds of its
customers worldwide.
Turney, master manager of the Victoria’s Secret mystique,
challenges the market with innovative new designs and
positions the company to quickly meet the needs of its
customers each season.
Achieving these overall goals entails a rigorous workday for the
OU graduate. Going into each day physically fi t and mentally
focused is the fi rst step to success in such a challenging role.
Knowing this, Turney begins most days with a workout.
Before beginning her drive to the offi ce, she kisses her 16-year-
old son as he heads to school. En route to the offi ce, she calls her
executive assistant to confi rm her schedule for the day.
A successful career in the fashion industry has taught Turney
the value of people, which explains why Turney often meets with
her brand, executive, online and international teams even before
she makes it to her own offi ce.
“You must lead from your values and believe in the people you
work with,” Turney said. “Believe in doing the right thing, have
passion for what you do and listen to learn, because people have
good ideas. Collaboration is key.”
OCTOBER 2010 I DISTINCTLY OKLAHOMA 9OCTOBER 2010 I DISTINCTL
s and Gorgeous
From there, she might enter into a
creative session, discussing the choice
of Victoria’s Secret supermodels
and the image layouts used in the
catalogue, online and in stores.
“Victoria’s Secret has launched the
careers of some of the most beautiful
and most recognized women in the
world,” Turney said. “The Victoria’s
Secret Angels embody the essence
of who we are – sexy, sophisticated
and forever young. The Angels are an
important representation of our core
equities.”
Angels enjoy a highly coveted
status in the world of supermodels,
acting as the focal point in Victoria’s
Secret fashion shows and advertising
campaigns, showcasing the
company’s high-profi le lines and
collections, and serving as its
general spokespersons.
Victoria’s Secret has launched
the careers of some of the most
beautiful and most recognized
women in the world, including:
Gisele Bundchen, Heidi Klum,
Adriana Lima, Tyra Banks,
Stephanie Seymour, Karolina
Kurkova, Alessandra Ambrosio
and Selita Ebanks, to name a
few.
Next on Turney’s daily agenda
might be a planning session for
the following spring.
“We have to discuss what that
year looks like,” Turney said.
“We have to discuss business
10 DISTINCTLY OKLAHOMA I OCTOBE 10
ON THE COVER
OBER 2010
planning and the investment of capital.
We review short-term and long-term
strategic plans, and that’s ongoing
because we have to know where we are
and where we are headed.”
Under Turney, Victoria’s
Secret enjoys a reputation
for maintaining agility in
an ever-changing market.
Maintaining that agility is a
high-stakes game where the
viability of the company is on
the line.
“One thing that can be the
downfall of anyone in the
direct or retail business is not
understanding that inventory
is sometimes your biggest
investment,” Turney said.
“You have to make sure you
balance the optimism with
the conservatism. One way to
do that is to go into a season
conservative from an inventory
perspective, but with your
business set to react to your
customers with speed.”
For Turney, rarely a day
passes without planning for
new business. For Victoria’s Secret,
this means growing the already robust
direct business, creating new stores, as
well as extending into new categories.
“We are continually looking for new
business opportunities,” Turney said.
“We have started a sports line because
we believe women want to get and stay
in shape. There is a big opportunity in
that category. Of course, we continue
to see additional opportunities in the
beauty business.”
While the company enjoys a global
reach of 160 countries in their direct
channel, 2010 will see the opening of
the fi rst two Victoria’s Secret stores
outside the United States – in Canada;
and recently announced that it will
open a 16,500-selling-square-foot
Victoria’s Secret fl agship store in
London’s premier retail destination
for luxury and fashion brands on
Above: Sharen’s University of Oklahoma portrait
Left: At age 5 on the Oklahoma ranch
Below: Turney with Heidi Klum and Seal
12 DISTINCTLY OKLAHOMA I OCTOBER 2010
ON THE COVER
the prestigious corner of New Bond Street and Brook
Street in 2012. The brand also reaches billions of people
around the globe through its annual televised Victoria’s
Secret fashion show.
“There are also opportunities to create even bigger
communities through social media,” Turney said. “We
connect with millions of people through our social media – a
leading multimedia community in our ever expanding and
far-reaching world of technology, and we believe Victoria’s
Secret has a bright future.”
Charged with championing one of the most recognized
brands of intimate apparel and beauty products on the planet,
Turney’s workdays are bits of achievement in themselves.
In order to master the regime, Turney’s travel schedule and
calendar are reviewed daily.
“I travel a great deal to stay connected with our designers,
vendor partners and the world of fashion at large,” Turney
said. “I can start my day in Europe and end in New York. My
schedule is planned 12 months out, and every three months
I’m updating it. Experiencing how people live, work and play
all over the world is inspiring.”Sharen and Miranda Kerr at the HUG Awards
OCTOBER 2010 I DISTINCTLY OKLAHOMA 13
The former Oklahoma ranch girl has done far more than
just rope the demanding regime; she has scorched her own
brand on the Victoria’s Secret mystique.
Under Turney’s leadership, Victoria’s Secret became one of
the world’s largest direct marketers of women’s apparel and
lingerie, reaching nearly $1.4 billion in sales in 2009.
To boot, Turney has helped Victoria’s Secret earn a
reputation for creative innovation, focusing on color,
fashion and newness.
On top of that, Turney believes in staying in touch with
customers and in maintaining an insatiable desire to fulfi ll
their needs.
“We want to keep our brand relevant by continually
captivating our customers,” Turney said. “We respect the
emotional connection we have with our customers, which is
built upon our core equities about being sexy, sophisticated
and forever young.”
While Turney receives universal acclaim for growing the
$5 billion business that is Victoria’s Secret, the dynamic
CEO uses more than just a dollars-and-cents standard to
measure her own success.
“In a leadership position, watching your talent grow and
be successful is a measure of your own success,” Turney
said. “All of us remember our start in this business, and I
was fortunate to have great mentors at the time to teach
me. I think it is important to teach and to cast a great
leadership shadow.”
Turney learned the importance of mentors while growing
up in Oklahoma, and counts as her early infl uences such
people as her grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters and
people in her community.
“I visit Oklahoma often and wholeheartedly root for
the Sooners!” Turney said (after all, she was on the fi rst
pompon squad that garnered much attention to OU’s
basketball team). “I am very proud of the ground I grew
up on. My father would tell me that no matter where we
are – be it a small town or a big city – each of us has much
to offer based on where we are from and our family values.
That gave me great perspective. It gave me great confi dence.
And it keeps me curious.”
Turney says the work and interactions of Victoria’s Secret
and its parent company, Limited Brands, are guided by four
core principles:
The customer rules. Everything must begin and end with
an insatiable drive to anticipate and fulfi ll the customers’
desires.
Passion leads to success. The people of Victoria’s
Secret pursue excellence because they are emotionally,
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14 DISTINCTLY OKLAHOMA I OCTOBER 2010
who has thrown her own personal loop on the world of glitz,
glamour and high fashion.
Victoria’s Secret is a great American business success story
that owes its success to a high-caliber cadre of business-savvy
women working hard and doing the right thing. Leading that
group is a woman whose every workday speaks to the power
of inspirational leadership traits acquired years ago by a
young girl on an Oklahoma ranch – traits such as a can-do
attitude, stick-to-itiveness, hard work, smarts and staying
curious.
That woman is Sharen Jester Turney from Ardmore.
ON THE COVER
intellectually and spiritually engaged in their work, making
their talents formidable and their results extraordinary.
Inclusion makes us stronger. Victoria’s Secret cherishes
diversity because embracing others’ thoughts, experiences,
hopes and dreams makes their own more complete and
connects them to their customers.
It matters how we play the game. Winning means nothing
unless how they get there is fair, collaborative, rooted in
our values and contributes to the greater good.
In 2009, Victoria’s Secret and Limited Brands contributed
more than $15 million and volunteered more than 13,000
hours to help organizations empower women, educate
youth and inspire the arts. It also assisted more than
19,000 women and touched the lives of more than 30,000
families through its Giving Tree programs during Mother’s
Day and other holidays.
To Turney, that is a huge part of what makes Victoria’s
Secret the world-renowned leader in lingerie and beauty
products.
Ensuring the current as well as future growth of Victoria’s
Secret is all in a day’s work for the dynamic Oklahoman
Watch the
Victoria’s Secret
Fashion Show at 9 p.m. on
Tuesday, Nov. 30 on CBS.
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