When Victoria Beckham started her high-fashion line, I did side-eye the whole thing. While I had no doubt that she loved fashion and she had a strong viewpoint, it honestly seemed like yet another vanity project from a famous WAG. But Posh took it seriously, and her first few seasons got a boost from Roland Mouret, in that he helped her out and those collections basically just looked like Mouret’s designs. Her most current collections are different though – you can see influences of Stella McCartney, Prada and even the Olsens’ line, The Row. Still, Posh finds herself in the same conundrum that L’Wren Scott found herself in: there isn’t a big enough market for her designs, and after expanding too quickly, Posh found herself millions of dollars in debt. So her husband had to bail her out.
Victoria Beckham’s fashion business only showed a profit in its latest accounts after her husband David apparently channelled millions of pounds through her company. Victoria Beckham Limited would have reported a £3.8 million loss had it not been for £5.2 million thought to have been earned by David Beckham that are disclosed on her company’s books under the heading ‘discontinued operations’. As a result Victoria Beckham’s fashion company showed a £1.4 million pre-tax profit.
The fashion company enjoyed a £34 million turnover in the latest accounts for the year ending December 31 2014. But with the cost of sales at almost £21 million and a further £16.8 million going towards administrative expenses, Mrs Beckham, the former pop singer turned fashion designer, would have seen her company running up losses totalling more than £3.8 million.
The accounts show Victoria Beckham Limited expanded rapidly in 2014 with staff numbers rising from 68 to 97 in 12 months. The highest paid director, thought to be Mrs Beckham, received £455,000 in wages. During the period, the fashion business opened a flagship store in Mayfair in central London at a cost of £2.8 million.
The accounts state: “As part of the corporate restructuring planned last year, the company is now focused purely on the ‘Victoria Beckham’ fashion business and the Victoria Beckham brand. As such, the contracts held by the company related to the David Beckham brand were transferred during the year to DB ventures Limited, a sister company in the Beckham Brand Holdings Limited group which is focused on exploiting the David Beckham brand.”
The accounts for DB Ventures Limited show it has provided a ‘cross guarantee’ to the Victoria Beckham Limited business. DB ventures paid out £2 million in dividends.
I don’t completely understand everything that happened, but I think my initial instinct was correct: Posh expanded too quickly in an urge of “you need to spend money to make money” and she had to be temporarily bailed out by her husband. But it does sound like her clothes are selling well and that her brand is in a stronger position than many designers’ brands. I guess that she shows that you really can get rich by making little black dresses for size-2 women.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Chin up, girl and plough through. Love Beckham for supporting his lovely wife.
Maybe he feels guilty for cheating on her. Or something.
Most designer brands make their money through perfume and accessories (belts, sunglasses, handbags, etc) as well as flashy labelled stuff for the Asian market (for example CHANEL emblazoned t-shirts). High-end Fashion itself is really not a money-maker. If she wants to make a profit she needs to get heavily into accessories.
I’d love for her to make a lower end line for a store like White House Black Market
She’d make a killing doing something like that
and she has such good handbags too!
I hope she survives. I like her dresses. Says the woman who does not own any of her dresses. But I do like them…trails off…
Me too. I usually like her stuff, I like design with clean lines and I identify a lot with her brand, in that respect. I don’t like a lot of fuss and details like, say, LV sometimes does: lace with fur with velvet and all.
I hope she survives.
I’m with you. I don’t own a single piece of VB clothing but I think her designs are quite flattering and well tailored (I am deliberately erasing the quilted duvet dress from my memory bank).
That’s probably a signal for her to expand her market for pieces that are accessible and versatile. Like how DKNY was so amazing and all over the place in the 90s for any career woman. I still have my DKNY shift and 3/4 sleeve rayon top.
Donna Karan retired, Posh. YOU CAN DO THIS. Please do this, I always knew the smart money was on you!
Oh to be the 1% where you can take entrepeneurial “risks” you need to succeed because you have a financial safety net – to then expect others to do the same and don’t give a shit if they realize that you can only do that it if in their position.
Kanye and Kim, take note.
Gwyneth too! You really think she’s operating at a profit? I know in 2-3 years time, she is crashing and burning. I think a lot of luxury celeb lines are going to fall apart in that time.
I would love her to do a lower line also; I adore many of her dresses but refuse to pay that much for clothes. They have the severe yet feminine, classic yet modern combos I like.
And the bail-out, if it’s true, I like they work together. They’ve been married a long time, partnership should be what it’s about.
Her first lines actually remind me of pinupgirlclothing.com. I adore that site and the clothes & accessories are made in America and of great quality.
I believe she has a lower end line, VICTORIA Victoria Beckham. Things will still set you back a pretty penny. Maybe she’ll do a high street collaboration (doubt it). I do like her clothes and her style evolution, but truthfully, I’ve always felt her clothes were overpriced even for designer clothing. There are more established brands that are cheaper.
She already has a lower line. It is almost as affordable as Michael by Michael Kors. But those lines do not always make that much money. Both Marc Jacobs and Dolce & Gabbana had to shut down their lower lines because they kept on losing money.
I don’t agree that her designs are only for size 2 girls. I’ve seen bigger women wearing her clothes and they are surprisingly flattering for women of all shapes and sizes. Orpah and Jennifer Hudson have worn her dresses and they looked great.
Jennifer Hudson is a size 4 and Oprah’s dresses were probably custom made for her. Duh
Duh?
The point is that though the clothes are shown on the standard negatively sized runway model, they are actually very flattering on women with more curves.
I wasn’t inclined to like her stuff because she had been rather tacky but then seemed actually serious about it. I like that she stuck with it and made serious fashion and upped her own fashion game. It’s more than a vanity project and it could have gone so wrong. David is helping her like a supportive partner should.
I do think she should do a lower line and expand her brand into other areas like children’s wear, accessories and maybe men’s ties or something inspired by David. But her stuff should be more accessible and useful. Some lower lines were just a mess and had no directions.
I can’t think of many fashion lines that don’t lose money for a time. I wish i could afford her dresses (or fit into them, but those are two separate issues).
I hate when people refer to her as a famous WAG. It’s so disrespectful. She was much more famous and wealthy than David when they first met, and by her own doing. To chalk her up as no more than a footballer player’s wife is a total disservice.
Exactly, the Spice Girls were HUGE when Becks was still a rising footballer, when the news that they were dating first came out she was definitely more famous than he was. The tacky didn’t start coming in until after they were married, she was considered stylish in her breakout years.
Side note: she looks gorgeous in that last pic, her eye makeup is 11/10 and so is her skin.
Chin up Vicky, I hope your brand actually starts making profits so it’s still around by the time I earn enough to afford it. Those dresses and jackets are gorgeous.