Victoria’s Secret is closed in downtown SLO — but don’t worry, it won’t be forever
The doors of Victoria’s Secret in downtown San Luis Obispo were closed to customers this week — but don’t worry fans, it won’t be for long.
The longtime Higuera Street staple is currently closed for renovations, according to signs posted in the store’s massive windows. A message on the location’s phone line also relayed the same information.
The newly renovated store is expected to open in the summer, the signs said.
Victoria’s Secret has been at 898 Higuera St. since 1995, when it took over what was formerly The Sport Shoe, an offshoot of the now closed Copeland’s Sporting Goods.
At that time, the store’s renovation called for “a variety of pink, pearl and gold wallpaper, a marble entryway and carpeting called ‘mystique red,’” according to a June 1995 article in The Telegram-Tribune.
The current renovation will likely look a bit different.
In 2024, the company announced it was updating the layout and design of some of its physical stores to embody the brand’s own changing direction.
The embattled lingerie and clothing company has faced a tough few years amid a storm of criticism of its early aughts marketing strategies and changes in consumer behavior.
In 2025, however, the company saw a distinct rebound, with net sales reaching $6.55 billion, up 5% from the year prior, according to its most recent fiscal report.
“We enter fiscal 2026 from a position of strength,” Victoria’s Secret & Co. CEO Hillary Super said in the report. “With a clear brand vision, a faster and more agile operating model, and a strong pipeline of product and brand moments ahead, we are confident in our ability to deliver profitable growth and create long‑term shareholder value.”
Part of that picture is the company’s “Store of the Future,” which overhauls existing Victoria’s Secrets with simplified navigation, “brighter, welcoming design” and modernized fitting rooms and checkouts, according to a company investor deck.
In a speech for Retail Spaces in 2024, vice president of store design and visuals Albert Gilkey spoke about the redesign, saying the keystone word was “welcoming.”
Gilkey noted that the new spaces feature immersive video walls showing off the company’s campaigns and upgraded fitting rooms with new technology to make the user experience more inclusive.
Though it is not guaranteed the San Luis Obispo location is undergoing this specific type of renovation, the company has said it plans to covert 30% of its North American stores and 55% of its international stores to the new format by the end of 2026.
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