It’s been a difficult few weeks for Brand Beckham, with David’s presence at the World Cup in Qatar – where he is being paid a reported £150million to promote the country – roundly criticised. Back home, Victoria has been trying to cope with the backlash over David branding Qatar a “really special” country, despite its appalling human rights record and the fact that homosexuality is punishable by death.
So, the last thing she needs is yet more negative publicity, especially about another sore point for the brand – her heavily in-debt fashion business. During the Black Friday sales, Posh’s flagship store in London’s prestigious Dover Street was pictured empty at 10am, leading to headlines about the business being £53.9m in debt. Although customers came in throughout the day, of course, and many more took advantage of the brand’s 20 per cent off beauty online, the coverage still left Victoria feeling deflated.
Now, heat has been told she’s weighing up the company’s future as it struggles to recover from the pandemic, because she doesn’t want to have to keep relying on bailouts from husband David, who’s apparently told her the 14-year business is on its last chance. “David doesn’t want to be the bad guy, but the business has been propped up with money from Brand Beckham for years, and it can be a big drain on finances. He wants to see it moving in the right direction – if it’s not making money, then changes need to happen.
“But it’s such a thorny subject for them, because Victoria is so passionate about her business. There’s an amazing team there who have lots of solutions for making money, but Victoria is reluctant to change too much as she has a vision for her brand and refuses to ‘cheapen’ it. David understands she would be humiliated if she had to close down the business and she is mortified that it has such losses – she feels like a failure. She’s 100 per cent devoted to the business, and is still determined to try to turn things around.”
While she has won acclaim for her designs and they’ve been worn by some of the biggest names in Hollywood, that’s just not translating into profit and the shop, in particular, is a bone of contention. “The biggest sticking point for everyone is her Mayfair flagship store. That’s where a lot of the losses seem to be coming from – but in insisting that Dover Street stay open, prices stay high and the clothes fashion-forward,” says our insider.
“There’s only a tiny number of women who can afford to buy VB. Every year, it’s harder to find stockists for the high-end clothes because people just don’t have the money to spend on them – especially given the current climate.
“David appreciates how Victoria is put in the spotlight way more than others – she’s not the only fashion business with huge debt right now due to a shocking market. He’s really tried not to get involved in the micro details, but it’s looking like there is only really one way out of this mess, and he feels that it’s time he stops going along with it.”
But it’s not just the pride Vic has in her label – the mum of four also wants to leave it to 11-year-old daughter Harper.
“This is her greatest legacy and she wants to be able to pass it on to Harper and have her join her at the company. She quite rightly points out that the only reason they have all of this money is because of how smart she played it over the years, but at the same time, David wants to protect the family’s future. He is adamant that things cannot continue like this, and that if they don’t see a turnaround in the next year then he will reassess what they can do and look at other avenues to start making money.”